Elvis Presley is a rodeo star/singer who accepts a job working for an older woman (Julie Adams of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) on her resort ranch -- which happens to be populated by hordes of gorgeous girls getting toned up as actresses and models. One of them (drop-dead gorgeous Jocelyn Lane) is the exercise coordinator who learns that her grandfather stashed a lot of loot in a neighboring ghost town, so this allows Presley to get some "haunted house" time in for the last act.
I used to get a bigger kick out of this Elvis comedy when I saw it on TV a lot as a kid, but revisiting it recently in a loose chronological order along with Presely's many other movies made me have a slight second opinion; for especially when viewed all together, it's painfully obvious precisely at this point how the King of Rock 'n' Roll was being completely sold out. And yet, this movie made a lot of money all the same and saved Allied Artists studio! "Three Stooges" script writers Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds penned this desperately silly and not very amusing offering, so as a result there is an extra dosage of zany slapstick, like Elvis getting knocked over the head several times and playing the Stooge. He is also saddled with a really annoying sidekick in the sniveling Jack Mullaney. This contrived film has a perfunctory and slap-dash feel to it, with Elvis coming across as half-heartedly going through the usual motions. BUT ... the saving graces of TICKLE ME are the many beautiful females on display (beginning with the luscious and big-eyed Jocelyn Lane) and also the decent music soundtrack - this film was so cheaply made that no budget was allowed for new songs to be recorded, so a group of older tunes from four or five years prior were utilized instead. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because among the better ones are "(It's a) Long Lonely Highway", "Dirty Dirty Feeling," "It Feels So Right", and "(Such an) Easy Question". **1/2 out of ****
I used to get a bigger kick out of this Elvis comedy when I saw it on TV a lot as a kid, but revisiting it recently in a loose chronological order along with Presely's many other movies made me have a slight second opinion; for especially when viewed all together, it's painfully obvious precisely at this point how the King of Rock 'n' Roll was being completely sold out. And yet, this movie made a lot of money all the same and saved Allied Artists studio! "Three Stooges" script writers Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds penned this desperately silly and not very amusing offering, so as a result there is an extra dosage of zany slapstick, like Elvis getting knocked over the head several times and playing the Stooge. He is also saddled with a really annoying sidekick in the sniveling Jack Mullaney. This contrived film has a perfunctory and slap-dash feel to it, with Elvis coming across as half-heartedly going through the usual motions. BUT ... the saving graces of TICKLE ME are the many beautiful females on display (beginning with the luscious and big-eyed Jocelyn Lane) and also the decent music soundtrack - this film was so cheaply made that no budget was allowed for new songs to be recorded, so a group of older tunes from four or five years prior were utilized instead. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because among the better ones are "(It's a) Long Lonely Highway", "Dirty Dirty Feeling," "It Feels So Right", and "(Such an) Easy Question". **1/2 out of ****