Clambake main backdrop
Clambake main poster

5.9/10 • 41

1967-12-041h 39m

ComedyMusicRomance

It's ELVIS barreling... biking... bikini-ing and belting out that W I L D Presley beat

The heir to an oil fortune trades places with a water-ski instructor at a Florida hotel to see if girls will like him for himself, rather than his father's money.

Directors
Arthur H. Nadel
Editors
Tom Rolf

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Elvis Presley

    Elvis Presley

    Scott Hayward / 'Tom Wilson'

  2. Shelley Fabares

    Shelley Fabares

    Dianne Carter

  3. Will Hutchins

    Will Hutchins

    Tom Wilson / 'Scott Heyward'

  4. Bill Bixby

    Bill Bixby

    James J. Jamison III

  5. Gary Merrill

    Gary Merrill

    Sam Burton

  6. James Gregory

    James Gregory

    Duster Heyward

  7. Suzie Kaye

    Suzie Kaye

    Sally

  8. Harold Peary

    Harold Peary

    Doorman at Shores Hotel

  9. Marj Dusay

    Marj Dusay

    Waitress

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Nov 9, 2020

6/10

Elvis goes to Florida to water ski and compete in a boat race The rich son (Presley) of an oil tycoon (James Gregory) takes off to Florida. On a lark, he trades places with an amusing man of low status (Will Hutchins) to see if he can find a woman who loves him just for himself rather than for his wealth. Shelley Fabares plays his love interest, Bill Bixby his rival and Gary Merrill a boat entrepreneur. “Clambake” (1967) was Elvis’ 25th movie and he would only do six more before leaving cinema for good. After the release of this film he only had 10 more years to live. It’s a fun flick and shows that not all of his late 60’s movies sucked. While it’s not on the level of “Blue Hawaii” (1961), "Kid Galahad" (1962), “Roustabout” (1964) and “Viva Las Vegas" (1964), it’s entertaining as an innocuous half-serious, half-campy drama/musical. It’s certainly more compelling than “Fun in Acapulco” (1963), “Kissin’ Cousins” (1964) and “Spinout” (1966). Elvis’ sidekick Will Hutchins helps make this one so fun and it’s always good to see Bixby and Merrill. Meanwhile Fabares is winsome, but too shapeless to hold my interest. On that note, there are several notable women in the periphery, like Angelique Pettyjohn and Marj Dusay. The clambake song & dance scene is a highlight in a swinging 60’s way; it’s just all-around well done and iconic of the era. The playground sequence with the kids and the quirky song "Confidence" is cute and warmhearted. Elvis started to struggle with his weight around this time and wasn’t happy about doing musical fluff when he wanted to do more serious stuff. To add insult to injury, the less-than-stellar performance at the box office ensured that this was the last movie he could insist on his $1 million price tag. Despite all this, Elvis looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. There’s no doubt he still had his charisma. The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, with the second-unit scenes shot in Miami, the Florida Keys & the Everglades, Florida, while all the Elvis scenes were done at Universal Studios & Van Nuys, California. GRADE: B-/B

Media

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  • Clambake poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
floridawealthspeedboat