Blondes, brunes et rousses

Enjoyed this Elvis Presley film where he plays the role as Mike Edwards who is down on his luck and meets up with a sweet little girl named Sue-Lin, (Vicky Tiu) who likes Mike and he agrees to watch her while her uncle takes care of his business affairs. Mike takes Sue-Lin to the Seattle World's Fair and they take in all the rides and Sue-Lin also wins a huge doll which is larger than she is. Mike buys Sue all kinds of food at the fair and she gets sick and is taken to a hospital where Mike runs into a very attractive blonde nurse, Diane Warren, (Joan O'Brien) who puts the make on her and Diane quickly brushes Mike off. Elvis performs various songs which were not very popular and this was not necessarily a great Presley film, but the story was very cute and if you missed the Seattle World's Fair, you will enjoy all the photography taken at the fair.

Taking advantage of the Seattle World's Fair, frequent Presley director Norman Taurog does his best to spice up an otherwise routine programmer in which Elvis ends up the reluctant guardian of a cute little girl who has been separated from her folks. Chief among the delights that transcend the vanilla flavor of the picture is a scene between The King and scorching supernova Yvonne Craig in which the former croons the tune "Relax" while the latter deftly evades his prowling lips and paws. The mercury reaches the boiling point in record time, and fans of the gorgeous Craig will be transformed into Tex Avery's wolf, whistling vigorously, stomping on the floor, and bashing themselves repeatedly in the head with a large mallet.

ELVIS PRESLEY gets to sing several non-memorable songs, the best of which is "One Broken Heart for Sale", but IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR is strictly standard Presley stuff wherein the guy has his eye on a pretty gal (JOAN O'BRIEN) and makes a pitch, the sort that turns her off at first. Predictably, after a few misunderstandings involving a small girl abandoned at the fair, a happy ending is soon in sight.

The music by Leith Stevens is pleasant enough and the fair grounds at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair make colorful backgrounds for the slight story. GARY LOCKWOOD is Elvis' pilot pal, both of them down on their luck but seeming to spend plenty of money on the fair and decent lodgings. The sub-plot involving both bachelors entrusted with the care of a seven year-old by a complete stranger is more than a little improbable, especially given today's public awareness of children being taken advantage of by adults with criminal behavior.

Presley shares some effective scenes with the little girl but has his standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl" routine with leading lady O'Brien, a pert blonde who plays a nurse who suspects him of feigning illness as a part of his wolf routine. Naturally, the little girl is responsible for bringing them together again after a few silly misunderstandings keep them apart.

Nothing special, but passes the time pleasantly whenever Elvis sings, which is pretty often.

As someone else mentioned, 1963 is still early enough that Elvis Presley looks like he's enjoying himself in "It Happened at the World's Fair," which also stars Gary Lockwood, Joan O'Brien and Vicky Tiu. Pilots Mike (Elvis) and Danny (Lockwood) find themselves without a plane after it's confiscated for debts due to Lockwood's addiction to gambling. They hitch a ride to Seattle with a man and his 7-year-old niece Sue-Lin (Tiu), and Mike ends up taking the little girl to the 1962 World's Fair. When she eats too much junk, he takes her to the clinic, where he meets Diane Warren (Joan O'Brien), a nurse. He comes on a little strong - so strong, I'm surprised she didn't call security. In order to see her again, he gives a little boy (Kurt Russell) a quarter to kick him in the shins.

After he return Sue-Lin to her uncle, she finds Mike again when her uncle doesn't come home from making a delivery. Mike now has to cope with a not very helpful partner, trying to think of a way to get his plane back, romancing Diane and taking care of a 7-year-old girl.

This is the usual Elvis travelogue, but more interesting than others because it's shot on the grounds of the Seattle World's Fair and has that iconic moment when future brilliant Elvis impersonator Russell lets him have it in the shins. Elvis looks great and as usual sings beautifully. The music is pretty good. This wasn't the film career Elvis wanted but unfortunately for his ambitions, these films made money. Enjoyable.

The 1962 World's Fair is the eye filling backdrop for this typical Elvis Presley project. Elvis and his flying buddy (Gary Lockwood) have their plane confiscated. Trouble occurs with involvement with gamblers and gangsters. Elvis befriends a little 7 year old girl that wants to go to the fair. Elvis uses the girl and a little boy (Kurt Russell) to aid him in romancing the infirmary nurse (Joan O'Brian). Ten light and whimsical tunes make up a pleasant soundtrack featuring "One Broken Heart For Sale". A small scene with Yvonne Craig could scorch a ten ton block of ice. This may be the hardest of the Elvis movies to find on home video. Worth seeing!