Avventura in oriente

With a couple of exceptions any Elvis Presley movie was merely a vehicle to display his singing talent. Movie executives thought that because he was such a colossal pop-star that any movie they put him in, no matter how trashy, was bound to sell. They were right, of course, & Elvis fans watched his movies in their droves. Harum Scarum is definitely one of his worst & pure hokum. It is so bad that it has the distinction of being listed in John Wilson's book of "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made". It definitely fits into the "so bad that it's good" category of movie. It is enjoyable mainly because it is so utterly nonsensical & because, for us lads anyway, it showcases a number of gorgeous hot babes. Former beauty queen Mary Ann Mobley (who sadly died last December 9 aged 77) plays Princess Shalimar. Her talents as an actress are hardly called upon at all so she doesn't have much to do except look gorgeous & she never had any problem doing that. Pretty much the same goes for Fran Jeffries playing Aishah. It also contains a very enjoyable Arabian dance routine done by three more glamorous ladies played by Wilda Taylor (Amethyst), Gail Gilmore (Sapphire) & Brenda Benet (Emerald).