User reviews

Having worn the Habit, having gone through similar personal struggles and worked with inner city poverty and issues, I can attest to the accuracy of this movie. Also based on my own experiences, Elvis is also quite believable as the young inner city doctor trying to connect with his patients. It does accurately reflect the turbulence and changes of the 60s, besides being a fun movie. I identified with it, and feel that people who make fun of it don't really deeply understand the issues it's dealing with. I would especially recommend it to those who would like to understand that period better, plus the personal struggles of the inner city.

Although I am not a fan of the legendary Elvis Presley (in music or on screen), I must say that after seeing his 1969 film, "A Change of Habit," I realized his talent as an actor was very underrated. Of course, he was placed in his share of cheezy B-movie musicals, some so terrible that, to quote the King himself, they made him "physically ill." But this film lets Presley perform in a more relaxed atmosphere, without the restrictions of having to have a guitar at his side every second (though he does sing a bit in this film, but not so much that it ruins the drama). The same year, Presley was offered Jon Voight's role in the Academy Award winning "Midnight Cowboy." This film has led me to believe that Elvis may not have been bad at all in that role. --Bud Sturguess, Texas

Elvis last movie, and one that reflects his maturity, since it was released in 1969, when he was thirty four years of age.His first movie was in 1956, when he was 19. The vast difference is evident. The part he plays is an odd but welcome role for him. He gets to do some serious acting for a change. He is not a bad actor in this movie. The social and racial times are reflected through out the movie. The use of the 'N" word is rather shocking, especially when uttered by a small child. The ignorance about the causes and treatment of children with autism, at that time is apparent in the way it is dealt with. Racial stereotypes are pepper through out this production. Still it is worth a look.

I watched CHANGE OF HABIT for the first time on January 8th to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth. It's quite a change of pace for the star, an attempt to mix social commentary with an Elvis musical. It doesn't quite work, largely because the script and the direction, products of the old Hollywood studio mindset, clash with the young performers and the ideas in the story that were clearly in sync with the tenor of the times. Had they gotten a younger, more innovative director, it might have worked. But that can be said about so many of Elvis's movies.

The basic premise is sound. The three nuns in the film played by Mary Tyler Moore, Jane Elliot, and Barbara McNair have clearly defined professional skills and a strong commitment to using them to help the disadvantaged. The women are unquestionably sincere and quite admirable and courageous. Their characters provide the emotional core for the story of a free clinic operating in a multi-ethnic ghetto neighborhood. From a production standpoint, the casting direction and some of the background work offer an authenticity quite rare in a studio product of the time. Despite being shot largely on the Universal Studio backlot (the New York street set), the street life portrayed has a rhythm and level of noise and aggression that wasn't often convincingly captured in studio productions. There are a large number of black and Latino performers in the cast and not a single one of them looks like they stepped out of Central Casting. A cute Puerto Rican actress, Laura Figueroa, plays a 17-year-old street girl who has the hots for Elvis. One of the black militants who confronts Barbara McNair's Sister Irene is played by Ji-Tu Cumbuka, who went on to quite a number of important roles in black-themed films and TV shows (e.g. UP TIGHT, TOP OF THE HEAP, "Roots"). There's even a street fair with a Latin band that resembles events I used to attend in the South Bronx back in the day.

The one significant false note in the casting is the inclusion of two stock old white lady characters (played by Doro Merande and Ruth McDevitt) who stick their heads out of the windows regularly to cluck their disapproval, as if they'd been held over from the Frank Capra road company. Hollywood veteran Regis Toomey (who was actually in a Capra movie, MEET JOHN DOE) is on hand as a grumpy old parish priest who antagonizes the nuns, but, to its credit, the film refuses to soften the character or make him one of those stock Irish priests with a kind word and a useful homily for every situation. Instead, he's presented as a man fearful of his parishioners and clearly out of step with the times. In another interesting casting touch, Ed Asner turns up as an enlightened beat cop who speaks Spanish to the street's residents. Cult favorite Timothy Carey (THE KILLING) plays a surly butcher who regularly cheats the customers.

There are some alarming elements on display, though. In one scene the doctor played by Elvis takes a young autistic girl of about five or six into his arms and manhandles her in a bout of "tough love," urging her to get her "anger" out. To a modern viewer it looks an awful lot like child abuse. (As another comment here points out, this was an attempt to dramatize a now-discredited treatment method called "rage reduction therapy.") At one point, Elvis tries to dissuade the nuns from working in his clinic with a jaw-dropping line that has to be heard to be disbelieved: "The last three nurses who worked here couldn't take it. Two of them were raped, one even against her will." Later, an attempted rape of one of the nuns at knifepoint by a disturbed patient is brushed off quite casually. Maybe they assumed it wasn't "against her will." Also, this has to be the only Elvis film where you hear the words, "faggot," "bitch" and "nigger." (And it was rated "G," to boot!)

While Mary Tyler Moore does an excellent job as Sister Michelle, who is torn between her love for Jesus and her love for Elvis, I can't be so generous in assessing Elvis' performance. He's quite charismatic, despite the inappropriate hairstyle and wardrobe, but he holds back in every scene. With a better script and direction, the role of an embittered Vietnam veteran who carries out his moral obligation to a dead soldier by becoming a doctor to help the poor could have been a breakout performance for the singing star. Instead, Elvis comes in, reads his lines with a minimum of involvement and refuses to express the emotions that the character must surely be feeling. What happened? Why didn't he step up to the plate and knock this one out of the park? He had it in him. Instead, this was his last acting job. All I see now is sad, wasted potential. It hurts.

A sad lament among fans of Elvis Presley is that his handlers (read: Col. Tom Parker) thought so little of him and his talents that they put him in piles of cinematic dung such as "Paradise Hawaiian Style" and turned down movies like "A Star is Born". If you've spent your life watching "Girls Girls Girls" and "Kid Galahad" then seeing a "normal" Elvis sans jumpsuit or guitar or a bevy of bikini-clad babes may jar you.

However, "Change of Habit" is not one of his mindless musicals. It is instead an attempt at a "real" movie, and Elvis fares well. It is odd to see Mary Tyler Moore as his love interest, but it's odd to see her as anything but Laura Petrie to me anyway. A little better script, maybe a different actress as his foil, and "Change of Habit" would have been a better movie. But when you compare it to "Clambake" ....well.....that's not really fair is it?

In his last movie, Elvis takes on a more `serious' role as a ghetto doctor who helps out the poor in a free clinic. The Catholic Action Committee considers his work valuable, so they send him some nurses to help out – but they don't tell him that his nurses are nuns! Apparently these sisters feel they can really `reach' the people better if nobody knows their status, including their employer. This, of course leads to all kinds of comedic opportunities, romantic entanglements and melodramatic soul-searching as our ladies confront the real world they have forsaken.

Although this is certainly an Elvis movie – complete with needless song & dance routines and women fawning helplessly at The King's feet – the main character is the lead nun, played by Mary Tyler Moore. Naturally, she is the woman Elvis falls for, and poor Mary must fend off his advances as she wrestles with her own feelings for the good doctor. The other two nuns get a fair amount of screen time; one is black and must face criticism of being an `oreo' from local Black Panther types (who are, at least, sympathetically portrayed) the other finds herself drawn toward social activism and is given many Hail Marys for finding Elvis attractive.

One thing I'm really not clear about is the relationship between this movie and the `Mary Tyler Moore Show.' Ed Asner, Mary's future boss, appears as a left-leaning `nice' policeman. One of my video guides mentions the show as being a spinoff of this film, but I don't recall Mary being an undercover nun! Maybe it's been too many years…

One very disturbing aspect of the film is a scene that celebrates `Rage Reduction Therapy' (also known as `Holding Therapy'), a controversial treatment for Autistic children. It is based upon the idea that Autism is a form of `acting out' for children who, for whatever reason, carry a lot of anger inside of them and cannot feel normal love. The treatment is for someone (in some cases a parent, in others the doctor) to hold the child and assure her that she is loved while she rages, yells, kicks, cries, etc. Somehow, after the trauma ends, the child is supposed to open up and want to communicate in a normal manner. The whole thing is just as disturbing to watch as it is to imagine, but somehow it works – for Elvis, anyway. Somehow I suspect that if it had been this successful in the ‘70's, we wouldn't be facing the current epidemic of autism.

Ultimately, I would recommend this film to Elvis completists, Mary Tyler Moore fans and lovers of late 60's cheese only. It is fun, in a way, and safe for the kiddies (although some of the social issues dealt with may be a bit mature for the very small), but certainly no `Girl Happy.'

This movie is dated in a lot of ways, and not so dated in others. The fact that it was made at the end of the 60's comes out not only in the topics, but the way the movie was made, using modern (for the time--but maybe outdated for movies now) sets, filming techniques, and even story lines. Still, we see here that Elvis was an outstanding actor. It was not hard to think he was anything other than the character he played in this movie. I also have to add that he looks extremely cool in this movie!

The part that really shines in this movie is the last 20 minutes. The complicated love between Elvis' and Mary Tyler Moore's characters is NOT outdated at all. This part of the movie is played out really well. On top of this, finding out the destinies of the other sisters will leave us as viewers with a lasting impression.

Elvis Presley's 31st and last film at least tries to go into different territory as he plays a doctor working in a free clinic (!) working to help underprivileged people in the ghetto. Mary Tyler Moore is one of three nuns (her friends are singer Barbara McNair and newcomer Jane Elliot) who decide to forsake their traditional catholic garb and dress conventionally in order to go "undercover" as normal women to assist Presley in his cause. Understandably, this sets up the opportunity for them to get into all kinds of trouble in the hood, not the least of which is that Mary begins to fall for Dr. Elvis and must decide between Jesus or The King.

Presley only sings a few songs in this one, the best of which is the very bouncy "Rubberneckin' ", which I believe was revamped decades later to become a popular song all over again. Many people laugh at the idea of Moore as a Sister, but it works for me. Elvis' performance varies from time to time between rusty and competent, and at times I could accept him as a kind-hearted young doctor. It's refreshing to get something outside the usual Presley formula at this stage of his career, and the movie deals with social issues that were relevant at the time, though come off as rather stereotypical and politically incorrect when viewed today (and so what, the movie occurs in 1969). Some things are far-fetched -- did you know you could cure an autistic child by just holding her while she kicks and screams in rage, all the while assuring her "I love you"...? Even so, it's a strong scene in the film. Ed Asner, who would later star along with Mary in the classic "Mary Tyler Moore Show", has some scenes near the end as a policeman. **1/2 out of ****

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.

'Change of Habit' was one of his last films, well his last proper film not counting his 1970s documentary films. He has certainly done much better, that have been cited numerous times in my previous Elvis film reviews, but for a later Elvis effort it's not bad, faring significantly better than most later-period films of his where one can really understand why they are so disliked.

There are flaws certainly. The script is very weak, the humour can be unfunny (apart from some sporadically amusing moments) and it often feels tired and stilted, parts are tastelessly questionable too. The story has some intriguing elements, but it can be a case of trying to do too much and not knowing what to do with it or who to target it towards. The songs are few, and other than catchy "Rubberneckin" they are not memorable or particularly great and the music score can be unfitting. The film also feels too unresolved at the end.

However, 'Change of Habit' is better looking than many of the later Elvis films made on the cheap, it's nicely photographed. The story is a more serious and darker change of pace for Elvis, isn't dull and there are some very intriguing elements that are quite daring for an Elvis film.

Regarding Elvis himself, he looks and sounds great, looks involved and has a relaxed confidence. Mary Tyler matches him well, and the supporting cast are excellent. The direction is competent enough if at times not particularly distinguished.

In summary, a mixed bag but watchable enough. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Elvis Presley made his last acting appearance in this film, playing a doctor opposite nun, Mary Tyler Moore. The story revolves around 3 nuns abandoning their habits, and adopting 'street clothes' to work as nurses in a ghetto practise run by Dr.John Carpenter (Elvis). There are some good scenes where Elvis is allowed to show some acting skills for which he was never really appreciated, mostly due to the woeful scripts he endured during his acting career. On the few occasions that he was given good material, his acting talents shone through. (Most notably in King Creole).

At this point in Elvis' career it is obvious that he was relishing completing his 10 year film contract as he had become completely disillusioned with the film industry and the bad material he had been given for the best part of 6 years.

The good moments in this film only emphasise the disappointment that Elvis' film career did not reach it's full potential, and we can only ponder what might have happened had he accepted roles in films such as Midnight Cowboy or A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand, both of which were offered to him.

Believe it or not, this flick starts off with a three nun strip-tease (of sorts). Very provocative.

Some decent Elvis songs, a pretty young MTM, a good performance from the supporting cast, and an amusing and well-acted brief appearance by Ed Asner as a liberal police officer, combine to address (albeit superficially) a number of important socio-economic, racial, sexist, and religious issues, to name but a few.

Even though this movie tackles some serious subjects, it does so in a light and entertaining fashion, infused with some enjoyable songs. I didn't expect to enjoy this movie as much as I did.

Poor Elvis. He was advised to do Midnight Cowboy, Barbra wanted him for A Star is Born - but thanks to the Colonel, his last screen appearance was Change of Habit, so he could complete his contract with the studio. Elvis, it seems, lost a bet with the devil.

Actually, the film is quite pleasant with a familiar and competent cast. Mary Tyler Moore comes off the worst -- we know she's an excellent actress but this role is impossible - eyes heavenward, she resists Elvis' advances as she has her Crisis of Faith. Great to see a young Jane Elliot before her soap opera days.

Elvis does fine, he always does. He looks good and sounds great. And as much as this film has been made fun of, it has more dignity than Harem Scarum or some of the others. What a shame - Elvis had more acting talent than was ever mined, and, had he been challenged, would have lived up to it.

I have to say I enjoyed this movie. Maybe it was because my expectations were low due to the rating on here but I thought the story was fine, acting was was OK and there were minimal songs and the ones in it are classic! gotta love the Rubberneckin sequence.

This was a welcome departure from the formula movies. It has some very serious social topics.

Mary Tyler Moore is the actual main character with Elvis giving a great supporting role.

I am not sure Elvis was so convincing as a doctor but I thought it does give a glimpse of a more mature acting Elvis that may have developed if he continued with movies.

Change of Habit (1969)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis Presley) works in the ghetto helping poor people. One day Michelle (Mary Tyler Moore) and two other women come to help him and soon they are making great strides. John eventually begins to fall for Michelle but what he doesn't know is that the three ladies are actually nuns.

CHANGE OF HABIT would turn out to be the final picture from Elvis and boy is it a strange one. I must admit that I really admire the rock legend for trying something different and this picture is certainly very different than any of his previous movies. With that said, this here also has to have one of the worst screenplays to any of his films and the end result is somewhat of a disaster.

Perhaps disaster is too strong of a word but I'm not sure what else to call it. This isn't your typical Elvis movie and it goes as far to try and tackle serious issues like rape, racism, autism and various other issues dealing with the poor. The only problem is that the screenplay is so over-the-top and all over the place that you can't take too much of it serious. There are so many subplots here that the film can never focus on one thing and that's what makes it so uneven. Just take a look at the stuff dealing with "The Banker" as a perfect example. Even worse is the fact that the story doesn't have a single original idea going for it.

I was shocked to see how good Elvis was here and it's really sad that the material wasn't better. I actually thought he managed to turn in a fine performance and he handled the drama quite well and he was even believable in the role of a doctor. Mary Tyler Moore is also good in the role but there's no question that the screenplay didn't do her any favors. The supporting players are nice as well and we even get the likes of Edward Asner, Regis Toomey and Richard Carlson in small roles.

There are a couple musical numbers but there's no question that none of them are among the singer's best, although the title track is a good one. You'd think that "In the Ghetto" could have been added somewhere for a much better impact but it's not here. Again, the screenplay to this film makes it a complete train wreck but fans of Elvis will want to watch this for his performance.

This last outing for Presley was his last attempt at making a drama. Presley fans over the years made it perfectly clear they did not want an "actor" named Elvis, they only wanted Elvis the "singer." Elvis obviously just goes through the motions to get this film over and onto bigger and better things such as future live performances. Elvis styles a new non-greaser looking hairdo and sings a couple of songs to make up for the bad acting performance. Mary Tyler Moore supports the cast with her usual "good girl" type character and keeps the film staying within the "Presley" film expectations.This last Elvis try was a flop and the least amount mentioned of it the better.

Three nuns eschew their habits and move to the inner city in an attempt to make a difference. They join the staff of Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis Presley)---an unorthodox practitioner who engages his community on a personal level. The doctor becomes interested in Sister Michelle (Mary Tyler Moore). Together, they tackle some difficult cases involving psychological issues.

Presley gets to spread his acting wings in this performance. Though he does sing, his character is not a hip shaker or a brawler. His performance is credible, leaving one to wonder what he might have done if he had continued acting.

Unlike earlier films featuring Elvis Presley that involve mostly singing, partying, playing the hero, and getting the girl, he actually plays more serious roles here. Nevertheless, this movie is underrated. At the time it was released, the film was probably used as a social-political instrument for change but watching it now refreshingly brings the audience back to a time when people thought things differently and society was going through tumultuous social changes. This film captures the full spirit of its time and really sets the stage for the dawn of the 1970's. It is also a surprise that so many reviewers do not mention much about this side of the film as it probably was the intention of its directors.

31 movies, and Elvis' film career ends with what is probably his most serious role. He might have made a really good actor, had he the chance. Instead, we get all those picture where he starts singing every five minutes.

Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair and Jane Elliot play nuns that were sent to the streets to do some 60s style social work, and, in a couple of cases, some social justice. They tried it undercover at first, but then had to put their habits back on. As you would expect, they did make a difference, as nuns have made a difference all over the world.

This was Elliot's first movie and she went on from here to a long career as a soap star.

Seeing Edward Asner play a soft cop was really funny.

It's simplistic, but it was fun to watch, even if it makes you wonder if Elvis could have been a contender.

Three nuns--Sister Michelle (Mary Tyler Morore), Irene (Barbara McNair) and Barbara (Jane Elliot)--dress up in everyday clothes and go to work at a free clinic in a terrible part of the city run by Dr. John Capenter (Elvis Presley). He doesn't know they're nuns and falls in love with Moore pretty quickly.

This is a terrible movie--no two ways about it. The script is just pathetic--full of unfunny "humor", tired "hip" dialogue and insultingly dated social issues. Poor Elliot has the worst lines but she does wonders with them. Presley sings only four songs (none are bad but not memorable either) and his acting is LOUSY. No surprise that this was his last feature film. Moore and McNair are very good in their roles. Also there's an atrocious overdose of sexist lines, more than a few swipes at the Catholic church and questionable ways to deal with kids. One little girl is autistic so Presley and Moore hold her down, order her to be mad and while she screams and tries to get away they tell her they love her! This borders of child abuse! But hey it's OK cause--get this!--it CURES HER AUTISM!!! That part almost had me heaving the TV out the window:) The big question is can will Moore leave the order to join Elvis or not? Guess who wins? Well--the movie doesn't tell you! They leave it hanging! So it's lousy but it worked in a good/bad way:)

Look for future MTM costar Edward Asner in a small role as a cop and 1950s star Richard Carlson as a bishop.

A hip, young Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis Presley) comes to a bad neighborhood slum to manage a clinic. He hires three nurses, unknowing that they are nuns in plain clothes. One of the nurses (Mary Tyler Moore), falls in love with the guitar playing doctor and has to make up her mind to stay with him or go back to the church. This is Presley's last scripted movie and probably never looked better. Four songs make up the soundtrack featuring the million seller "Rubberneckin'". Also in the cast are Jane Elliot, Barbara McNair, Robert Emhart and Ed Asner. Great for repeat viewing.

Change Of Habit marked the farewell big screen performance of Elvis Presley who plays a doctor practicing medicine in a ghetto clinic who gets the help of three new female aides at his practice. Mary Tyler Moore, Jane Elliott, and Barbara McNair are his new help and they're all quite beautiful. And they're all quite committed to being nuns.

I can understand the need for the idea that the women be accepted for themselves first, but why keep it a secret from Presley? And of course Elvis starts getting romantic notions about Mary and can't understand why she keeps putting him off. The answer is there would really be no movie.

Despite the silly premise Change Of Habit was a good film for Presley to end his screen career. The latter half of his output of films were distinctly inferior to the first half, but this one broke a trend. And it also gave him a late career hit with Rubbernecking. One thing about those latter films, the good songs had pretty much dried up, this was a pleasant exception.

As he did with all of Elvis's movies, Colonel Tom Parker provided him with a fine supporting cast with folks like Regis Toomey as the local parish priest, Richard Carlson as the bishop, Ed Asner as a police lieutenant and Robert Emhardt as the neighborhood loan shark, known to one and all as 'the banker'.

I cannot forget Doro Merande and Ruth McDivitt as a pair of old biddies who provide a Greek Chorus commentary on the comings and goings of everybody in the neighborhood. Dana Carvey must have seen this film and was inspired to create his Church Lady character on SNL.

All and all a really good film for Elvis to have ended his big screen career with.