Dave from Ottawa
Most of the movies Elvis made for director Norman Taurog of MGM from '65-'68 have little to recommend them and this is a prime example / offender. Elvis plays a NASCAR driver with unpaid taxes and Nancy Sinatra is his IRS watchdog / love interest. There is a big race coming up. No points for guessing the rest. Yawn. There is a decent song and dance number set in the waiting room at the IRS building (really!!) and some very good racing action. NASCAR stars such as Buddy Baker and Richard Petty did the driving and it looks very real, at least until we see Elvis in close up in front of an obvious rear projection screen. Man, I hate those things. Elvis and Nancy have about 5% of the on-screen chemistry Elvis and Ann- Margret had in Viva Las Vegas and the songs are about 5% as good. Watch that one instead. It's even about racing, too, but road racing rather than NASCAR, so I guess this one is supposed to be different... Not awful, really, but about as formulaic, derivative and forgettable as Elvis' movie output ever got.
tdk72
Strengths: Elvis Presley and Bill Bixby turn in stellar performances.Weaknesses: Script and Nancy Sinatra My thoughts: Elvis is magical on the screen as always and I thought Bixby turned in a great performance too. I was only put off by the lousy acting of Nancy Sinatra who seemed annoyed with even being in the film if you ask me. The script was not the best and thus the movie was a little quirky without a clear plot. It does seem as though the whole movie was centered around throwing a few big names in the pot with an average script and expecting phenomenal results. No matter as the movie is easily carried by Elvis. he is as charismatic as ever and even with the lousy script turns the movie into an entertaining venue. You just have to love Elvis to enjoy the movie and fans everywhere will. I recently watched this movie again from my library and was thoroughly entertained.
yelserp
When Elvis filmed 'Speedway' in June of 1967 it was a time of change. He had been married just over a month, Priscilla was pregnant with Lisa-Marie and this film would be his biggest hit since 1965.Elvis looked great, had a leading lady of star quality but mostly he seemed to find joy in making movies again. The rapport with Bill Bixby (sadly lost on 'Clambake') is excellent and their banters and on screen one-up-manship make for some delightful exchanges.The title track is sung with gusto while 'Let Yourself Go' and 'Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby' are other stand-out tracks.A year later in the June of 1968 history would be made when Elvis once again entered a stage for the first time in 7 years to record his TV special for NBC now affectionately known as 'the Comeback'.Andy
dannyrm
This is one of my favorite Elvis movies. I don't really like auto racing and I didn't care for Nancy Sinatra, but what I did like is the relationship and chemistry between Elvis and Bill Bixby. It's the closest thing to a buddy movie that Elvis made. As far as romance, there are other Elvis movies that are much better, particularly Viva Las Vegas.
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