Elvis Presley stars in a rare dramatic role where he plays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family who later goes to college to become a writer in “Wild in the Country.” The King of Rock-and-Roll turns in a good performance and even sings a few songs, something Mr. Presley was known to do from time to time. Unfortunately, the film was a big flop at the box office for producer Jerry Wald and 20th Century Fox.
Director Philip Dunne (“In Love and War” 1958) and screenwriter Clifford Odets worked to insure good production values. This would be the final film for Odets in a career that stretched back to 1930. Co-stars include Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, and Christina Crawford, daughter of Joan Crawford. There were uncredited cameo roles for Jason Robards Sr. and Pat Butram, later well known as Mr. Haney of the CBS sitcom “Green Acres.”
Wild in the Country (1961)
cinema
My Review
Elvis Presley stars in a rare dramatic role where he plays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family who later goes to college to become a writer in “Wild in the Country.” The King of Rock-and-Roll turns in a good performance and even sings a few songs, something Mr. Presley was known to do from time to time. Unfortunately, the film was a big flop at the box office for producer Jerry Wald and 20th Century Fox.
Director Philip Dunne (“In Love and War” 1958) and screenwriter Clifford Odets worked to insure good production values. This would be the final film for Odets in a career that stretched back to 1930. Co-stars include Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, and Christina Crawford, daughter of Joan Crawford. There were uncredited cameo roles for Jason Robards Sr. and Pat Butram, later well known as Mr. Haney of the CBS sitcom “Green Acres.”