deke-rivers-1957 - Tumblr blog

deke-rivers-1957 · 5 days

Text

Kung Fu Elvis Part 3

youtube

If you're new to this series, the point of this is to find out which Elvis character is the best fighter given an uninterrupted hand to hand combat styled fight. The goal is to rank each individual Elvis character and then within each tier determine who would win against who.

How I plan on determining this will be by finding each character's age, size and general background. How well a character does in on screen fights will also be considered but analyzed on a case by case basis. Sometimes an Elvis character loses a fight simply because it's a comedy, or due to the low quality stage fighting wins because his opponents are laughably weak.

At the end of the day this is all headcanon as these are all fictional characters. If you disagree with how I rank a character I would love to hear your thoughts on where you would put them.

Wild in the Country is a movie that doesn't have a particular year. You would have to use the cars seen in the movie to determine when it takes place. Despite the presence of cars from the 40s, you also see a 1961 Chrysler New Yorker. Culturally speaking, you can also tell this is the early 1960s as you have Glenn going to therapy instead of immediately being institutionalized, a black man working with a white attorney showing the progression away from segregation, and college being a somewhat viable option with attendance steadily increasing since 1957. Given that Glenn doesn't have much of a job and has a rough and tumble backstory, it's likely that he isn't getting a full three square meals a day.

Even though I said on some sources, Glenn is stated to be 25, I could see someone make the argument that he's younger. Since no one claimed that he was a bit "too old" to be a college student, I'd say he's about 20/21 years old. Glenn being drunk is a non-issue because I don't see this town as being the type to care about enforcing drinking laws. In fact, Glenn's dad is an alcoholic and his uncle has it readily available which would make it more likely for Glenn to have drank before he turned 21.

Kissin Cousins relies heavily on the US military wanting land to build an airbase for the sake of national defense. Given that the Cuban Missile Crisis would serve as a big motivator to have a solidified air defense, we can assume this movie takes place a little after October 1962. Josh is an Air Force pilot and since he doesn't have anything on his uniform to suggest he was involved in a war or military intervention, it's fair to say that he's been living comfortably yet still has to be at least somewhat fit. Jodie meanwhile has been living up in the mountains his whole life where everyone lives off the land, so there isn't a lot of room to take in an excessive amount of calories. That also means, given his lifestyle and his work as a wrestler, Jodie by necessity has to stay in shape.

Going off of Josh's rank as a 2nd LT. I would say that he's anywhere between 25-30 years old. He never mentions being involved in Korea so that would make him under 30 in 1963. Given that there's no war, it takes a little longer to be promoted so even if Josh went to the academy and graduated, he'd still need a couple more years to be a commissioned officer. If you're in the Air Force, please correct me on how this worked during the 60s. As for Jodie, I have nothing to go off of. We don't have anything in mountain life that's age based. We can only assume that since Jodie is played by Elvis, he's at least an adult. For simplicity's sake, I'd say he's about the same age as Josh.

Despite having a somewhat specific timeline, Kid Galahad doesn't have a specific date. What we can assume is that it's after the 1920s since a poster of the real Jack Dempsey fight from 1921 is shown to be really old. Since the movie was filmed in 1961, I wouldn't be surprised if it was thrown in to a be 40th anniversary nod to it. Given that we see a contemporary Lincoln Continental, I would think this takes place throughout 1961. Mushy Callahan exists in this movie's universe is shown to be an older man, indicating that this takes place well after his prime since he retired in the 1930s. Walter being stationed in Okinawa for the army doesn't really give you a specific clue of when it takes place since the US had a persistent military presence in Japan after their surrender in WWII. Walter never mentions a war though, so we can assume that this takes place after Korea yet before the US sent group troops to Vietnam in 1965. We can assume that him being a soldier and a mechanic meant that he's relatively strong and fit.

Walter only has a canonical baptism date of August 14th 1939 in Cream Valley, New York. Given the context clue of his parents dying when he was 14 months old and that he lived with his family in Kentucky since then, we would assume he was baptized before they died. He was baptized by an Irish Catholic priest if he was allowed to marry Rose, an Irish Catholic so that means his parents likely abided by Catholic guidelines that a healthy baby is baptized within a few weeks or months of birth. Therefore, I would assume he was born in 1939 which in 1961 would make him about 22 years old.

This movie is about as specific as you can get with the time period. The Seattle World's Fair only lasts 6 months from April to October, 1962. We also know that Mike and Danny fly over a potato field. Potatoes can have a variety of planting and harvesting times, but it's common for them to be harvested in August or September. Since the fair isn't overflowing with kids, we can assume most schools have already opened. Sue-Lin's 7 years old so she's old enough to go to school, yet she's able to attend. If we assume that Mr. Ling was saving up money to take Sue-Lin to the fair, he would've had to have been saving money throughout the summer so he can take Sue-Lin right before her schooling starts, so we can assume that this takes place in either August or September, 1962. Mike being a recently destitute crop duster, likely had enough money to eat properly. He would also have to be fit enough to have any chance at becoming a test pilot or an astronaut.

We don't Mike's exact age, but we can make a guess based on certain elements of his life. If he wants to apply to NASA he has to be below the age of 35, have a degree in most commonly engineering, etc. Mike doesn't feel concerned about the age requirement so we assume that he has a few years to wait. We know Mike was in the Army for 3 years and that it takes about 4 years to get a degree in engineering. If we assume Mike did meet that requirement, he likely did it right after he left the Army using his VA benefits. Since the youngest you can be to join the Army is 18, Mike at his youngest finished his degree when he was 25. Since he worked with Danny as a crop duster for 3 years that would make him at least 28. So for simplicity's sake we'll stick with him being 28 years old.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Glenn might have an age advantage, but he's not at all in a good position to be the best fighter. He's a hot-headed character when he fights and only fought people who were impaired to some degree. He seems to win because of adrenaline and luck. He's similar to Deke from part 1 in that his ability to get proper nutrition is questionable at the very least. Given that he's the young, scrappy and hungry character I don't see him being able to have a long fight. If fact, I can see him being completely unable to win a planned fight. With no motivation to fight as his life isn't on the line, he just wouldn't do that well.

Therefore, Glenn is the worst fighter of this group but that's not an insult. With the exception of Jodie, everyone else has military training. Glenn is still in B tier simply because for the average person, he could beat them in a fight. He just wouldn't stand a chance against the other fighters in this group.

Josh and Jodie only fight each other. No one won because Azalea and Selena interrupted their fight. If you look at this realistically though, I don't see this as an even match. Josh having military training doesn't really help him if he was in a fight. He's an Air Force pilot so he's very unlikely to face someone one on one. Also he would have a gun which doesn't reflect your physical abilities. Jodie is essentially the strongest man in the whole mountain village. You can't live in the mountains your whole life, with no contact to the outside world, and not develop any type of muscle. The only gun they have is a hunting rifle, so must confrontations likely are settled through physical force. That gives Jodie a lot more experience with physical combat.

Therefore, Josh would be in B tier but above Glenn. Josh in general is more physically fit than Glenn. Simply having better nutrition by being in the Air Force would give Josh more energy. Glenn having the age advantage doesn't help him since he wouldn't have the stamina from lack of nourishment. Jodie on the other hand would be in A tier. Brute strength would be enough to win against the average person which Josh basically is. If you take him being a champion wrestler seriously, I don't see how Jodie could realistically lose against someone like Josh in a purely physical fight. I can't rank him higher because even this is based purely on what I think should happen. The movie just doesn't give us enough to know for sure.

Walter won every single fight, won against professional opponents, and won against opponents despite being unarmed. Even in the beginning when he had no technique, he still won his practice match against Joey with one punch. As a professional boxer, he's nothing but physically fit. You know that his camp is going to give him nothing but the best. We see him train and even when he's not training he's working with a heavy duty Model T.

Walter is easily the best fighter of this group. A character like Walter is the reason why this project exists. He is what this project is about: finding the best fighter in the ECU in a hand to hand combat, alone, and uninterrupted. Definitely an S tier fighter as he has direct boxing training, has an age advantage, and has never gotten out of shape. The only thing I question is how realistic it is for him to not get knocked out after being punched. The movie is making it sound as if this is some bizarre ability that I simply don't know if it could even exist in real life. I would still put him ahead of Jodie because if we do believe that Walter's ability to not get knocked out is a legit thing that can happen, then Jodie's brute strength is useless. It would be an insanely entertaining match since you just know that Jodie would be fueled by his hatred for losing.

Mike has only won fights that don't fit my proper criteria. I really think he can win on his own but the movie simply doesn't depict the fights like that. Then again, these are more akin to street fights where things aren't always fair. Adrenaline might play a big role in his fight against Vince, but again Mike being able to maintain a certain level of technique is a sign of skill.

Mike. E is in A tier and I can see him winning some good fights. Despite being a crop duster pilot, Mike being in the Army does give him an advantage. He has to have a bunch of stamina and it shows with him being able to run all over Seattle and still manage to fight Vince. However, without any official solo fights, I can't give him the edge over Jodie. If Jodie being the champion wrestler is a fact, then he would have more canonical solo wins than Mike.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To summarize for this part:

Walter is in S tier.

Jodie is in A tier.

Mike E. is in A tier but below Jodie.

Josh is in B tier.

Glenn is in B tier but below Josh.

Tagging: @karel-in-wonderland, @crash-and-cure, @lynettethemadscientist, @leighpc, @alienelvisobsession, @seredelgi, @southcarolinawoman, @arrolyn1114, @ash-omalley, @snicks-12, @freudianslumber, @be-my-ally, @xanatenshi @vintagepresley, @peaceloveelvis, @tupelomiss, @peskybedtime, @squaggleson, @idk583838, @mercsandmonsters, @smokeymountainboy and @lookingforrainbows.

#wild in the country #kissin cousins #kid galahad #it happened at the world's fair #glenn tyler #josh morgan #jodie tatum #walter gulick #mike edwards #kung fu elvis #ecu discussion #Youtube

2 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 7 days

Text

Mike Edwards Rank

Disclaimer: For my tier list I’m basing this off of a one on one fight with no weapons and no outside interference. If a character has to rely on a weapon they’re ranked lower. If a character has to fight more than one person at a time, I’d look at it on a case by case basis. Age, size and general background are factors that will be taken into consideration. Since a lot of those details are going to be up to interpretation as these are characters and not real people, feel free to share your own thoughts.

It Happened at the World's Fair takes place in 1962. The Seattle World's Fair is a very specific event. Since we do see some kids there and we see Mike fly over a sweet potato field, I would say this is about late spring, early summer 1962. This corresponds to when NASA was accepting applications for their 2nd group of astronauts as we see their booth at the end of the movie. If he wants to be a test pilot or even an astronaut, he would have to be in exceptionally great shape.

We don't know Mike's exact age, but there are different clues that gives us an idea on how old he is. Since the NASA criteria for 1962 required applicants to be under 35, we know Mike would have to be younger than that by at least a couple years. We also know that he was in the army for three years, making him a minimum of 21 when he left. However, since Danny mentions betting over the course of 10 years, it's more realistic to believe that Mike is about 27-28 years old.

We get our first fight scene where Mike has to fight multiple people. As much as he does get points for winning a more realistic fight, he did get help from Danny. This does give him extra points but not as many if he had fought all of them by himself.

There is a physical confrontation between Mike and the security guards. However, I can't give points to Mike because shoving someone without having full use of your hands isn't a fighting move. It'd be no different than Mike carrying Sue-Lin through a turn-stile.

This is the only other fight in the movie, but it still shows what Mike's capable of. While he did get help from Sue-Lin and Danny, he still won his fight against Vince. While you can argue that the adrenaline rush he had from finding Sue-Lin gives him an unfair advantage, I'll argue that adrenaline doesn't equal a sudden improvement on technique. If anything adrenaline is more likely to result in sloppy technique because adrenaline is meant to increase your chances of survival as opposed to winning a calculated fight. Mike being able to have a consistent fighting style despite the adrenaline rush, is a sign of an above average skill.

Mike certainly shows promise to be physically fit enough to be an astronaut. Given how much he's had to run just to find, Sue-Lin and still have the energy to fight is something the average person likely can't do. His fights are also very realistic since it's very ugly. The fact that he still wins is a sign that he has at least some technique.

The only thing I question is his ability to win on his own. Mike had outside assistance in both fights, so it doesn't represent what he could do on a fully one on one fight. Therefore, I would put him either in bottom A or high B tier. He would most likely win against the average person, but he could also beat some professional fighters if everything goes right. Since it's a big if, I can't put him fully in A tier.

An: Thank you @arrolyn1114 for talking through some of this with me.

#it happened at the world's fair #mike edwards #kung fu elvis tidbit #elvis tier list

2 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 9 days

Text

It Happened at the World's Fair Review

It Happened at the World's Fair expands on what was introduced in Girls! Girls! Girls! (which came out after World's Fair filming started). Taking inspiration from Blue Hawaii, this set of movies are music heavy, have colorful scenery and involve Elvis having to work with child actors. The scenery in this case is the real life world's fair. The 1962 World's Fair in Seattle opened in April and closed in October. With a very limited timeline, it was very important that the movie comes out before the novelty of the fair is gone.

Because this is an actively operating fair, there were many issues involving crowd control. It's a major reason why filming didn't even start in September when most children started school. Naturally, this posed a problem because this meant despite making the movie as fast as possible, it still came out in April 1963 (6 months after the fair closed). Despite the logistical issues, does this movie capture the beauty of the World's Fair while balancing its plot, or does it take a complete nose dive because of the rushed production? Let's find out.

To start with, I'm not a big fan of the title. I get you need to highlight the World's Fair but it's a bit clunky. Might I suggest "World's Fair Wonders"? This opening song is forgettable. "Beyond the Bend" sounds like a rejected version of "Ridin' the Rainbow" from Kid Galahad. Since those two songs have the same songwriters, I get the idea that they repeat melodies to make up for the extra songs. After all Kid Galahad (at the time the last movie the songwriters worked on) only had 6 songs while this movie now has 10.

Elvis singing while flying a crop duster feels dangerous since it's obvious he's distracted. He looks goofy wearing those goggles and just seems out of place. We immediately get jokes with Elvis being a pilot claiming he can't see the barn. It's a joke as old as the Three Stooges. Elvis is so irresponsible that he flies the plane practically next to the road just to flirt with some girls. They almost crash into some telephone wires and I wonder if Paradise, Hawaiian Style was inspired by this scene when they did the helicopter scene with the dogs.

Surprisingly for a cliche womanizer, Mike is financially responsible. It isn't much but it does give him some depth. Given how he almost crashed the plane because he was distracted by women, it's impressive that he that it's not his entire character. As to why he doesn't take the money with him, I have no idea. I guess you have to assume that Mike doesn't know Danny had access to his hiding place.

So he goes to meet one of his girlfriends, Dorothy, who we never see again. They're making out on the couch while Dorothy wants to push away to get some iced tea. But Mike insists on keeping the action going. I know out of context "Relax" is a steamy song, but I wonder if it was intentional to make Mike so pushy. Because he's always touching Dorothy while she pushes him away and does everything she can to get away from him. He pulls stuff out of her hands and it's just creepy.

Her parents come back and I'm very confused on why Dorothy's dad is so upset. Unless we're assuming that they have never met Mike in their entire lives, it's very strange to react like that. At least seeing Mike run for the hills gives us a little chuckle as if to say "yeah he had it coming". The whole scene is just random as we didn't need to emphasize that Mike's a womanizer. The opening scene already tells us that he's a flirt. Since Dorothy doesn't even come back, it just feels like a scene where you go "ok that happened" as it came and went without adding anything.

Mike somehow catches up with a now broke Danny. After multiple bad hands, Danny can't pay his losses to some guys including a Red West cameo. A fight breaks out in the office and I don't think I've ever seen such an ugly scene. That gives it a bit more realism. You don't expect regular guys to have the punch of death. It's supposed to be ugly and brutal and it's not completely unrealistic that Mike and Danny win long enough to get away in their plane, Bessie.

The duo lands in Sherrington where they find out that because of the many debts they have, the sheriff "boots" their plane. He takes away their keys and gives them the ultimatum: pay the $1200 debt in 2 weeks or their plane goes up for auction to recoup the money. That's a pretty good set up for a conflict. It doesn't involve Elvis having bad luck, but instead relies on his friend having a realistic character flaw in the form of a gambling addiction.

Penniless and stranded, the duo tries to get a free ride into town. For how expensive his suits were, I'm amazed they had Elvis walking down the road in it. At first a car with a couple women stop but they only wanted Mike's lighter. I'm not sure if it was meant to be a joke or a narrative device meant to make the audience feel bad for them. Personally I don't think it does any of that. I didn't think it was funny and the "pain" they endure from the bad luck doesn't last long as they immediately get a ride. It makes me wonder why it was even added since there was no indication that a long period of time passed.

We get introduced Mr. Walter Ling and his niece Sue-Lin. I love this family. It's obvious that this is an Asian immigrant family which is very realistic for this part of the country and the time period. Despite Mr. Ling's actor being Chinese and Sue-Lin's actress being born in Manila (which is in the Philippines), it's actually not that bizarre. The Philippines does have a Chinese population so you can easily assume that Sue-Lin has some Chinese ancestry. For the time period, I'm so glad that this family is depicted as real people as opposed to stereotypes.

They drive to the World's Fair and I love the real backgrounds we get because of it. Mr. Ling being a delivery driver makes perfect sense since there are plenty of farms around the Seattle area. He can make extra money to be able to afford going to the fair. Sue-Lin has Mike try to explain what she might see and we get a decent song as "Take Me to the Fair" is a whimsical tune. I love Sue-Lin as a character. She isn't a generic cutesy girl character. We get genuine depth by showing that she's able to understand Chinese when her uncle is talking on the phone. When she finds out that uncle Walter has an important job and can't take her to the fair, she's naturally upset. It's not done in an over the top way where she has a complete tantrum. She understands that uncle Walter needs to take the job, but she's of course disappointed. Her realistic reaction only makes you appreciate Mike when he at first begrudgingly agrees to take her.

Mike's distracted by woman and we get it he's a womanizer. They could've just had him be absentminded because he's worried about finding a way to get money. But I do love how we see Mike and Sue-Lin interact with the real exhibitions such as the monorail. It gives you a special perspective that goes beyond a soundstage and shows just how big this fair is.

We get a Joe cameo as the man who gives Sue-Lin her red dog. I love the montage of them going around the fair. It's a wonderful showcase of what was there in case the viewer never had a chance to go and for younger generations who might not even know about the fair. Plus we get to see Mike warm up to Sue-Lin like he's taking his own daughter or niece to the fair. I can believe a change like that can happen in a short period of time. Unlike a romantic relationship, you don't need to have a lot happen to get along with a child. And it's not like Mike hated Sue-Lin as they got along on the truck ride.

It's really incredible to see just how much you can do at the fair for what doesn't seem like a lot of money. If only this was made earlier as it would've been a great way to promote the movie. After one too many treats, Mike takes Sue-Lin to the fair's nurse station. While Sue-Lin's being treated, Mike starts talking to himself and looks distractingly tan. When the nurse comes in and sees this he naturally can't help but flirt with her.

He pretends to have something in his eye and it's shocking how unapologetically pushy he is. I love how Nurse Warren rightfully calls him out on this. You really feel uncomfortable for her since it's relatable to have a man flirt unwarranted. Sue-Lin feels better so the two of them leave. Mike looks smitten and I have no idea what's meant to be so special about Nurse Warren. Because unless he thinks she's just playing hard to get, they have literally no chemistry.

I love this song. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" is such a beautiful ballad that if it wasn't for the fact that his first interaction with Nurse Warren went horribly, it would be the perfect ballad. We never see a quiet moment like this in any Elvis movie. In fact this is the first time outside of the opening song where Elvis isn't even singing out loud. He's only thinking about it as Sue-Lin sleeps. Not a single word is spoken as we take in this moment of Mike reflecting about his feelings. It's easily the best scene in the movie as it shows that Mike is so much more than a womanizer.

Mr. Ling returns to pick up Sue-Lin and you really get the idea that Mike loved "chaperoning" her. Sure he does say out loud to Danny that he was more happy about meeting Nurse Warren, but I honestly think the movie should've skipped the romance altogether. Mike had more chemistry with Sue-Lin in that one montage than he ever had with any other woman. The scenes with Dorothy and Nurse Warren only shows how shallow he is with women. With Sue-Lin we see a different side of Mike where he grows to care for Sue-Lin like she's his own family member.

Danny manages to swing the duo a temporary home that was set up for people attending the fair. We get introduced to Barney "yoo hoo" Thatcher who Danny uses as his pigeon to get money. Mike talks about how to get with Nurse Warren and again all I can think of is just how shallow he is. Even if he does succeed, it doesn't feel satisfying here because it doesn't feel like he'll change.

"One Broken Heart for Sale" is such an unnecessary song. We don't need to be bashed over the head with the obvious fact that Mike is horny for the nurse. Mike doesn't even deserve to say his heart is broken. You can't say your heart is broken just because someone you just met didn't reciprocate your pushy behavior. It doesn't add anything and just feels so out of place since you also have the other old men magically know what he's singing. Just shows how even the best songwriters can have duds if they're not in the right context. It's a shame because Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott have had great successes with Elvis.

We cut to the next day as Mike has a ploy to get Nurse Warren's attention. He pays a boy, played by an uncredited Kurt Russell, a quarter to kick him in the shin. I love how as Elvis screams in pain, you can see people in the background turn to see what happened. That's a sign that this was a genuine crowd and only makes the setting feel real. Given the extent of the actual injury I'm more amazed that the nurses didn't immediately call for an ambulance. If Mike supposedly can't walk properly that could possibly be a sign of a broken leg. Mike says he blacked out which if you're a nurse is a red flag. The head nurse even has him walk on it and you just have to wonder why they're doing this. They don't know Mike is exaggerating so they're doing a horrible job of insuring his safety when the head nurse suggests Nurse Warren escorts him home.

As Nurse Warren shows no sense of urgency we get pretty obvious rear screen projections as the two talk. Why are we doing this? Nurse Warren doesn't know that Mike's faking so why is she taking her sweet time getting him home? In fact, when Mike again lies about blacking out, instead of calling for an ambulance she instead helps him up to the real rotating restaurant. Why? A professional would've immediately called for an ambulance. You would never risk moving someone who feels that dizzy as you would risk causing them further injury.

His ploy seems to work though since Nurse Warren is in no rush to leave the restaurant. In fact based on the passage of time they've been in that restaurant for hours. Mike even sings a ballad about how he's in love with Nurse Warren. "I'm Falling in Love Tonight" is such a generic ballad that I have no idea why I'm supposed to support this budding romance. Nurse Warren falling for Mike is something I don't buy at all. If anything it's showing that so long as you get the girl, you can be as pushy and manipulative as you want. That's a terrible moral to have for what's supposed to be a family film. It'd make more sense if she's just going along with this until it all blows up in his face, but that isn't at all how it's presented

I do love how the extras have their own charm to the movie. These were legit patrons that had no idea of what's happening. Them clapping after Mike's song was real and I love it because it shows just how weird it is to have someone burst into song in a restaurant. Mike's ploy immediately falls apart as the boy from earlier comes back. He kicks Mike in the shin and I love the old man who's just like "oh my God what's happening". He looks realistically concerned.

As Mike tries to apologize to Nurse Warren, Sue-Lin rushes up to him. She tearfully tells him that her uncle didn't come back from a job. Given how she waited from 9 am to 3 pm for Mr. Ling to return, I'd say Sue-Lin handled the situation very well for a child. You always allow for some delay if someone's traveling because you never know what would happen. When it became obvious that something had to have happened, it's natural for her to be very concerned.

This is the most realistic acting from a child I've ever seen. A 7 year old girl possibly losing her only guardian is terrifying situation to be in. It really says a lot that she didn't go one of her neighbors since they were living in one of those temporary homes as well. In fact, I'm amazed that not a single adult noticed her wandering the fair alone and most likely in distress. It's like the movie wants us to believe Mike's the only adult in this movie who Sue-Lin can even trust.

He takes Sue-Lin home and the movie immediately got better again. Mike explains that he took every measure to make sure people know he has Sue-Lin. I love this as he could've easily been the buffoon that has no idea how to tell anyone that he's watching a child who would otherwise have no one. It seems like it's relatively late at night, so while you can question if Mike's doing the right thing, it's at least better to have Sue-Lin be in a safe space than drive around trying to find the authorities.

We get a sweet scene where Sue-Lin dresses in her traditionally Chinese pajamas. Mike even sings "Cotton Candy Land" as a lullaby. In the context that it's in, I know the lullaby is meant to be sweet, but I only get a creepy vibe to it. I'm not sure why but to me Mike singing it in a quiet voice and the music just makes me feel more scared than soothed. The sandman doesn't feel like this whimsical creature but more like a monster. I'm sure that was unintentional as I don't think it's a common opinion to feel that way.

After pretending to be sick so Mike can make up with Nurse Warren, she arrives to check out Sue-Lin. It's a bit distracting how the studio light casts a big shadow. You know that little night lamp isn't doing that. Sue-Lin tells Nurse Warren the truth and I'm amazed Nurse Warren didn't immediately raise an eyebrow. Then again this is the same woman who took what she believed to be an injured Mike up to a rotating restaurant when he said he was about to blackout. I can't take any expertise or authority a character like her should have seriously.

The movie clearly has no idea on how to handle their relationship as Nurse Warren starts to fall for Mike again when he serenades her. "A World of Our Own" is so unnecessary. Mike being nice to Sue-Lin and taking care of her doesn't eliminate the fact that he was pushy and manipulated her. The whole relationship just feels forced as I don't think this couple has any chemistry. Again there's nothing about Nurse Warren that makes her different since there's a clear difference between playing hard to get and having no interest. While the movie wants to tell you that she's the former, you really know that it's the latter.

Danny comes back from his card games completely drunk. You would think this would tell Nurse Warren that Sue-Lin living with Mike is a bad idea. But no. It's not even a thought that was uttered as she just drives home. How? She has the authority to report this to the authorities since Danny being drunk can lead to terrible consequences. Especially when you have a child in the home.

Danny meanwhile meets up with a guy named Vince who offers Danny a deal to fly up to Canada. Oh yeah they had a debt to repay. I almost forgot about that since that plot took a back seat to the conflict of Mike caring for Sue-Lin and the conflict of Mike getting with Nurse Warren. Vince outright agrees to pay them the whole amount that would allow the duo to get their plane back. So naturally you assume he's going to be the villain which can't possibly be a good thing since he's been introduced way too late in the movie to really do anything important.

Mike comes back from asking about Sue-Lin's uncle. We get a sweet moment where he watches her color before playing "How Would You Like to Be?" with the windup clowns. I love the song as it does serve a purpose. Mike is trying to cheer up Sue-Lin and it of course makes sense that Sue-Lin only sings along once she feels better. These aren't complicated lyrics to try to have a young girl learn so it feels realistic for her to join in. Her dancing along with Mike is sweet but the smirk he has does feel out of place. I would've used a different shot as out of context you don't think he's looking at a 7 year old girl.

A woman from Child Services arrive to take Sue-Lin away. Because after a couple days, now it's a problem for Sue-Lin to be here. The woman says "an abandoned child is automatically a ward of the state" which is a lie. Sue-Lin wasn't immediately taken by the police who had to have known she was with Mike. This whole plot point is terrible as it doesn't properly set up why now all of a sudden is it a problem. The woman claims that it was Nurse Warren who made the complaint which you immediately know isn't true. If Nurse Warren genuinely believed that Sue-Lin wasn't safe, that would've been conveyed in the previous scene. This is just terrible drama meant to turn Mike off of her. Also there's no way that woman from Child Services would straight up tell Mike who made the complaint. That would put the person who made the complaint at risk of retaliation.

This whole situation is gets even worse as for someone who's supposed to be in Child Services, she can't even keep track of one child. I understand that Child Services has a very legitimate job, but this movie doesn't paint them in a good light at all. Instead of taking this seriously, I just see Child Services as a joke in this movie. They're only now making a stink about custody of a child when not even the police mentioned it. Instead of making it a forced situation from the start, it was only "suggested" so I have no reason to buy this organization as legitimate. I can only think of the much later film Lilo & Stitch as it does a better job of setting up why Lilo could be taken out of the home.

So we have Mike now desperately trying to find Sue-Lin as he's the only one who would know where she could be. As irrational as it is that he wouldn't tell authorities where she would be, I 100% get it in this situation. The authorities have done nothing to prove that they are reliable. In fact, if Mike didn't find her, you already know Sue-Lin would just runaway again. It's really sad that a child feels more safe with Mike than the authorities meant to protect abandoned children. It's also frustrating that because of the situation, Mike's now being painted as if he's abducting her.

Mike and Sue-Lin manage to make it to the airport just as Nurse Warren arrives trying to find them. She tries to explain what happened but he naturally doesn't want to hear it. Mike is just so done with everyone as he immediately finds out about the smuggling scheme. I know that Vince being a criminal was going to be this twist but wow they really just dropped that fur smuggling scheme that quickly. It doesn't even give that much importance or tension as Sue-Lin actually does something by biting Vince's finger when he's holding them at gunpoint. A fight breaks out and again it's ugly. Just like a real fight between non-professionals. Mike at this point is running on pure adrenaline so it makes perfect sense for him to win. But it's just so anti-climatic because really? This is what you've been building Danny's subplot up to? This plot element of Danny being involved in a fur smuggling scheme is introduced and resolved so quickly that there's no point in it even existing.

They get caught by the police and it turns out Danny was the one who contacted Child Services. This is a stupid twist as there's no way he could've fooled the woman from Child Services into thinking he's a woman. Also why's he now deciding that Sue-Lin was a problem when he didn't want her being there in the first place? It's not like he cared about Mike's feelings for her.We then find out that Mr Ling was only 20 miles south of the town and was in an emergency hospital. 20 miles is not that far so I have no idea why it took them all these days to figure this out. If Sue-Lin knew where he was going that she knew he should be back by certain point, what's the mystery here? It isn't like uncle Walter got kidnapped and no one knows where he could've been taken. Again a very anti-climatic ending for something that took up a big chunk of the movie.

We time skip to Mike applying to NASA as he walks with Nurse Warren through the fairgrounds. He sings about how this is a happy ending with a very fitting title "Happy Ending". Danny and Sue-Lin with her uncle Walter are nowhere to be seen to share this moment and absolutely nothing was earned. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't think this couple is likable and Mike was better off forgetting about her. It isn't unrealistic to realize "hey my priorities have changed. Getting the girl doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is that Sue-Lin is safe." That's character growth.

But no this is an Elvis movie and regardless of whether it makes sense for them to be together, he has to get the girl. It just makes you wonder why we spent all this time on something only for it to be completely hand waved like it was nothing. Almost like they completely ran out of time with writing the script and just had to say "everything is magically resolved no matter how ridiculous it is".

This movie clearly tried to do too much and it shows. You have the conflict of Mike and Danny being broke and needing to get the money for their plane; Mike wanting to get with Nurse Warren and having to deal with her being mad at him because he lied; Sue-Lin's uncle going missing and people thinking she needs to go to Child Services; and a last minute fur smuggling scheme. None of these plots were resolved in a way that feels like thought was put into it. They were only resolved because it's an Elvis movie that has to have a happy ending as opposed to naturally fixing them. As a result, the whole film is messy and is a case of wasted potential. It seriously needs a rewrite to smooth out everything that doesn't connect together well.

That being said, I give this film a 7/10. I can respect the attempt at giving an Elvis character depth, but I still think more work needed to be done. I do recommend watching it simply because the fairground scenes act as a time capsule of what life was like back then. It's just unfortunate that the movie was rushed because it was a great concept. No matter how you look at it, you wouldn't have been able to get this movie out in time to promote the fair. You can't film before the fair opens because then you have nothing to serve as a background since it's being built. You definitely can't film it in April because then you have to worry about the massive crowds since it's a total novelty and you can't do what the directors chose to do and film near the fair's ending because then you won't be able to get it out in time to promote it. It's a lose-lose situation which is a horrible shame but I at least respect the fact that they tried doing something like this.

AN: Thank you to my discord bestie snaileyinsheff for suggesting this movie and providing input. Also shout out to @hooked-on-elvis for providing the link that I used to watch the movie.

Tagging: @eapep, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @atleastpleasetelephone, @huhhhhsthings, @jhoneybees,

@eptodaytommorowforever, @thetaoofzoe, @smokeymountainboy, @dragonkingsdaughter, @myradiaz,

@dnnenenens, @wildhorseinkansas, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @vintagepresley, @mercsandmonsters,

@velvetelvis, @arrolyn1114, @alienelvisobsession, @xanatenshi, @peskybedtime,

@peaceloveelvis, and @tacozebra051.

#elvis film #it happened at the world's fair #mike edwards #elvis film review #sue-lin #1963 #1962 world's fair

18 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 9 days

Note

I didn't know speckled bloodhounds were a thing! I'm guessing that's what little lady is? Unless she's brown and speckled.

I mean technically a bloodhound and a Bluetick Coonhound are considered to be similar yet different breeds.

It really depends on what others think regarding which one she is.

#anon submission

0 notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 9 days

Note

What type of bloodhound is little lady again? I really don't remember.

That's a good question anon.

See without looking at reference pics I didn't realize that it'd be hard for her to be a speckled pup while also looking like Hezekiah.

If you wanna have lil lady be speckled she'd be a Bluetick coonhound which looks like this:

But if you wanna stick with her looking like Hezekiah then she'd look like this:

#hezekiah #kissin cousins #speckled pup #anon submission #ecu fanfiction

1 note · View note

deke-rivers-1957 · 11 days

Text

Scott's World of Tomorrow

It was February 1956, a young Scott Heyward had just turned 16 years old. His father, Duster Heyward of Heyward Oil is about to spoil him.

"Well son taday's yer birthday. What do ya wanna do?"

"Can we go to Disneyland Pa? They have a whole section called Tomorrowland and a race car track called Autopia."

Mr. Heyward smiles as he claps Scott's shoulder.

"Tha's mah boy. Disneyland's gonna be a great client ta have. Can't be runnin no rides without oil."

"Yeah and maybe if they have real cars there I can take some notes for the research department."

Mr. Heyward chuckles as he goes to the phone.

"Ah'll just let yer tutor know yer goin on a field trip. That oughta make 'em happy yer doin yer science project."

"Ok, Pa."

Time Skip

"Alright then son. Ah'm gonna be talk with some a Disney's people. They said some fella named Bob Gurr's gonna be walkin ya through Autopia."

"Wow. Thanks Pa!"

Scott sits down on a bench with his camera and notepad. A young man his 20s approaches him.

"Are you Scott Heyward?"

"Yes. Are you Mr. Gurr?"

"That I am. Just call me Bob today. It's really an honor to have you and father come to the park today."

The two shake hands and start to walk to Tomorrowland.

"Now as you can see, the Moonliner was designed by one of my colleagues, John Hench and of course sponsored by Howard Hughes of Trans World Airlines."

Scott takes some pictures as they walk through the attraction. They get to the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry.

"Are you familiar with Monsanto, Scott?"

"Oh yes. I was only 7 when they had that explosion down in Texas City. Pa sent a crew to bring oil down to the site. He managed to get a deal where we can have a couple ships down at the port."

Bob nods. Eventually they make it to Autopia.

"Now this is what I helped design. I used what I learned from working with Ford."

"You worked with Ford? What did you do?"

"Well I helped design the Lincoln Continental. I published a few books on automotive design and that's what brought Mr. Disney's attention over to me. He wanted me to analyze the chassis for these cars. Originally designed by Hartmann Engineering, they were having issues regarding the ability to be mass produced. Too noisy and smokey with a lot of vibration. Eventually the company dropped out so I was brought on permanently to come up with a different design."

Scott's writing all of this down the best he can. Mr. Gurr's slowly turning into an idol.

"So where did you get the design for the cars? They don't look like anything I've ever seen."

"Take a closer look. If you're familiar with Porsche, I took the idea of their 54 550 Spyder and combined it with the recent custom made Italian Ferraris. Of course the Chevrolet Corvette also served as inspiration."

"Wow."

Bob continues telling his story. Scott listens to every word including everything about engineering he has yet to learn.

"What make are these cars now?"

"Currently these are the Mark II's. I had to fix the chassis so they can accommodate a sturdier, smoother-running engine. We've been getting a lot of youngsters so it was necessary to add booster seats and extensions on the peddles. I just finished a prototype for the Mark III and already started work on the Mark IVs"

"Why? What's wrong with these models?"

"Longevity and ease of repair. With how popular this attraction is getting it's only a matter of time before these cars will need repairing. Every month we're learning something new about what people like and don't like about the car. Just goes to show that even when a product is a success, there's still a lot that needs to be done to perfect it."

Scott writes this down as Bob finishes talking.

"Would you like to ride in one of these, Scott?"

"Yes! I'd love to."

Bob chuckles as they wait in line to ride in one of the cars.

Time Skip

"How was yer trip son?"

"I loved it Pa. Mr. Gurr let me take so many pictures and showed me all of Tomorrowland."

Mr. Heyward smiles as they make their way back to Texas. Scott would recite his notes and Bob's story. His father could only nod along as he never really got into the science side of business.

"Well Ah bet yer science project'll turn out real good."

"Oh yeah Pa. Until science finds a better way, everything needs oil. Even the rockets."

"Thatta boy. Yer gonna be takin Heyward Oil inta space."

Scott smiles and sits back in his seat. He starts to fantasize about making his own world of tomorrow.

AN: Shoutout to @xanatenshi for requesting this story.

Tagging: @mercsandmonsters, @georgefairbrother, @imaginationlast, @hooked-on-elvis, @arrolyn1114,

@teamnefarious, @blighted-star, @ab4eva, @thetaoofzoe, @vintagepresley,

@myradiaz, @jaqueline19997, @kiankiwi, @ahundredlifetime, @mydarlingelvis,

@tupelomiss, @elvispresleywife, @karel-in-wonderland, @tacozebra051, @sillybookmarks,

@dusintv, @velvetelvis, @livelaughelvis, @slayingjd, @anamiad00msday,

@mistyspresley, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @yoooooooh, @southcarolinawoman, @peaceloveelvis,

@squaggleson, and @idk583838.

#scott heyward #clambake #ecu fanfiction #thanks for the request!#disneyland #autopia

22 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 14 days

Text

Elvis Week Poll

Here's your chance to vote for the Elvis Week Awards. Winners will be announced during Elvis Week.

Feel free to reblog so we get as many people as possible to vote. The poll ends on the 24th!

Shout out to @leopardandstuds for sharing this. Thank you to those who already voted: @grizelda71-blog, @karel-in-wonderland, @alienelvisobsession, and @shakerattlescroll.

Tagging: @arrolyn1114, @ash-omalley, @bernicec77511, @briefpandatimemachine, @moonchild-daniella,

@nymessis, @peskybedtime, @p0lksaladannie, @stormie-ryan23, @kiankiwi,

@mercsandmonsters, @cattcb, @elvispresleyonlyone, @from-memphis-with-love, @elvispresleyfan2024,

@18lkpeters, @thepresleypress, @elvisaronsblog, @yomammalolha, @claire-elvisgirl,

and @waywardprincessfromnorth.

#elvis poll #elvis week #elvis fandom #elvis film #elvis music #elvis presley #real elvis

13 notes · View notes

deke-rivers-1957 · 16 days

Text

ECU High - Toby's Cool

"Pop. Ah wanna try out fer wrestlin."

Toby's dad looks up from his newspaper.

"Talk ta Mr. Wade son. He'll tell ya if yer able ta try out. Now grab yer backpack. It's time fer ya ta start headin ta school."

Toby grabs his backpack.

"Ok Pop."

He starts to walk out the door to school. He doesn't live that far, so he manages to get there in about 10 minutes. He's about to use the wheelchair entrance when he stops. He can hear the sound of crying.

"Hello? There somebody out here?"

The crying stops as the person doing so comes closer.

"Deke?"

Deke wipes his eyes.

"Hey, Toby."

"Why ya cryin?"

Deke takes a shuddery breath.

"I just lied to my foster parents."

"Bout what?"

"I failed our math test. Mr. Tallman's letting me re-take it but I told my 'em I was coming here early for an orchestra rehearsal."

Deke starts to break up again. Toby just looks at him confused.

"Why's that somethin that's makin ya cry?"

"I can't let them find out that I failed! They took me into their home and made me feel like I got a family. I can't just let them down by not doin' well!"

Toby's brain is working at max speed (by his standards).

"Do they tell ya ya gotta do good wit schoolin?"

"N-no."

"So why're ya thinkin that ya gotta get yerself all upset bout one test?"

Deke tries to calm down again.

"I just don't want them to think they made the wrong choice by adoptin' me."

Toby looks even more confused.

"Over one test?"

"It ain't just one test, Toby! I've been strugglin in math this past month. What kinda parent would wanna have a son who can't do math?"

Toby looks down and says the only thing that he can think of.

"Mah Pop don't mind that Ah can't do yer math."

Deke takes a pause and gets a different perspective.

"I think I get what ya mean, Toby. You always do your best even though you.... struggle."

"Ah'm handicapped, Deke. Mr. Tallman could get bout 10 years ta try ta teach me yer math an Ah probly still won't get it. Does mah Pop care? Yeah but only that Ah try mah best. So Ah try mah best an get help when Ah need it. Thanks ta Rusty Ah've been doin better."

Deke smiles. He's starting to understand what Toby's saying.

"Thank ya, Toby. I feel better now. I'm gonna go take that test now."

"Ok. Good luck wit that Deke."

Deke pats Toby on the shoulder and heads inside. Toby goes back to the wheelchair entrance and goes inside.

"Now Ah gotta put mah books way an try ta find Mr. Wade."

He finds his locker and takes out the key he was given by Principal Gates.

"Ok. Ah need mah gym uniform, mah driver's permit, an mah chem packet."

He takes his time to organize everything. The first bell rings as the hall suddenly fills up with kids trying to get to class on time.

"Good thang Ah came in on time. Ah can jus go right ta the gym."

He makes his way to the locker room just in time for the period bell to ring. He changes in the bathroom as usual but this time, he stops by Mr. Wade's office.

"Mr. Wade?"

The man gets spooked and looks like he's about to cuss Toby out until he recognizes him.

"What is it, Toby?"

"Sorry ta scare ya, but Ah jus wanted ta ask if Ah can wrestle."

He stares at Toby until he realizes what he's asking. He pulls out a couple papers. One's blue and the other's in white.

"Have yer dad fill out this white form and go to the doctor for a physical. They'll fill out this blue form and send it to me once they meet with ya. Try outs are in 3 weeks so I want this done before that."

Toby takes a minute to process this.

"So yer givin me these because ya wanna know if Ah ain't too hurt ta wrestle. An if the doc tells ya Ah can do it, then you'll tell me Ah can come ta try out?"

"Yeah. Now put those papers in yer locker an start yer workout routine."

"Ok Mr. Wade."

He's about to leave when Mr. Wade stops him.

"If ya see a blond tell 'em to get his lazy.... self here."

"Oh. Ok. Ah can do that."

Toby mutters to himself as he tries to remember everything that was said. He makes his way to the workout room and just as Mr. Wade said there's a muscular blond sitting on a weightlifting bench drinking water.

"Uh hi."

The boy looks up.

"Hell ya want?"

Toby repeats what Mr. Wade said.

"Mr. Wade wants ya ta get yer lazy.... self over ta his office."

The boy blinks.

"He tell ya ta say all 'em words ta me himself."

"Yeah he did. Ah dunno why though."

The boy groans.

"Coach is always on mah ass. Ah bust mah damn self every day."

Toby just stares.

"So why the hell're ya here? Coach usually don't have youngins comin down here by 'emselves."

"Mr. Wade says he's gotta listen ta the doctor an have me do thangs that don't hurt mah back. So he has me come here ta use the treadmills."

"Sure's hell don't look crippled."

"Ah had surgery ta fix mah back. The doc said Ah had a real bad case of scalosis."

The boy makes a disgusted look.

"Hell's scalosis?"

"Meant mah spine weren't straight. Tried givin me a special back brace but it didn't work too good. Only thang left ta try was surgery so they done it over the summer."

The boy's expression softens a little.

"Well damn boy Ah had ya wrong. Do ya think yer gonna be able ta do real workouts like me?"

"What'd ya do? Ah wanna be able ta be good nough ta wrestle."

The boy nearly spits out his water.

"Wrestle! Hell ya came ta right person. Yer talkin ta the champion wrassler a this school."

Toby's eyes light up.

"Yer the champ? Wow. Wha's yer name?"

He frowns at Toby.

"How the hell ya not know mah name? JODIE TATUM Mah damn picture's all over the trophy room."

Toby looks down out of embarrassment.

"Ah never really seen the trophies before. Ah ain't ever took the time ta look at 'em neither."

"Now ya know. Ah know ya ain't been here too long so Ah fergive ya."

Jodie stands up and starts walking out of the room.

"If ya make the team don't wait ta ask fer pointers. Ah ain't a complete ass that don't help out youngins wantin ta be as good as me."

"Ok Jodie."

Jodie leaves the room and Toby's now alone.

"Ah like that he takes me serious. Ah think we can be friends."

He gets on a treadmill and starts walking.

An: ECU High is back! Admittedly I struggled to get inspiration for this installment. Toby at this point in the timeline simply doesn't that much to do as he doesn't have any conflict.

Tagging: @mercsandmonsters, @vintagepresley, @thetaoofzoe, @elvismylove04, @ashtag6887, @tupelomiss, @thedaisymaisy, @richardslady121, @arrolyn1114, @theelviseffect, @elvisbooty76, @theladyofmylife, @xanatenshi, @just-another-boring-bisexual, @aliengoth3, @phil2135561, @gayforelvis, @ash-omalley, @eptodaytommorwforever, @wildhorseinkansas, @alienelvisobsession, @comebackep, @presley72elvis, @leopardandstuds, @ellie-24, @heart-of-ep, @thatbanditqueen, @dilfelvis, @be-my-ally, @mydarlingelvis, @myradiaz, @jaqueline19997, @louisejoy86, @peskybedtime, @lookingforrainbows, @kiankiwi, @your-nanas-house, @januarypresley1969, @justrae9903, @codalysssssworld, @burnthheparaphilia, @joshuntildawn13, @briefpandatimemachine, @sillybookmarks, @tacozebra051, @cattcb, @perfectpresley, @vintagegirl50s60s70s80s, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @precious-little-scoundrel, @j-v-9-2, @almightybigbrain, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @miniaturerunawaykid, @msamarican, @hooked-on-elvis, and @doll-elvis.

#ecu high #elvis fanfic #toby kwimper #deke rivers

2 notes · View notes