Live A Little Love A
Little - MGM 1968
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By: For Elvis Fans Only
Source: EPE
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Live A Little Love A Little -
MGM 1968 |
Elvis' twenty-eighth movie was the 1968
MGM film "Live A Little, Love A Little"
in which he plays Greg Nolan a newspaper
photographer, who, when he meets the
Bernice (Michele Carey), he loses both
his job and his apartment. Bernice
manages to get him a new apartment, but
it is so expensive that he has to take
on two full-time jobs to make the
payments. As Greg hustles back and forth
between the two photography jobs (one
for a stuffy conservative publisher, and
the other for a "girlie" magazine) he
still finds time to romance beautiful
Celeste Yarnall and belt
out Almost in Love and
Wonderful World.
Principal photography began on
3/13/68. Locations included the Pacific
Coast Highway near Malibu, Marineland,
the Hollywood Citizen News building, the
Los Angeles Music Center and the streets
of the Hollywood Hills.
Working with musical conductor and
writer Billy Strange, Elvis recorded the
soundtrack at Western Recorders on
3/7/68. Strange's method of using
written charts was foreign to Elvis's
more casual style of recording.
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Elvis Presley & Celeste Yarnall. |
During this film Elvis' father Vernon
drove Elvis's Lincoln out to California
for him. While visiting with Elvis,
Vernon was given a small non speaking
part in the movie. He can be spotted as
part of the scene in which Elvis'
character Greg is shooting a photograph
of a man sitting in an
ornate chair at a table. That man was
Vernon Presley.
There has been a long-held myth that
Elvis and Priscilla's dog Brutus was
used in this movie as Albert the Great
Dane. Not believing this to be true, we
checked with Priscilla herself. She
said it was not their dog but a
professionally trained "working dog that
was hired for the film."
Principal photography for "Live A
Little, Love A Little" ended on May 1,
1968 which was also Elvis and
Priscilla's first wedding
anniversary. The
film opened nationwide on October 23,
1968.
Greenburg was born and educated in
Illinois. He received his Masters Degree
at UCLA and became an award-winning ad
copywriter. Later he was managing
editor of "Eros" magazine. He became a
best-selling writer with his 1964 book
"How To Be A Jewish Mother." He along
with Michael A. Hoey adapted his novel
"Kiss My Firm But Pliant Lips" into the
screenplay for Elvis's movie which would
become entitled "Live A Little, Love A
Little," although other titles also
considered including "Bumblebee Oh
Bumblebee" and "Born Rich." Greenburg
went on to write other productions
including "Oh! Calcutta!" and the TV
series "Adam's Rib."
Writer, director and producer Michael A.
Hoey was born in London and came to the
U.S. as a child. Son of character actor
Dennis Hoey, he grew up around the
Hollywood movie studios. He worked with
director Norman Taurog on several Elvis
movies: "Tickle Me", "Spinout", "Stay
Away Joe" and "Live a Little, Love A
Little." He received two Emmy Award
nominations for his work on the TV
series "Fame." Among his credits is
having produced several Emmy Award
shows.
Elvis' somewhat kooky love interest
Bernice/ Betty/Suzie/Alice was played by
actress Michele Carey
who had been a top model for the Powers
Agency. Her film credits include "El
Dorado" and "Dirty Dingus Magee" among
others. She was also the voice of
"Effie" the computer on the Robert
Conrad TV series "A Man Called Sloane."
Don Porter began his career in the 1940s
on stage and in films, but he may be
best remembered for his TV roles as Ann
Sothern's boss on both "Private
Secretary" and "The Ann Sothern Show" as
well as playing Sally Field's father on
the "Gidget" TV series.
Rudy Vallee was a popular singer and
band leader in the 1920s and 30s known
for his trademark of singing through a
megaphone. He became an actor on stage,
screen and TV often playing comedic
roles in a career that spanned over
sixty years.
The late Dick Sargent played Harry Baby
in this film. He was born Richard Cox,
the son of actress Ruth McNaughton and
Hollywood business manager Elmer Cox.
He had roles in a number of movies and
TV series, the most memorable playing
Darrin Stephens on the TV series
"Bewitched." Although he replaced an
ailing Dick York in the part , it was
Sargent who was first offered the role
when the series began. Being already
under contract for something else,
Sargent was unable to take the part at
that time. Sargent had a bit part in
Elvis's first movie "Love Me Tender"
(1956).
Georgia-born Sterling Holloway had the
role of the Milkman in "Live A Little,
Love A Little." Ironically he began his
career in silent films, however, he went
on to be the voice of many animated
movie characters. Perhaps his most
famous voice was that of the beloved
character Winnie the Pooh.
Eddie Hodges played the delivery boy
Woodrow. Hodges stage credits include
in "The Music Man" and "Critic's
Choice." He has appeared in movies and
television and he had several hit
records in the 1960s. Outside of a
guest appearance on "Law & Order" in
1996, the Mississippi native gave up
performing in 1969 to become a
rehabilitation counselor in his home
state.
Among the many models who appear in this
film you might spot Susan Henning as
dressed as a mermaid in one of Greg
(Elvis) Nolan's photo sessions. She
dated Elvis for a brief time and
appeared in the in the bordello scene of
the big production of his 1968 TV
special - she's the blonde in the pink
dress to whom he sings "Let Yourself
Go."
Actress Celeste Yarnall also had a role
in the film as a model whom Greg dates.
A native Californian, Ms. Yarnall has a
successful career in movies and
television, having acted with many stars
such as Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Jerry
Lewis, Charles Bronson, Melanie Griffith
and of course Elvis Presley. A lady of
many talents she has also owned a
commercial real estate business, managed
screenwriters, bred and shown champion
cats, and having earned a Ph.D. in
nutrition, has written several books on
animal nutrition. Today she still works
in commercials and lectures on
nutrition. She has appeared as a very
special guest at several Elvis Week
Events in Memphis in the past few years.
It was Celeste Yarnall
to whom Elvis sang the Mac Davis/Billy
Strange song "A Little Less
Conversation" in this film. He
recorded another version in June of 1968
that was to be used in his 1968 TV
special. It was not used in the
special, however, in 2002 RCA/BMG and
EPE granted a license to Nike to use it
in their televised World Cup Soccer
related promotions in Europe and
elsewhere. For the commercial Dutch
producer/dee-jay JXL was engaged to
produce a remix, the first Elvis remix
ever authorized by the record company
and EPE. The Nike promos started airing
and the remix caught fire. A single
release had not been planned, but public
demand prompted RCA/BMG to rush-release
a single in June 2002. It topped singles
airplay and sales charts in the U.K. and
other territories and topped Billboard's
singles sales chart in the U.S. It has
since become the theme song for the TV
series "Las Vegas."
While Elvis was making this movie,
Martin Luther King was assassinated in
Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.
Elvis took the news very hard. He was
known to commit famous speeches to
memory and would often quote from or
recite them thereafter. Martin Luther
King's "I Have A Dream" speech was one
of Elvis's favourites to recite. Just
two months later in June, while working
on his 1968 TV special, Elvis expressed
his deep feelings about the loss of the
Kennedy brothers and Dr. King to
producer Steve Binder. Binder who was so
moved by Elvis's comments said, "I
wanted to let the world know that here
was a guy who was not prejudiced, who
was raised in the heart of prejudice,
but who was really above all that." It
was then that Binder resolved to have a
song written expressly for Elvis to
close his show with. "If I Can Dream"
was born of this conversation. "If I
can dream--of a better land, Where all
my brothers work hand in hand, Tell me
why, oh why, can't my dream come true,
Oh why?"
Soundrack
- Wonderfull World
- Edge Of Reality
- A Little Less Conversation
- Almost In Love
Recorded at: Western
Recorders Inc., 6000, Sunset Boulevard,
Los Angeles. March 1968.
Musicians: Elvis
Presley (vocals), Joseph Gibbons, Neil
Levang, Al Casey, Charles Britz
(guitars),Larry Knetchal, Charles
Berghofer (bass), Hal Blaine, Gary
Coleman (drums), Don Randi (piano)
Live A Little Love A Little -
MGM 1968
Directed by: Norman
Taurog
Writing Credits: Dan Greenburg,
Michael A. Hoey (based on the novel Kiss
My Firm But Pliant Lips by Dan
Greenburg)
Producer: Douglas Laurence
Panavision and Metrocolor.
Cast Overview
Elvis Presley .... Greg Nolan, Michele
Carey .... Bernice, Don Porter .... Mike
Lansdown, Rudy Vallee .... Louis Penlow,
Dick Sargent .... Harry Baby, Sterling
Holloway.... Milkman, Celeste Yarnall
.... Ellen, Eddie Hodges .... Delivery
Boy, Joan Shawlee .... Robbie's Mother,
Mary Grover .... Miss Selfridge, Emily
Banks .... RKC & P Receptionist, Michael
Keller .... Art Director, Merri Ashley
.... 1st Secretary, Phyllis Davis ....
2nd Secretary, Ursula Menzel ....
Perfume Model.
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