By Lee Pfeiffer
With Elvis mania in high gear the summer to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The King's passing, a virtual tsunami of Presley DVD releases have been unleashed by the major studios. Most of the reviews tend to focus on Elvis's "golden era" of the 1950s and scant attention has been paid to his films from a decade later. These are generally considered to be lightweight entries at best, with the exception of Viva Las Vegas! Thus, it's interesting to examine some of Elvis' lesser works from the late 1960s. Warner Home Entertainment has just released Stay Away, Joe, a 1968 vehicle for The King that actually had a prestigious pedigree: it was based on an acclaimed best-selling book. As expected, much was lost in the translation to the screen. Elvis stars as a hip, younger generation American Indian who returns to his family's ramshackle house on the reservation after establishing a reputation as a Mr. Fix-It who employs less than honorable methods to solve problems, initiate shady business deals, etc. Because of his charisma, he is greeted as the Prodigal Son upon his return with men wanting to emulate him and the local girls salivating at the sight of him. This isn't quite as preposterous as it sounds, as Elvis was still in top physical condition at this point in his life and does indeed cut a handsome figure whether its on a motorcycle or riding a tempermental bull in a rodeo. In fact, there's a lot of bull in Stay Away, Joe but only some of it is on the range. The rest is in the screenplay.
The plot involves a lightweight "crisis" developed when Elvis' eccentric father squanders a deal to raise government cattle. Elvis has to use all his wily ways to mend the dilemma or else dad will go to jail. The main problem with the film is its depiction of Native Americans, which was outlandish even at the time. When Marlon Brando famously refused his Oscar for The Godfather in protest of Hollywood's treatment of the American Indian, he might just as well have sent a clip from this film as "Exhibit A". The younger generation Indians are seen as mindless party animals, obsessed with racing, wrestling and sex. No one seems to work or have any ambitions outside of these activities. However, the older generation is represented in an even more insulting fashion and as was the practice of the time, all of the main Indian roles are played by non-Indians. In one of the most bizarre roles of his career, Burgess Meredith is cast as Elvis' father- complete with dark pancake makeup and racoon-like eye shadow that makes him look like a love child of Steppin- Fetchit and Tammy Faye Baker. Thomas Gomez is Grandpa, a stereotypical character who actually sits around a teepee spouting dialogue that makes the Indians of F Troop look like models of political correctness. Katy Jurado is tossed into the mix as Elvis's high strung step mom, a woman of Mexican/Indian descent who runs around screaming in Spanish like a female Desi Arnaz in an I Love Lucy episode. Oh, and there's also Joan Blondell, comfortably in her typical lovable, blonde floozy mode.
Fortunately, there's plenty of eye candy for The King to flirt with among the younger generation. It's interesting to see how there was a concentrated effort to make Elvis more hip for audiences of the late 1960s.He's seen doing things that would have been unthinkable even a couple of years before. He chug-a-lugs beer, lies to colleagues, seduces his best friend's girl and tries to deflower the horny local virgin (comely Quentin Dean) - but is predictably interrupted every time the action gets hot and heavy. There are few songs this time around and most of them are duds, thus making this a rarity: an Elvis film that did not spawn a soundtrack album. The best of the lot is the opening song heard over the title credits which is sung to the strains of Greensleeves. The worst is a song that even The King recognized as a career low: an ode to an impotent bull named Dominick that Elvis sings while pursuing two naked chicks through the desert. It plays even worse than it sounds.
With all that having been said, I enjoyed Stay Away, Joe if only for its lack of pretentiousness and Elvis' good natured performance. The movie also benefits from some excellent location scenery (it was shot in Sedona, Arizona) and crisp, impressive widescreen cinematography. At this point in his career, Elvis was making films strictly for the drive-in crowd, but that isn't meant as a knock. He knew the core audience for his movies was rural-based and he gave them what they wanted, much as Burt Reynolds would do a decade later with Smokey and the Bandit. If you can keep an open mind and find Ernest Goes to Camp too message-laden, then give Stay Away, Joe a try. If you're more demanding in terms of how two hours of your life will be spent, then--er, stay away, Joe. - Lee Pfeiffer
EXTRAS: The DVD carries only the theatrical trailer as an extra, but Warners have included a cool set of five postcards from the film including a reproduction of the original one sheet poster that was painted by the great Robert McGinnis.
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