GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!
* Girls! Girls! Girls! opened nationally on November 21, 1962. The companion feature in most areas of the United States was It Happened in Athens, a low-budget film starring Jayne Mansfield and Bob Mathias. The world premiere of Girls! Girls! Girls! occurred in Honolulu on October 31.
* Two titles originally considered for the film were A Girl in Every Port and Welcome Aboard. A few months before filming was to begin, Gumbo Ya Ya was selected as the working title, but that was changed in March 1962 to Girls! Girls! Girls! Gumbo Ya Ya, by the way, is a Creole expression meaning “everybody talks at once.”
* Although I Don’t Want To was cut from the film, it was heard in the movie trailer.
* Filming began on April 9, 1962. Most of the month was spent in Hawaii. The crew then moved to Paramount’s Hollywood studios for interior shots. Principal photography was completed by mid-May.
* The Bumble Bee Tuna Company plant near Waikiki Beach was used as a location for the film. Another location was the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor.
* While filming in Hawaii, Elvis stayed at the Hawaiian Village Hotel on Oahu.
* Girls! Girls! Girls! reached #6 on Variety’s list of top-grossing films. Although released in late November, it still grossed $2.6 million by year’s end and was ranked #31 of all films released in 1962.
* Red West could be seen playing bongos on the tuna boat during Song of the Shrimp.
* When Elvis landed in Hawaii for the local shooting, fans were as thrilled as ever. They were 8,000 to welcome him when he arrived by helicopter. On his way to the hotel, he was stripped of his yachting cap, his diamond ring and tie pin with jewels. “I was quite lucky by arriving in one piece to the elevator,” he said, later on.
* The initial movie credits show many beauties in bathing suits. Elvis’ sense of humor is revealed, when he comments, “With all the men in the audience stretching their necks trying to see the girls behind the credits, I’m already foreseeing the sore necks epidemy that will break out!”
* During the scene when Elvis goes to meet the “West Wind” in order to save Laurel from Johnson, his boat puts itself right in front of the sailboat and the footage we see of Elvis being touched by the sailboat is real. Of course, this should have never happened, since it could have had tragic consequences. Fortunately, Elvis didn’t get too much hurt.
* This is the sole film record of Elvis in a truly EXCITED state. For the shoot of the interior scenes with Laurel Goodwin in her apartment, on Paramount’s lot, to sing The Walls Have Ears, he dressed in some black trousers made for the scene, but he didn’t wear any underwear. Elvis rarely used underwear. He complained to Joe Esposito that he didn’t feel good with those trousers, since they “rubbed” him the wrong way. The dance scene with Laurel was complicated. Elvis had to sing and dance, and the apartment was rigged for special effects, including a coffee table that bounced around the floor and a ceiling that crashed down a few seconds after Elvis and Laurel jumped backward. At some point during all the wiggling and jumping, those pants rubbed him the wrong way, and “Little Elvis” (as he called it), became erect. With so much going on in the scene, the director, Norman Taurog, didn’t notice. When Elvis came off the set, he headed for the nearest chair and sat down fast. “Did you see that?” he asked his friends. “See what?” they asked, trying to hold back the laughter. “Did you see what happened below the belt?” he answered, concerned, but a bit proud. “Damn pants were rubbing me the wrong way and I couldn’t help the feeling. Geez, I hope they don’t have to reshoot this. The ceiling might get me this time.” All the guys were alerted in order not to say a word about the matter and wait until the following day, to see if the scene was approved and the camera had caught what happened. “Hot damn!” Elvis yelped when the dance sequences came on screen. “Will you look at that? I was hoping it wouldn’t show because the pants were black. But there it is, sticking out like a sore thumb… well, sort of like a sore thumb.” But nobody else noticed and the scene was approved! Therefore, in this movie, we can see Elvis dancing around the apartment with “Little Elvis” at attention and aimed directly at Laurel! His costar is seen dancing close to Elvis just once and then, after feeling “Little Elvis”, she doesn’t dance close to him anymore, even pulling her behind backwards…!
Information provided by Linda Zabriskie Johnson
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