Tickle Me - an exception to the rule

I finally got around to ordering the DVD box set "Elvis - The Hollywood Collection" this evening. The six Elvis films it contains are the last ones I don't own on DVD (except "On Tour" which has not been officially released yet) so it really was just a matter of time.

The one of the bunch I'm looking forward to the most is "Tickle Me" which I think is really amusing and certainly stands out among Elvis mid 60's motion pictures. Though certainly low-budget like the rest of them, it has some great comedy, especially the final scenes in the haunted hotel.

It is ironical that because of budget reasons, the soundtrack is one of the strongest from this period as well. The explanation is, of course, that it's made up of previously released songs dating as far back as from the 1960 "Elvis Is Back"-sessions.

You just have to compare songs like "Dirty, Dirty Feeling" and "I'm Yours" with "Wolf Call" and "Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce" from Elvis previous movie "Girl Happy" (by the way included in the DVD box set as well) to understand how that worked out for the better.

"Tickle Me" helped save the movie company Allied Artists from financial ruin, at least for another year. I'm looking forward to seeing it in perfect picture quality for the first time, that will certainly help save my day!