Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.While not one of the top three Elvis films, those being 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star' and 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Kid Galahad' is one of his better overall films, certainly one of the best of those he made in the 60s. It's proof that his early films were actually pretty good, but unfortunately it was one of his last good ones when the formula started here wore increasingly thin and further suffered from looking less appealing and even the quality of the soundtracks and Elvis' acting wavering significantly.'Kid Galahad' doesn't completely work. Apart from two very good songs, "I Got Lucky" and "Home Is Where The Heart Is", the songs are not particularly memorable and don't fit particularly well, sometimes feeling awkwardly shoe-horned. The boxing sequences do lack excitement and come over as somewhat clumsy, and some of the dialogue (very rarely a strong suit in Elvis' films) is pure toe-curling corn.The locations however are colourful, and 'Kid Galahad' has a suitably gritty but never cheap visual style. The story is far from fluffy and actually has a good deal of meat, while there are a few good lines, two great songs and an energetic music score.Phil Karlson's direction is solid, but it's the acting that elevates 'Kid Galahad'. Elvis is very relaxed and cool, while Charles Bronson and Gig Young stand out very strongly in supporting roles. It was interesting to see Ed Asner in his debut, and while Lola Albright and Joan Blackman don't have much to do they are charming and have good chemistry with Elvis.Overall, pretty good and compares very favourably against Elvis' other 60s vehicles. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Elvis Presley is a mechanic turned fighter in "Kid Galahad," a 1962 film with Presley playing the role originally essayed by Wayne Morris in the '30s. He has strong support from Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman and Charles Bronson.Elvis plays an ex-GI named Walter Grogan, who is taken on as a fighter by a man (Gig Young) who runs a resort but owes money to mobsters due to gambling debts. What he doesn't count on is the Kid falling for his sister (Joan Blackman, Bette Davis in the original).This is early Elvis, when the production values were high and the songs fresh. Later on, Colonel Parker would tighten up on the budgets, since the cheaper he could get the films made, the more money he made for himself and Elvis. And Elvis' parents had naively signed a contract giving Parker 50%. I think Elvis would have been happier with better movies, such as "King Creole," and less money."Kid Galahad" is quite good, though, with fine music and a relaxed performance by Elvis, who looks great. He doesn't have the jet black hair and while he's not as thin as he would eventually get from using amphetamines, he's still in great shape.It became more and more difficult for Elvis to be Elvis, but here, he's a boyish, mellow guy who seemed to be enjoying what he was doing. Unfortunately, he didn't stay that way.

The old Warner Brothers classic boxing story Kid Galahad was dusted off and rewritten to suit the Sixties and the talents of Elvis Presley. The man that's named Kid Galahad for the ring not only throws a mean punch, but he sings pretty good too.Elvis is a soldier fresh out of the army and broke and arrives at Gig Young's training camp looking for any kind of work. The only work that Young has available is for a sparring partner and Elvis does more than spar. He flattens a heavyweight contender and Young's found himself a new prospect.He needs one because he's into the bookies big time. And a couple of syndicate torpedoes working for gangster David Lewis have taken up residence at the camp. All this is dismaying girlfriend Lola Albright and sister Joan Blackman who Elvis takes a fancy to.As is usual with Elvis films, manager Colonel Tom Parker got the best talent he could to support the King. Besides those names Robert Emhardt plays the camp cook and up and coming movie legend Charles Bronson plays Elvis's trainer. And you'll see a lot of familiar Hollywood faces as you do in all his films.Not only the cast, but director Phil Karlson one of the best directors of noir ever, took charge. The scenes with the gangsters show Karlson's steady hand.Oddly enough Elvis had no real hit songs come out of Kid Galahad, but makes up for it with one of his best acting jobs on screen. For fans of the King.

Pretty ordinary Elvis vehicle patterned after the 1937 film of the same name. Presley is a drifter just out of the army who takes on a job as a sparring partner working for a gambling louse (Gig Young) who's in hock over his head. Naturally, Elvis becomes a boxing sensation when he knocks out his partner and Young spots a chance to settle some outstanding debts by highlighting him as the new champ. Charles Bronson (did this man ever look young?) is on hand as the trainer who's loyal to Elvis. Of course, the King sings too - but there were no outstanding songs for me this time around. ** out of ****