Two things save this movie from being a disaster: Elvis and Yvonne Craig. Elvis plays one of his more likable characters, not one of those "bad boy" types but a good guy and that's good because movie bad boys become very boring and very annoying very fast unless you're a woman. Now, the other character he plays, the blonde hillbilly, is a complete waste of space. It's not Elvis' fault, the character is so poorly written he's like a sack of potatoes. All he does is keep saying "I wanna rassle! I wanna rassle!" Borrrrring.One thing that's definitely not boring is the stunning Yvonne Craig. She has lots of screen time and that was a very smart move by the movie makers because without her the movie would be close to unwatchable. The combination of her beauty (and there are lots of other female beauties too) and Elvis' likability make the movie worth seeing - once anyway. As for the songs, I'd say there is one good one and the rest are nothing memorable.

elvis is not engaged here at all and who could blame him? by late '63 he surely expected to be making one serious picture after another.nonetheless, storyline happens to be very entertaining > the Military heads desperate to secure ol' Smoky Mountain for their missile site, while trying not to be swept away from the sexed up "kittyhawks", bring a smile.did not need "two Elvis(s)"....but whatever. they both sing real good. as one song suggests, "ON(C)E IS ENOUGH". :)title tune is particularly strong, shoulda-coulda been a smash...guess the competition from overseas at the time, like, his many imitators, cut down on his airplay. KISSIN' COUSINS/IT HURTS ME (not from film) was as good as many singles from the previous decade!

Elvis returns to the military comedy genre a few years after 'GI Blues' in this hillbilly romp about a pilot recruited to help convince his kin folk to let the S.A.C. put a missile silo on their land. Elvis also plays a secondary role as his look-alike hillbilly cousin. The material is straight out of Li'l Abner - man-crazy half-dressed hillbilly females, disgusting possum based cuisine, a mournful coon hound and a patriarch named Pappy, not to mention moonshiners with a powerful dislike for 'Revenuers'. It's pretty familiar stuff, but dished up with enough energy and amiability that for once the whole exercise manages to rise above the usual (low) formulaic quickie level of the 'Elvis movie'. There are a few half decent songs and a couple of rousing musical numbers in the spirit of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (albeit much less elaborately choreographed). Of interest - leading actress Yvonne Craig became famous two years later as Batgirl.

Army Lieutenant Elvis Presley is assigned to infiltrate the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to sweet-talk a hillbilly family into letting the government lease their mountain for a missile base; turns out Presley is distant kin-folk to the wrasslin' hick clan and bears a striking resemblance to the resident blonde hellraiser. Grubby-looking semi-musical manages to give us two Presleys for the price of one, but the script, direction, and production values are strictly third-rate. The bevy of squealing gals who chase Elvis through the woods have a much better time than most viewers will, seeing as how nobody cared enough to write a single decent song for the soundtrack--and E.P. himself walks through the picture looking non-plussed. Lovely Yvonne Craig, TV's Batgirl, is very frisky (until she goes all coy and demure) and has a fun scene proposing marriage to Elvis, but for a comedy this is awfully glum stuff. *1/2 from ****