One of my personal favourite Elvis films - this is in my Top 4. Once again Elvis is playing a racing driver - this time Nascar ace Steve Grayson - who is racking up a small fortune but unbeknown to him his friend and dodgy accountant Bill Bixby (Kenny) hasn't been declaring it all, and has even been losing the cash on horse bets. When Elvis' off track attention is taken by the sexy, gorgeous Nancy Sinatra it later turns out she's an employee for the IRS monitoring his every earning and reporting it back to "Uncle Sam" (hence the reason for fun song and funny scene "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad") After being hauled in to see the tax man it turns out Grayson and Kenny owe the government close to $50,000 thus losing their lavish lifestyle (in it, perhaps a bit nudge-nudge, wink-wink to his real life persona) Grayson generously donates large sums of money and cars to struggling individuals whom he believes to be decent people. I suppose if you were going to be critical, there isn't really a point to 'Speedway'. Elvis never recoups all the money he owes the government in the movie, and he doesn't even win the big race at the end in this Movie - he gets collected and taken off the track by two lapped cars tangling...but nevertheless it's still a really good, entertaining movie with some great dialogue, better humour and a more modern feel than any other Elvis movie in the 60's up to this point (Viva Las Vegas excepted!) and the chemistry between Elvis and Bill Bixby is good. Elvis looks fantastic in 'Speedway' too. It was filmed shortly after his wedding to Priscilla in 1967, and he really looks great - as does Nancy Sinatra who is quite possibly Elvis' closest opposite Ann-Margret aside. Not the best of actresses by her own admission, but stunningly beautiful and in "Your Groovy Self" she sings arguably the song of the film. It's a tough call between that and "Let Yourself Go" which is one of my Top 10 Elvis songs. Bill Bixby is also good in this I thought...despite being a sleazy lech and not a particularly good friend to have around!!

An entertaining, funny movie. Elvis uses his childhood friend, played very well by Bill Bixby, as his manager. Bixby is an extremely irresponsible one who gets Elvis in trouble with the IRS. Here is where Nancy Sinatra comes in as the IRS agent responsible for seeing he makes restitution for the $145K that he owes. That is a huge amount for 1968. (My parents bought a four bedroom house that year for $20.5K) At first Nancy is all business but since this an Elvis movie she softens up and they fall in love. There are a lot of girls and songs as is too be expected. I found this to be a pretty nice movie and definitely one the better Elvis ones. As most know he did make a couple of dogs!!!

When Elvis filmed 'Speedway' in June of 1967 it was a time of change. He had been married just over a month, Priscilla was pregnant with Lisa-Marie and this film would be his biggest hit since 1965.Elvis looked great, had a leading lady of star quality but mostly he seemed to find joy in making movies again. The rapport with Bill Bixby (sadly lost on 'Clambake') is excellent and their banters and on screen one-up-manship make for some delightful exchanges.The title track is sung with gusto while 'Let Yourself Go' and 'Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby' are other stand-out tracks.A year later in the June of 1968 history would be made when Elvis once again entered a stage for the first time in 7 years to record his TV special for NBC now affectionately known as 'the Comeback'.Andy

Dusty, repetitious stock car comedy-musical with Elvis Presley as the driver being hounded by an IRS agent looking for taxable winnings. According to all the Elvis books I've read, "Speedway" opened with the usual Presley fanfare but died out quickly. Why? With sexy platinum blonde Nancy Sinatra as the love-interest, ostensibly rousing locales and races, and the usual quota of songs, this should have been another "Viva Las Vegas". Unfortunately, the two stars are a surprisingly icy match, creating no sparks, and Bill Bixby gets stuck with the agonizing part of the proverbial flunky. The stock car sequences are visually dull and, although director Norman Taurog supplies a few funny comic touches, the film has no life, no pep. It is also curiously anachronistic, playing like something coy from 1963, but this was 1968! No wonder Elvis was so unhappy in Hollywood. *1/2 from ****