In this Elvis outing not only does he sing lead in a band, but he also drives race cars!Two ladies are out walk down the aisle with Elvis, which one will win him over? Or will Elvis win the race and avoid the marriages?Cute, but at some point all the Elvis movies seem like a carousel. Nonetheless enjoyable!

Spinout is somewhere in the middle of the pack of the Elvis Presley cinema output. It's an amiable comedy with the King about a singer with a group who is a celebrity racer. Along the lines of Paul Newman before and Tom Cruise afterwards. I don't include Steve McQueen because that man was serious about the sport and had he entered it earlier might have had that as a career.Anyway Elvis is the target of three women with matrimony on their minds. Rich girl Shelley Fabares, Jacqueline Susann like author Diane McBain, and the drummer in the King's own group, Deborah Walley who is a gourmet cook on the side.As usual Colonel Tom Parker got quality help for his boy behind and in front of the camera. Norman Taurog ended his career directing a series of Presley pictures and this is one of them. Such movie veterans as Frederic Worlock and Cecil Kellaway have small roles and this is the farewell big screen appearance of Una Merkel. Also in the cast is Carl Betz once again playing Shelley Fabares father as he did on the Donna Reed Show. Will Hutchins, television's Sugarfoot is also around as a policeman who appreciates good cooking and Jack Mullaney and Jimmy Hawkins are the other members of Elvis's group. Note that they play electric guitars or simulate playing them while Elvis sticks with a regular model.Of course Spinout ends with the Big Race and I don't think I have to tell you who wins, but the race itself is 3/4 of the fun. No big songs came out of the score for Elvis, but he acquits himself in the vocal and comedy department. Spinout should please his fans.

Elvis Presley spent most of the 1960s making fluffy lightweight romantic comedies with music, all constructed on a studio assembly line during the waning days of the old Hollywood studio system. These films tended to sap Elvis of the energy he could have devoted to better films and better roles, all of which he was capable of. Having said that, some of these films were more tolerable than others.SPINOUT, made at MGM, is one of the most entertaining thanks to its teaming of Elvis with three colorful and delightful leading ladies, all of whom more than hold their own with their charismatic leading man. Deborah Walley plays the tomboyish redhead drummer in Elvis' band and has a secret crush on him; Diane McBain plays a sexually voracious best-selling author on the hunt for the perfect American male; and Shelley Fabares plays the heiress of an auto fortune who thinks she's entitled to whatever she wants and whose father wants Elvis to race a car for him. In the course of it, Elvis encounters rivals for each of the girl's affections, leading to a set of romantic entanglements that are ultimately resolved in an inspired and original ending. The plot is packed with lots of clever twists, thanks to a script co-written by Theodore J. Flicker who would write and direct the cult hit, THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST, the following year. Fortunately, the film's racing angle is downplayed in favor of comic situations and a set of enjoyable songs.The supporting players deserve singling out, including Jack Mullaney as Elvis' comical bandmate; Carl Betz as Shelley's father (a role he played with Shelley on "The Donna Reed Show" as well); Warren Berlinger as Betz's loyal assistant; TV cowboy Will Hutchins as a highway cop with a penchant for gourmet cooking; and Hollywood veterans Cecil Kellaway and Una Merkel as an elderly rich couple who allow Elvis and his band to take over their house when they go on vacation. (This latter touch is representative of the film's Hollywood fantasyland approach to life, but it's all so well played by such skilled hands that it's difficult not to get sucked into the fun of it all.)

Spinout (1966) ** (out of 4) Mindless but sometimes fun film about a stockcar driver (Elvis) who must choose between marrying a rich girl (Shelley Fabares) or driving her mean father's car in a big race, which could get him a lot of money. Elvis sings nine songs in this movie and they're actually all pretty bad and they make for the worst part of the film. The movie story once again features Elvis involved and having trouble with various women but it plays out okay with a nice ending but the real fun comes from all the racing footage, which certainly looks fake but it's still fun. It's also fun seeing Elvis drive 100 mph without messing up his hair. The supporting cast are decent but Cecil Kellaway and Una Merkel steal the show with their few scenes. Elvis also gives a nice performance in the scene he does with them teaching them that being old doesn't mean things are over.