Roustabout

1964 "Elvis Presley as a Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT"
6| 1h41m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 11 November 1964 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

After a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.

Genre

Music, Romance

Watch Online

Roustabout (1964) is now streaming with subscription on Paramount+

Director

John Rich

Production Companies

Paramount

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Roustabout Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Roustabout Audience Reviews

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Spikeopath Released the same year as Viva Las Vegas, Roustabout is often viewed as one of the lesser lights in Elvis' 1960s movie output. Which is a shame given that it has vitality in abundance, sees the King playing a two dimensional character, features the professional workings of Barbara Stanwyck and Leif Erickson and is beautifully staged and photographed (Lucien Ballard) amongst a Carnival backdrop.Plot sees Presley as night club singer Charlie Rogers who has a big chip on his shoulder, getting into yet another fight he gets fired and via a motorcycle run in with Maggie Morgan (Stanwyck) and Joe Lean (Erickson), ends up working at Maggie's carnival operation while he waits for his bike to be fixed. He has his eyes on Joe's daughter, Cathy (Joan Freeman), but Joe, himself carrying a heavy burden, has a big dislike for the young upstart. With the bank closing in ready to close the struggling carnival, hope may come in the form of Charlie's singing attributes, but will he stay? Will he be lured away by a lucrative offer from a rival Carnie promoter? With Charlie struggling to ingratiate himself to the Carnie way of life, and him constantly failing to show his true emotions to win around a hard to convince Cathy, the odds against him staying seems short.Well how do you think it's going to end? Exactly the way you expect it too of course. But there is great fun and frolics along the way and it is a true spirit raising finale. The clutch of songs are not the best, though the beautiful tenderness of "Big Love, Big Heartache" and the interesting take on "Little Egypt" are reason enough to be pleased with the musical contributions. Presley delivers a good turn, a nifty blend of rebel yell and housewives baby, the carnival atmosphere is well born out and crucially the film manages to not undersell the graft that carnival workers did to put on a show for the public's entertainment. It also opens up a game for spotters of future "names", see if you can spot Raquel Welch, Teri Garr and Richard Kiel in teeny tiny roles.A lovely enjoyable Elvis film, foot tapping and smiles guaranteed, and the King, quite frankly, rocks in this one. 7/10
brackenhe I know Elvis Presley made better films after this (at least in my mind) but this must have been the beginning of the end of his movie career. The only reason I give this 4 out of 10 is because there is makings of a decent movie here. But the writing is so bad, and Elvis is made to sing a bunch of ridiculous songs (except Little Egypt.) This movie makes me hate Colonel Parker more than I already hate him. There is a story here about a young man who ends up working in a carnival and falling for a girl (basis for all EP movies.) But with a supporting cast such as this, it should have been better. It had Barbara Stanwyck in it for goodness sake, not to mention several veteran character actors. I think by this point Elvis didn't care anymore because why would he make such schlock. He must have been forced into it because he needed the money to keep up the Colonel and his ever growing entourage. He deserved better than this.
JoeKarlosi Most people don't think too much of this Elvis romp compared to any other, but for me it stands out as one of the better "formula" movies the man made in the '60s. As club singer Charlie Rogers, Elvis is a little different from his usual stock characters from this period because the young man has a chip on his shoulder. He's a reckless person who never had a family and is prone to being self-centered and dismissive. After getting fired from a gig one day, he and his motorcycle are smacked up by a threesome of small-time carnival owners driving in their car, so they invite him to stick around their modest fairgrounds and work as a "roustabout" for a little cash while waiting for his bike to get back from the repair shop. Rogers is able to boost business with his singing to lure customers to the Fair.Barbara Stanwyck plays the strong-willed carnival chief who breathes the carny lifestyle, but she's saddled with a crotchety and hard-headed partner (Leif Erickson) who once caused a tragedy to a customer by not safely securing one of the rides at the fair, and who tries to keep Charlie away from his daughter Cathy (Joan Freeman). It's refreshing to see a leading girl who can hold her own and not easily succumb to Elvis' whims. There are a few decent songs here and there, if no great ones. Raquel Welch can be spotted in the beginning of the film as one of a group of young folks going to see Charlie Rogers perform at the club. *** out of ****
liushu I really enjoyed this comedy because I love Elvis's acting. I think he should also tried to pursue his second career as an actor in Hollywood beside his singing career. He always tired to be funny in his movies. I also love his singing. Through the year of 1956 to 1967. I think his voice quality still maintained the early Elvis singing quality which I like the most. Of course the song "Roustabout," he really demonstrated his character greatly. Overall, I love the movie- Roustabout. If people listen Elvis's recording in that movie, then they should notice that his voice sounded different compares his recordings from 1968 to 1977. I think I'm a big of early Elvis. He was a good looking guy with a beautiful voice.