Harum Scarum (1965)

Elvis Presley stars as action movie star Johnny Tyronne, whose real-life becomes adventurous when he is drugged and kidnapped by underground assassins while on a goodwill tour of the Middle East to attend the premiere of his latest film in the (fictitious) kingdom of Lunarkand – a nation untouched for two thousand years but where, surprisingly, everyone speaks English.

The assassins have seen Johnny’s films and want to employ him to carry out the assassination of a desert king for them. Apparently, his demonstrated fighting skills in his movies have been taken at face value, and the assassins now believe they have James Bond himself at their disposal.

Naturally, Johnny refuses and attempts a daring escape across the desert in the company of the cunning thief Zacha (Jay Novello) – who has taken Johnny on as his “noble client” in order to fleece him – and the beautiful Princess Shalimar (former Miss America, Mary Ann Mobley).

Fran Jeffries plays double-crossing Aishah and looks like a cat-suited Batman baddie. Whether in an extravagant glitter pantsuit, a shimmering dress with splashes of colour as red as bloodstains, or a pitch-black bodysuit, Aisha is a sight to behold.

Elvis fights in the finale like a true swashbuckling hero, with every clichéd fight gag incorporated: pulling a rug out of the way, stretching a rope at foot level, putting a basket over one’s head and swinging around on the rope.

The exotic locations (actually some of Hollywood’s most unconvincing backlot scenery repurposed from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1927 Jesus epic, The King of Kings) add a frisson of interest to the usual formula, but this is negated by the lacklustre plot and forgettable songs, which make this another substandard entry in Presley’s screen career (it was his 19th movie).

Filmed in just eighteen days, many Elvis fans consider it to be his worst film. It was also his first film to flop financially.

But Harum Scarum is very primary-coloured (MGM’s Metrocolor, presented here in a vibrant 1.85:1 Panavision, is absolutely stunning), with dancing girls and galloping horses all over the shop.

The film leaves no Middle Eastern cliché untouched, and even Presley’s manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker, was alarmed by the film’s lack of coherence.

After a screening in June 1965, he declared it would take “a 55th cousin to P.T. Barnum” to sell such a waste of celluloid, and even suggested adding a talking camel to make the film seem more deliberately nutty than it already is.

The film is directed by ex-hoofer Gene Nelson, who should have continued hoofing.

Cult TV fans may recognise co-star Mary Ann Mobley as the first actress to play The Girl from UNCLE on the small screen before Stefanie Powers stepped into the role.

Released in many markets as Harem Holiday.

Johnny Tyronne
Elvis Presley
Princess Shalimar
Mary Ann Mobley
Aishah
Fran Jeffries
Prince Dragna
Michael Ansara
Zacha
Jay Novello
King Toranshah
Philip Reed
Sinan
Theo Marcuse
Baba
Billy Barty

Director
Gene Nelson

Audio