Wild In The Country (1961)

This drama about Glenn Tyler – a rebellious backwoods delinquent on parole, who ends up going to college to become a great writer – represents an attempt to unveil Elvis Presley as a straight dramatic actor.

He makes a respectable attempt but is not quite good enough, and is hampered by an unconvincing plot and script.

In the course of the action (which goes on for too long), he is placed in his uncle’s care by the court after getting in one fight too many, and assigned a psychiatrist, Irene Sperry (Hope Lange), who discovers and nurtures his hidden writing talent and falls for him.

Meanwhile, he is two-timing ladylike Betty Lee Parsons (Millie Perkins) and earthy Noreen (Tuesday Weld), and his reputation as a trouble-maker proves hard to overcome.

Strangely, this unlikely piece is based on the true story of one Jesse Stuart, a Kentucky hillbilly who became a successful writer.

Filming took place in St. Helena, California, with additional exterior shots filmed in Napa Valley and at the University of California, Los Angeles. A large number of students were hired there as extras.

Interior scenes were filmed on the 20th Century Fox studio lot.

Two different ending werre filmed. In one, Irene Sperry dies as a result of her suicide attempt. In the other, she survives. The film was screened for a test audience, after which the viewers were asked which ending they preferred. The unanimous opinion was that Irene should survive.

Glenn Tyler
Elvis Presley
Irene Sperry
Hope Lange
Noreen
Tuesday Weld
Betty Lee Parsons
Millie Perkins
Davis
Rafer Johnson
Monica George
Christina Crawford
Phil Macy
John Ireland
Cliff Macy
Gary Lockwood
Judge Parker
Jason Robards

Director
Philip Dunne

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