Girl Happy

 

Girl Happy

 

Girl Happy is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy in the beach party film and spring break style, starring Elvis Presley. This, his 18th feature, was the last mega-successful Elvis Presley film at the box office, finishing at #25 on the Variety year-end top-grossing films of 1965 chart and making $3 million, although all of his subsequent films would still be profitable. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965.The movie featured the Top 40 Billboard hit "Puppet on a String", which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and in Canada, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Although MGM presented Girl Happy as a beach party film ("Elvis brings his beat to the beach!" "Elvis jumps with the campus crowd to make the beach 'ball' bounce!") and while Presley had previously appeared shirtless in films prior to this, he never appears without a shirt at anytime throughout his many scenes at the pool and on the beach in Florida, wearing long sleeves for most of the film - even while water-skiing.

Alternate titles considered were The Only Way to Love and Girl Crazy. Joe Pasternak had produced the similar spring break movie Where the Boys Are, which was also set in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1960.

This would the first of three movies in which Shelley Fabares would co-star with Elvis. Dan Haggerty, who plays Charlie, would later appear in the The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams movie and TV series.