If you look at the movies Elvis made while still in his early 20s (Jailhouse Rock, King Creole) you see a likable and charismatic young man with little formal acting training, but enough singing talent and screen charm to support a film career, with the right management and development. Sadly, Elvis had Colonel Parker and MGM, neither of whom seemed interested in anything beyond getting a quick buck off their young star before he flamed out. By the time he made Clambake, Elvis had done 25 films already, each progressively cheaper, more formulaic and worse than the rest and he was clearly just going through the motions. He had lost all illusions that his career would ever go in an interesting direction again and he phoned in his role here as if this were a guest appearance on somebody else's sitcom.
The movie looks shabby and quickly made, lacking even the pretenses of A-picture production design. The script feels as if it was thrown together in a weekend out of recycled bits from better movies, and the cast look as if they don't really care how it all turns out. The songs are among the worst of Elvis' movie career, years out of date with the current trends in popular music, and Elvis' performance of them is, to be kind, less than inspiring.
Honestly, there is not much point in watching this movie unless you are an Elvis completist and just have to see everything he ever did.
The movie looks shabby and quickly made, lacking even the pretenses of A-picture production design. The script feels as if it was thrown together in a weekend out of recycled bits from better movies, and the cast look as if they don't really care how it all turns out. The songs are among the worst of Elvis' movie career, years out of date with the current trends in popular music, and Elvis' performance of them is, to be kind, less than inspiring.
Honestly, there is not much point in watching this movie unless you are an Elvis completist and just have to see everything he ever did.