harum-scarum

• Director: Gene Nelson
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Musical
• Movie Type: Musical Romance, Rock Musical
• Themes: Culture Clash, Fish Out of Water, Opposites Attract
• Main Cast: Elvis Presley, Mary Ann Mobley, Fran Jeffries, Michael Ansara, Jay Novello, Billy Barty
• Release Year: 1965
• Country: US
• Run Time: 95 minutes

Plot

Elvis Presley plays singer/actor Johnny Tyronne in this formulated quickie directed by Gene Nelson. While on a promotional tour of Pakistan, Johnny is drugged, kidnapped, and whisked away to a mythical Middle East country. Jay Novello plays the scheming Zacha who vows (for a price) to help Johnny in a world that is 2,000 years behind the times and sealed off from the outside world. With the help of Baba (Billy Barty), they hope to get Johnny back to the comforts of the modern world. Elvis shows off some neat karate moves, but he looks bored and resigned to the fact no one in Hollywood (or Colonel Tom Parker) will give him a serious screen role. Filmed on sets that were originally used for Kismet (1944) and Cecile B. DeMille's silent classic The Ten Commandments. As for the songs, only Mirage and Hey Little Girl are memorable. The generous Presley, perhaps feeling nostalgic, donated $50,000 to the motion picture relief fund after completing the film. On hand at the celebrity press conference were such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Bud Abbott, and silent-screen veteran Chester Conklin. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Review

Very dedicated fans of Elvis Presley and devotees of camp filmmaking may enjoy Harum Scarum, but most viewers will find it hard to make it to the end of this mess of a movie. Gerald Drayson Adams' screenplay has been hobbled together from many different sources with what seems to be little regard for coherence or logic, let alone wit, spontaneity, or entertainment. Gene Nelson directs with a distinct lack of flair (and probably with a total lack of interest); at times, one gets the impression that it was all he could do to tell the cameraman in which direction to point the camera. Presley, who usually got through his pictures on innate charm and instinct, is clearly bored and turns in a half-hearted performance. He's better in the musical portions, of course, but only "So Close, Yet So Far" seems to be coming from someplace remotely personal. Still, there are plenty of pretty girls (an important factor in this genre), some colorful costumes, and a number of moments (most notably the "Shake That Tambourine" number) that are campily diverting. And Presley looks surprisingly good in a turban. A big hit in its day, Harum Scarum is fun to laugh at, but the joke wears out rather quickly. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Elvis Presley - Johnny Tyronne
• Mary Ann Mobley - Princess Shalimar
• Fran Jeffries - Aishah
• Michael Ansara - Prince Dragna
• Jay Novello - Zacha
• Billy Barty - Baba

Theo Marcuse - Sinan; Dirk Harvey - Makar; Larry Chance - Capt. Herat; Barbara Werle - Leilah; Brenda Benet - Emerald; Gale Gilmore - Sapphire; Wilda Taylor - Amethyst; Vicki Malkin - Sari; Ryck Rydon - Mustapha; Richard Reeves - Scarred Bedouin; Joey Russo - Yussef; Carolyn Carter - Heroine of Film; Jack Constanza - Julna; Suzanna Covington - Naja; Robert Larmont - President; Ralph Lee - Noble; Phillip Reed - King Toranshah; Maja Stewart - Princess

Credit

George W. Davis - Art Director, McClure Capps - Art Director, Earl Barton - Choreography, Gene Ostler - Costume Designer, Beau Vandenecker - Costume Designer, Margo Weintz - Costume Designer, Gene Nelson - Director, Ben Lewis - Editor, Freddy Karger - Composer (Music Score), William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Don L. Cash - Makeup, Fred Jackman, Jr. - Cinematographer, Sam Katzman - Producer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Don Greenwood, Jr. - Set Designer, Gerald Drayson Adams - Screenwriter

adj.
Lacking a sense of responsibility; reckless.

adv.
With abandon; recklessly.

[Perhaps alteration of hare 'em, scare 'em : hare, to frighten + SCARE.]

adjective

Characterized by unthinking boldness and haste: brash, foolhardy, hasty, headlong, hotheaded, ill-considered, impetuous, improvident, impulsive, incautious, madcap, precipitant, precipitate, rash¹, reckless, slapdash, temerarious, unconsidered. See careful/careless.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - vild, ubesindig, forvirret
n. - vild person, galning, fusentast
adv. - vildt, ubesindigt

Nederlands (Dutch)
onbezonnen persoon, wildebras, onbesuisdheid, onbesuisd, roekeloos, schots en scheef

Français (French)
adj. - écervelé
n. - écervelé
adv. - comme un fou

Deutsch (German)
n. - unbesonnene Person, Wildfang
adj. - unbesonnen
adv. - Hals über Kopf

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τρελάρας
adj. - (καθομ.) απερίσκεπτος
adv. - απερίσκεπτα, μεσ' στα όλα, στα κουτουρού

Italiano (Italian)
irresponsabile, sventato, sventatamente

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pessoa (f) leviana
adj. - leviano, imprudente
adv. - levianamente

Русский (Russian)
бесшабашный, очертя голову, как попало

Español (Spanish)
adj. - atolondrado
n. - comportamiento impredecible o imprudente
adv. - alocadamente, en forma atolondrada

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - virrpanna
adj. - tanklös, virrig
adv. - tanklöst, vilt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
冒失的, 轻率鲁莽的, 粗心的人, 鲁莽, 粗心, 轻率地, 鲁莽地

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 冒失的, 輕率魯莽的
n. - 粗心的人, 魯莽, 粗心
adv. - 輕率地, 魯莽地

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 방정맞은, 덤벙대는, 무분별한
n. - 덤벙대는 사람, 무모한 행동
adv. - 방정맞게, 덤벙대어, 경솔하게

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 無鉄砲な
n. - そこつ者, 無鉄砲

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المتهور, الطائش (صفه) متهور, طائش (ظرف) بتهور, بطيش‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שובב, פזיז, פרוע‬
n. - ‮אדם בעל תכונות אלו‬
adv. - ‮בפזיזות, בפראות‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.