Wild in the Country
Encyclopedia
Wild in the Country is a 1961
film drama starring Elvis Presley
in which he portrays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family
who pursues a literary career. The screenplay was written by playwright Clifford Odets
.
) getting into a fight with, and badly injuring, his drunken brother. A court releases him on probation into the care of his uncle in a small town, appointing Irene Sperry (Hope Lange
) to give him psychological counselling. Marked as a trouble-maker, he is falsely suspected of various misdemeanors including an affair with Irene. Eventually shown to be innocent, he leaves to go to college and become a writer.
, the cast and crew created a public sensation in Napa for over two months of filming. The motel that they stayed at, Casa Beliveau (since torn down) was so mobbed that Elvis had to be moved to the St. Helena home that was being used in the film as Irene Sperry's (Hope Lange) house where Glenn Tyler (Elvis) went for counseling. Now a top-rated inn in the Napa Valley and known as The Ink House you can still stay in the room that Elvis slept in for over two months. Other Napa Valley locations figuring prominently in the movie are portions of the Napa River
, portrayed in the opening scene. This section of the river is located at what is now the Casa Nuestra Winery, between Calistoga
and St. Helena. Also featured are the downtown main street of the town of Calistoga where Glenn Tyler's uncle and his cousin (Tuesday Weld) lived, the Silverado Trail
between Calistoga and St. Helena, the Cameo Cinema (then The Roxy), an old movie theater still in operation in downtown St. Helena where the dance hall scenes with Elvis and Tuesday Weld were filmed, and the hills and farmland behind what is now Whitehall Lane Winery just north of the town of Rutherford. At the Ink House you will recognize the house, the backyard where a drunken Glenn Tyler tries to hose down Irene Sperry through the porch window, and the 1885 barn where Irene Sperry drives her DeSoto in to attempt suicide when she is so distraught over her suspected romance with Glenn and the scandal it has caused. In one scene, Betty Lee (played by Millie Perkins
) slaps Glenn (played by Elvis himself). Millie Perkins suffered a broken arm while doing the scene, and before the film was released, the scene ended up being cut out of the movie.
This was Elvis' last dramatic lead role until Charro!
as his next film, Blue Hawaii
, was his first big budget musical and was a box office sensation. All his subsequent movies were largely formula musicals which were quite lucrative but never gave him the chance to develop his potential as a serious actor that was very apparent in Wild in the Country.
In the original script and rough cut of the film, Hope Lange's character Irene Sperry succeeds in her suicide attempt. However, preview audiences reacted negatively to it and the scene was redone in which Irene survives and sees Glenn off to college.
Presley began an off-screen romance with Hollywood "bad girl" Tuesday Weld but the relationship was short-lived after Colonel Tom Parker
warned Presley against his involvement, fearful it would harm his image. Elvis and Hope Lange also were quite taken with each other, but her separation from her husband did not result in a divorce until the next summer making her unavailable for a serious relationship.
Other notable members in the cast included Jason Robards, Sr.
, Christina Crawford
(daughter of Joan Crawford
who went on to pen Mommie Dearest
), Pat Buttram
who was then known as the sidekick on the Gene Autry Show and went on to later fame as Mr. Haney on Green Acres
, and the legendary Rudd Weatherwax
who trained the animals used in the movie and was best known for his work with Lassie
and Mr. Ed The Talking Horse which were television hits of the time.
Other ironies among the cast include Millie Perkins playing Elvis' girlfriend in this movie and Elvis' mother in Elvis, the short-lived 1980's mini-series. While Hope Lange and Tuesday Weld each portrayed the same character, Selena Cross, Lange had originated the role in the original film, Peyton Place
. In the sequel, Return to Peyton Place
, Weld portrayed Cross.
in Hollywood, California, under the supervision of producer
Urban Thielmann. Five songs were recorded for the film, all ballad
s with "Lonely Man" and "Forget Me Never" left out of the film.
Since Wild in the Country showcased Presley the actor rather than the singing star, so RCA elected to release neither a long-playing album
nor an EP
as the soundtrack
for a Presley film. The Colonel
promised 20th Century Fox
to assist with promotion by releasing some songs on singles
. Despite being cut from the film, "Lonely Man" was actually the first song from the score to be released, appearing on February 7, 1961 as catalogue 47-7850b, the b-side of Presley's chart-topping hit single
, "Surrender
." The title track to the film, "Wild in the Country," was released on the very next single, catalogue 47-7880b on May 2, 1961, as the b-side of the #5 hit "I Feel So Bad
." Both b-sides made the Billboard Hot 100
independently of their A-sides, "Lonely Man" peaking at #32 and "Wild in the Country" at #26.
The songs "In My Way" and "Forget Me Never" would be included on the 1965 anniversary compilation album Elvis for Everyone
, while "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell" appeared on the 1961 album Something for Everybody
.
The soundtrack was re-released on the Follow that Dream collectors label with unrleased outtakes of all the songs.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
film drama starring Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in which he portrays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
who pursues a literary career. The screenplay was written by playwright Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...
.
Synopsis
The movie starts off with Glenn Tyler (Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
) getting into a fight with, and badly injuring, his drunken brother. A court releases him on probation into the care of his uncle in a small town, appointing Irene Sperry (Hope Lange
Hope Lange
Hope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
) to give him psychological counselling. Marked as a trouble-maker, he is falsely suspected of various misdemeanors including an affair with Irene. Eventually shown to be innocent, he leaves to go to college and become a writer.
Primary cast
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
: Glenn Tyler - Hope LangeHope LangeHope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
: Irene Sperry - Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
: Mrs. Noreen Martin - Millie PerkinsMillie PerkinsMillie Perkins is an American film and television actress.Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Millie grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Her father was a merchant marine captain...
: Betty Lee Parsons - Rafer JohnsonRafer JohnsonRafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
: Davis - John IrelandJohn Ireland (actor)John Benjamin Ireland was an actor and film director.-Biography:Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was raised in New York City from the age of 18. He started out in minor stage roles on Broadway...
: Phil Macy - Gary LockwoodGary LockwoodGary Lockwood is an American actor probably best known for his iconic 1968 role as the astronaut Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey.-Early life:...
: Cliff Macy - William Mims : Uncle Rolfe Braxton
- Christina Crawford : Monica George
- Robin Raymond : Flossie
Background
Filmed on location in the Napa Valley and in Hollywood Studios, although it is set in the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
, the cast and crew created a public sensation in Napa for over two months of filming. The motel that they stayed at, Casa Beliveau (since torn down) was so mobbed that Elvis had to be moved to the St. Helena home that was being used in the film as Irene Sperry's (Hope Lange) house where Glenn Tyler (Elvis) went for counseling. Now a top-rated inn in the Napa Valley and known as The Ink House you can still stay in the room that Elvis slept in for over two months. Other Napa Valley locations figuring prominently in the movie are portions of the Napa River
Napa River
The Napa River, approximately 55 miles long, is a river in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region, called the Napa Valley, in the mountains northeast of San Francisco. Milliken Creek is a tributary of the Napa River....
, portrayed in the opening scene. This section of the river is located at what is now the Casa Nuestra Winery, between Calistoga
Calistoga, California
Calistoga is a city in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 5,155 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.30% of it land and 0.70% of it water.-Climate:...
and St. Helena. Also featured are the downtown main street of the town of Calistoga where Glenn Tyler's uncle and his cousin (Tuesday Weld) lived, the Silverado Trail
Silverado Trail
The Silverado Trail is a scenic route that travels 29 miles along the Eastern edge of the Napa Valley, parallel to and several miles to the east of California State Route 29.-History:...
between Calistoga and St. Helena, the Cameo Cinema (then The Roxy), an old movie theater still in operation in downtown St. Helena where the dance hall scenes with Elvis and Tuesday Weld were filmed, and the hills and farmland behind what is now Whitehall Lane Winery just north of the town of Rutherford. At the Ink House you will recognize the house, the backyard where a drunken Glenn Tyler tries to hose down Irene Sperry through the porch window, and the 1885 barn where Irene Sperry drives her DeSoto in to attempt suicide when she is so distraught over her suspected romance with Glenn and the scandal it has caused. In one scene, Betty Lee (played by Millie Perkins
Millie Perkins
Millie Perkins is an American film and television actress.Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Millie grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Her father was a merchant marine captain...
) slaps Glenn (played by Elvis himself). Millie Perkins suffered a broken arm while doing the scene, and before the film was released, the scene ended up being cut out of the movie.
This was Elvis' last dramatic lead role until Charro!
Charro!
Charro! is a 1969 Western film starring Elvis Presley. It was his only role that didn't feature him singing on-screen, and is the only Presley film to feature no songs at all except for the main title theme. It also features a bearded Presley for the first and last time in any of his films.The film...
as his next film, Blue Hawaii
Blue Hawaii
Blue Hawaii is a 1961 musical film set in the state of Hawaii and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written American Musical. The movie opened at no...
, was his first big budget musical and was a box office sensation. All his subsequent movies were largely formula musicals which were quite lucrative but never gave him the chance to develop his potential as a serious actor that was very apparent in Wild in the Country.
In the original script and rough cut of the film, Hope Lange's character Irene Sperry succeeds in her suicide attempt. However, preview audiences reacted negatively to it and the scene was redone in which Irene survives and sees Glenn off to college.
Presley began an off-screen romance with Hollywood "bad girl" Tuesday Weld but the relationship was short-lived after Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
warned Presley against his involvement, fearful it would harm his image. Elvis and Hope Lange also were quite taken with each other, but her separation from her husband did not result in a divorce until the next summer making her unavailable for a serious relationship.
Other notable members in the cast included Jason Robards, Sr.
Jason Robards, Sr.
Jason Nelson Robards, Sr. was an American stage and screen actor, and the father of Oscar-winning actor Jason Robards, Jr...
, Christina Crawford
Christina Crawford
Christina Crawford is an American writer and actress, best known as the author of Mommie Dearest, an exposé of alleged child abuse by her mother, actress Joan Crawford.-Early life and education:...
(daughter of Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
who went on to pen Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The book, which depicts Christina's childhood and her relationship with her mother, was published in 1978.-Christina Crawford's claims:...
), Pat Buttram
Pat Buttram
Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty"...
who was then known as the sidekick on the Gene Autry Show and went on to later fame as Mr. Haney on Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, and the legendary Rudd Weatherwax
Rudd Weatherwax
Ruddell Bird "Rudd" Weatherwax was an American actor and animal trainer. He and his brother Frank Weatherwax are best remembered for training dogs for motion pictures and television. Frank's collie, Pal, became the original Lassie, handled by Rudd for the 1943 MGM film Lassie Come Home...
who trained the animals used in the movie and was best known for his work with Lassie
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
and Mr. Ed The Talking Horse which were television hits of the time.
Other ironies among the cast include Millie Perkins playing Elvis' girlfriend in this movie and Elvis' mother in Elvis, the short-lived 1980's mini-series. While Hope Lange and Tuesday Weld each portrayed the same character, Selena Cross, Lange had originated the role in the original film, Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
. In the sequel, Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel Peyton Place.-Plot summary:After the phenomenal success of her first novel, Metalious hastily penned a sequel centering on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who ironically...
, Weld portrayed Cross.
Soundtrack
Recording sessions took place on November 7 and 8, 1960, at Radio RecordersRadio Recorders
Radio Recorders, Inc. was a recording studio based in Los Angeles, California. Famous musicians to have been recorded in the studio include Charlie Parker, Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Carpenters among others. In its prime, the studio was known...
in Hollywood, California, under the supervision of producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Urban Thielmann. Five songs were recorded for the film, all ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s with "Lonely Man" and "Forget Me Never" left out of the film.
Since Wild in the Country showcased Presley the actor rather than the singing star, so RCA elected to release neither a long-playing album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
nor an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
as the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
for a Presley film. The Colonel
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
promised 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
to assist with promotion by releasing some songs on singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Despite being cut from the film, "Lonely Man" was actually the first song from the score to be released, appearing on February 7, 1961 as catalogue 47-7850b, the b-side of Presley's chart-topping hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "Surrender
Surrender (Elvis Presley song)
"Surrender" is a #1 song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1961. It is an adaptation by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman of the music of a 1902 Neapolitan ballad by Giambattista and Ernesto de Curtis entitled "Torna a Surriento" . It hit number one in the US and UK in 1961...
." The title track to the film, "Wild in the Country," was released on the very next single, catalogue 47-7880b on May 2, 1961, as the b-side of the #5 hit "I Feel So Bad
I Feel so Bad
I Feel so Bad is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Willis in 1953, a cover of the song was recorded by Elvis Presley on March 12, 1961 in RCA Studio B, in Nashville, TN....
." Both b-sides made the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
independently of their A-sides, "Lonely Man" peaking at #32 and "Wild in the Country" at #26.
The songs "In My Way" and "Forget Me Never" would be included on the 1965 anniversary compilation album Elvis for Everyone
Elvis for Everyone
Elvis for Everyone! is the twenty-third album by Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3450, in August 1965. Recording sessions took place over a ten-year span at Sun Studio in Memphis, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California...
, while "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell" appeared on the 1961 album Something for Everybody
Something for Everybody
Something For Everybody is the thirteenth album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2370, in June 1961. Recording sessions took place on November 8, 1960, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, and on March 12, 1961 at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. It peaked at #1...
.
The soundtrack was re-released on the Follow that Dream collectors label with unrleased outtakes of all the songs.
Personnel
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - The JordanairesThe JordanairesThe Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...
- background vocals - Scotty MooreScotty MooreWinfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
, Tiny TimbrellTiny TimbrellHilmer J. Timbrell was a Canadian-born session musician and master guitarist.Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell was born in Canada but moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his career in music...
- electric guitarsElectric GuitarsElectric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy... - Jimmie HaskellJimmie HaskellJimmie Haskell born Sheridan Pearlman 1936 in Brooklyn, New York is a prolific American composer and arranger for a variety of popular singers and motion pictures.-Biography:...
- accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.... - Dudley Brooks - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Meyer Rubin - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- D.J. Fontana - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Film music track listing
- "Wild in the County" (George WeissGeorge David WeissGeorge David Weiss was an American songwriter and former President of the Songwriters Guild of America.-Career:...
, Hugo PerettiHugo PerettiHugo E. Peretti was an American songwriter and record producer.Born in New York City, Hugo Peretti began his career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Borscht Belt in upstate New York...
, Luigi CreatoreLuigi CreatoreLuigi Creatore is a American songwriter and record producer.From a musical family, Creatore began his career as a writer. After serving with the United States military during World War II, in the 1950s he became a writer then partnered with his cousin Hugo Peretti to form the songwriting team of...
) - "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell" (Ben WeismanBen WeismanBen Weisman was an eccentric American composer significant for having written more songs recorded by Elvis Presley than any other songwriter in history. The "Mad Professor" as Weisman was nicknamed by Elvis, worked with the King from 1956 to 1971...
, Fred WiseFred Wise (lyricist)Fred Wise was the co-writer of the lyrics to the 1948 song "'A' — You're Adorable" with Buddy Kaye. He subsequently wrote many of the songs sung by Elvis Presley in his movies....
) - "In My Way" (Ben Weisman, Fred Wise)
- "Husky Dusky Day" (a cappella duet with Hope LangeHope LangeHope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
) (unknown recording date and location)
See also
- List of Elvis Presley films
- Elvis Presley discographyElvis Presley discographyThe discography of Elvis Presley starts on July 19, 1954, with the release of his first commercial single, and ends in February 1978. Presley's final album, Elvis in Concert, and final two singles, "My Way" and "Unchained Melody", although released after his death are considered part of the...
- List of American films of 1961