{"id":50942,"date":"2020-09-05T11:39:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-05T18:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=50942"},"modified":"2021-01-05T14:37:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T21:37:36","slug":"wild-in-the-country-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=50942","title":{"rendered":"Wild in the Country (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s like I&#8217;m always walking around with a full cup of anger, trying not to spill it.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-50945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster-177x270.jpg 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Poster.jpg 657w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter nearly killing his brother in a provoked fist fight, a talented but troubled young writer (Elvis Presley) is sent by a judge (Jason Robards, Sr.) to live with his uncle (William Mims) and Mims&#8217; daughter (Tuesday Weld), who has a baby, while also attending therapy sessions with a beautiful widowed psychologist (Hope Lange). Mims hopes to &#8220;catch&#8221; Presley and Weld together so they&#8217;ll get married, but Presley &#8212; who already has a girlfriend (Millie Perkins) &#8212; slowly starts falling for Lange, who is meanwhile resisting engagement to a lawyer (John Ireland) with a hot-headed son (Gary Lockwood).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Elvis Presley Films<\/li>\n<li>Hope Lange Films<\/li>\n<li>John Ireland Films<\/li>\n<li>Juvenile Delinquents<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Millie Perkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Psychotherapy<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday Weld Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIn addition to two concert films, Peary lists &#8220;just&#8221; nine Elvis Presley movies (out of a total of 31) in his <em>GFTFF<\/em>. This adaptation of a debut novel by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/J._R._Salamanca\">J.R. Salamanca<\/a> &#8212; probably best known as author of the source-novel for <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8388\"><em>Lilith<\/em> (1964)<\/a> &#8212; is a reasonably well-scripted (by Clifford Odets) melodrama about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.halfofthetruth.org\/blog\/rainforest-mind\/gifted-characters-in-film-an-unexpected-glimpse\/\">a gifted young man<\/a> born into a society that doesn&#8217;t really have space or patience for him. Weld seems to be enjoying her role as a &#8220;wild&#8221; single mom eager for some fun, and Presley&#8217;s performance isn&#8217;t bad &#8212; but it&#8217;s somewhat laughable to see 26-year-old Presley referring to 28-year-old Lange with deference as &#8220;ma&#8217;am&#8221;, given how much chemistry they clearly have together (casting 40-year-old Simone Signoret in the role, as originally intended, would probably have worked better). A whole lot of melodrama ensues in this story, which is certainly worth a look by Presley fans but not must-see viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/95859\/wild-in-the-country#articles-reviews?articleId=175825\">TCM&#8217;s article<\/a>, &#8220;Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis&#8217;s manager, insisted that the studio insert several songs into the film or it wouldn&#8217;t be an Elvis Presley picture&#8221;; the songs aren&#8217;t bad but don&#8217;t quite seem to fit. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hope Lange as Mrs. Sperry<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"366\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange.png 850w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Lange-604x260.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Tuesday Weld as Noreen Braxton<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"366\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld.png 850w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Wild-in-the-Country-Weld-604x260.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some well-crafted dialogue:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re wild and unsettled, like a porcupine that can&#8217;t be held.&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8220;Life&#8217;s got its shadows enough&#8230; Live and let live.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s certainly worth a look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0055623\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=5899&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/95859\/wild-in-the-country#articles-reviews?articleId=175825\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1961\/06\/10\/archives\/screen-presley-is-a-problem-againhe-stars-in-wild-in-the-country-by.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like I&#8217;m always walking around with a full cup of anger, trying not to spill it.&#8221; Synopsis: After nearly killing his brother in a provoked fist fight, a talented but troubled young writer (Elvis Presley) is sent by a judge (Jason Robards, Sr.) to live with his uncle (William Mims) and Mims&#8217; daughter (Tuesday Weld), who has a baby, while also attending therapy sessions with a beautiful widowed psychologist (Hope Lange). Mims hopes to &#8220;catch&#8221; Presley and Weld together&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=50942\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50942"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61765,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50942\/revisions\/61765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}