Blue Hawaii

Chad Gates has just left the army and comes home to Hawaii, where he wants nothing more than to surf, see his friends and spend time with his girlfriend Maile. His parents have other plans: his mother expects him to settle into the family fruit business, and his father is of the same mind. Chad takes a job as a tour guide with Maile's agency instead, and his first assignment puts him in charge of a group of young women touring the islands. The clash between his mother's expectations and his own easygoing plans drives the story, which moves through beaches, sightseeing stops and musical numbers.

Norman Taurog directed the film, the eleventh of the fourteen he made in chronological order, following G.I. Blues and preceding Tickle Me. Hal Kanter wrote the screenplay and Hal B. Wallis produced for Paramount. Elvis Presley stars as Chad, with Joan Blackman as Maile, Angela Lansbury as his mother Sarah Lee Gates, Nancy Walters, Roland Winters and John Archer in support; the credited cast runs to twenty-six names.

Made for about two million dollars, the film took roughly eight million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from around 8,300 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from 159 votes, while a critics' rating of 4.9 out of 10 from ten reviews places it below the audience scores.