cult film freak: CHARLES BRONSON TRAINING ELVIS PRESLEY IN 'KID GALAHAD'

Charles Bronson & Elvis Presley Year: 1961 Rates: ***1/2

If there's one Elvis Presley vehicle where the songs would be best left out altogether it's KID GALAHAD since his performance, as sparing partner turned titular phenom boxer, is over-par, especially surrounded by Gig Young as a rural boxing-camp owner/mob-bullied manager and trainer Charles Bronson: it's better than just a mainstream remake or another commercial attempt to manufacture hit Elvis tunes...

One he croons about how lovely moonlight walks are in the daylight, and our token ingenue in Gig's younger sister Joan Blackman is outshined by Lola Albright as his put-upon girlfriend with an actual character-arc, desperately wanting her man to take their relationship seriously (if mentioned at all) while Joan and Elvis hook-up too quickly to matter. But in the male ego department it's said Bronson avoided Elvis on-set despite their on-screen chemistry; not only is The King's acting surprisingly natural here but the usually iron-clad Bronson plays gentle and vulnerable, eventually maimed by mobster Richard Devon between capably shot bouts by Phil Karlson despite Elvis having requested CASABLANCA director Michael Curtiz (some of us believe 99 RIVER STREET was better than the Bogart classic): So for Bronson and Presley this was not the start of a beautiful friendship, which is sad since they fit so nicely together.