This pretty much follows the typical Presley formula film with Elvis again playing an amiable lug head, apart from a couple of enhancing exceptions.
The support cast is a stronger than usual and is given more screen time. Gig Young (a later Oscar winner),Lola Albright and Charles Bronson (for goodness sake) could all act and so experienced journeyman director Phil Karlson gives them some opportunities to ramp up the drama quotient, a little more than you might see in the normal Elvis annual family friendly musical. It is particularly interesting with Bronson's trainer character Lew. The late sequence where his character is threatened and then tortured (offscreen, but we see the results) is quiet suspenseful and Bronson is at pains to show us he's genuinely in pain. This is arguably the only time in a Presley film, where we see a rising cast member, who we know, ends up going on to be a far bigger "movie star", than the King ever proved to be. Ironically, given their friendly onscreen roles, they didn't get on well off screen.
The Californian location exteriors (doubling for upstate New York) were rather impressive too and could well have deserved even more exposure.
Apart from this it's business as usual. There's the girlfriend who stands around and continually admires The King, some songs and some pretty ordinary boxing action that was edited to ensure being fit for general exhibition. However it did result in Elvis wearing more band aids and bruises on the famous face, than we would normally see.
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