Following a two-year period serving in the military, Chad Gates, played by Elvis Presley, comes back to Hawaii. He finds himself drawn to the authenticity of the Polynesian culture and forging his own path instead of taking over his parents’ pineapple farm. Along with his girlfriend who is part Caucasian and part Polynesian (Joan Blackman), he experiments with being a tour guide. Angela Lansbury appears as the amusingly pretentious mother. “Blue Hawaii,” released in 1961, stands out as the initial and arguably strongest of three Elvis movies filmed in Hawaii; the others are “Girls! Girls! Girls!” from 1962 and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" in 1966. It’s actually among his better films, alongside titles like "Kid Galahad" (1962), “Roustabout” (1964) and “Viva Las Vegas" (1964). A number of elements contribute to its success: the stunning scenery, interesting facts about Hawaii and its people, a captivating narrative, a tone that’s both heartfelt and enjoyable, and naturally, the music. This film features more songs than is typical. There are some drawbacks; the female actors aren't as strong as they could be, though Blackman is perfectly pleasant. Still, the secondary plot concerning Chad (Elvis) guiding an attractive schoolteacher (Nancy Walters) and five young women is amusing, particularly the antics involving a grumpy girl (Jenny Maxwell). The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 42 minutes and was filmed in Hawaii as well as at Paramount Studios in California. GRADE: B

Source on TMDB