Scene still of the Kwimper family.
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
"FOLLOW THAT DREAM" was a pleasant surprise. Though the songs left a lot to be desired, Elvis was naturally funny in his role as Toby Kwimper. The movie script didn't force bad humor and sad jokes, allowing the actors to play their roles a lot more easily than an over-the-top slapstick film.
A SURPRISINGLY FUNNY ROLE FOR ELVIS
WORKING TITLES
Click here to read "PIONEER GO HOME!"
Based on the book "PIONEER, GO HOME!" written by Richard P. Powell.
WORKING TITLES
Movie scene with Anne Helm and Joanna Moore.
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
A few other working titles were "PIONEER, GO HOME", "HERE COME THE KWIMPERS", "WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE", and "IT’S A BEAUTIFUL LIFE."
PREVIOUS
LOCATION
LOCATION
In a scene still with Anne Helm.
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
"FOLLOW THAT DREAM" was filmed in its entirety in Florida near Crystal River, Ocala, Inverness, and Tampa.
WORKING TITLES
BOX OFFICE
During filming, Elvis stayed at the Port Paradise Hotel in Crystal River.
BOX OFFICE
On location during filming.
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
"FOLLOW THAT DREAM" was released on Wednesday, April 11, 1962. "FOLLOW THAT DREAM" opened Wednesday, April 18, 1962, at twenty theaters in Los Angeles, California, as reported in the Los Angeles Times. According to the American Film Institute, 400 prints were to be released in the southern regions of the United States for the Easter weekend on Sunday, April 22, 1962. The film was released nationally beginning Memorial Day weekend. Openings in New York City followed on Wednesday, August 8, 1962.
LOCATION
CAST
"FOLLOW THAT DREAM" reached #5 on Variety's Weekly Box Office Survey. It stayed on the chart for three weeks, finishing at #33 for top-grossing movies of 1962.
CAST
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
Elvis Presley as Toby Kwimper
Toby Kwimper played by Elvis in a scene with mobsters.
BOX OFFICE
PLOT NEXT
Anne Helm as Holly Jones
Arthur O'Connell as Pop Kwimper
Joanna Moore as Alisha Claypool
Jack Kruschen as Carmine
Simon Oakland as Nick
Roland Winters as Judge
Alan Hewitt as H. Arthur King
Howard McNear as George
Frank DeKova as Jack
Herbert Rudley as Endicott
Robin Koon as Teddy
Gavin Koon as Eddy
Pam Ogles as Adriane Pennington
FOLLOW THAT DREAM
PLOT
The Kwimper family has an unconventional family dynamic made up of the sly Pop Kwimper (played by Arthur O'Connell) and his simple son, Toby Kwimper (played by Elvis Presley). They take in four orphans which include Holly Jones (played by Anne Helm), who came to live with them when she was a kid after her parents died, fourth cousins, Eddy and Teddy Bascombe (played by Gavin and Robin Koon), and three-year-old Adriane Pennington (played by Pam Ogles).
CAST
BACK TO MOVIE DIRECTORY
PLAY TRAILER
Elvis as sheriff Toby Kwimper.
The Kwimper family decides to squat on the beach where their truck ran out of gasoline. The family's patriarch, Pop Kwimper, has a handle on government loopholes that keeps his family living legally on the beach which the government set aside for the public. While the Kwimpers continue to build the small beach area into a city that includes their developing fishing rental business for tourists, Toby finds himself becoming the city's sheriff when mobsters open an all-night casino on the beach as well.
When government officials prove unable to make the Kwimper family move off the beach, they send in a social worker, Alisha Claypoole (played by Joanna Moore), who becomes instantly attracted to Toby. When Toby refuses her advances, she causes problems by having the minor children taken away from the family.
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