In a scene with Mary Ann Mobley MOVIE DIRECTORY MOVIE TRAILER GIRL HAPPY WORKING TITLES "GIRL HAPPY" won fourth place at the 1965 Laurel Awards in the category of Top Musical. "THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY" BROWN was the winner for that year. GIRL HAPPY LOCATION Alternate titles considered were "THE ONLY WAY TO LOVE" and "GIRL CRAZY." WORKING TITLES PREVIOUS GIRL HAPPY BOX OFFICE Elvis in the role of Rusty Wells. LOCATION Even though the film is set in Fort Lauderdale, Elvis did not film any scenes in the city. The primary shooting was done at the MGM studios in California, while the beach scenes were filmed in southern California. Only second unit filming was done in Fort Lauderdale. WORKING TITLES GIRL HAPPY CAST NEXT Scene still with Shelley Fabares. BOX OFFICE MGM released "GIRL HAPPY" on Wednesday, April 7, 1965, and grossed $3.1 million in the United States. LOCATION CAST GIRL BOX OFFICE PLOT BEGINS Elvis Presley as Rusty Wells Harold Stone as Big Frank Shelley Fabares as Valerie Frank Nita Talbot as Sunny Daze Gary Crosby as Andy Joby Baker as Wilbur Jimmy Hawkins as Doc Fabrizio Mioni as Romano Orlada Mary Ann Mobley as Deena Shepherd Peter Brooks as Brentwood Von Durgenfeld John Fiedler as Mr. Penchill Jackie Coogan as Sgt. Benson Chris Noel as Betsy Dan Haggerty as Charlie HAPPY In a scene in "GIRL HAPPY" with co-stars Joby Baker and Jimmy Hawkins. PLOT GIRL CAST PLOT (CONTINUES) HAPPY Nightclub singer Rusty Wells (played by Elvis Presley) and his band have just closed their Chicago engagement and are leaving for their annual spring vacation to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The club owner, mobster Big Frank (played by Harold Stone), has other plans and extends their stay at his club. At the same time, Big Frank's daughter, Valerie Frank (played by Shelley Fabares), a young college student takes her spring break in Fort Lauderdale with her friends, causing Big Frank a lot of worries. Big Frank’s concern for the welfare of his daughter, forces him to change his mind and hires Rusty and his band to make the trip to Fort Lauderdale to look after his daughter. MOVIE RENTAL OR PURCHASE GIRL PLOT (CONTINUED) PLOT BACK TO MOVIE DIRECTORY SOUNDTRACK HAPPY The job proves to be difficult when Rusty and the guys fight to keep the Italian exchange student, Romano Orlada (played by Fabrizio Mioni), away from Valerie. At the same time, Rusty has to keep explaining the situation to his impatient love interest, Deena Shepard (played by Mary Ann Mobley). Eventually, Rusty and Valerie fall in love. When Big Frank reveals to his daughter that he's paying Rusty to watch over her, Valerie becomes angry and causes a ruckus at a local nightclub which lands everyone in jail. Big Frank eventually arrives in Fort Lauderdale to get Valerie out of jail. When he sees how much in love Rusty and Valerie are, he steps aside to allow love to flow. "Girl Happy" is the tenth soundtrack album by Elvis Presley from 1965 for the MGM movie of the same name and was released by RCA Victor. It reached number 8 on the Top LP's chart and includes 12 songs that were recorded in June 1964 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The album is famous for its fun "Spring Break" vibe and popular tracks like "Puppet on a String." SOUNDTRACK MOVIE POSTER PREVIOUS FOR PLOT BACK TO MOVIE DIRECTORY SOUNDTRACK CONTINUES Scene still from Girl Happy GIRL HAPPY BACK TO MOVIE DIRECTORY This would be the first of three movies in which Shelley Fabares would co-star with Elvis. Fabares sings "SPRING FEVER" in a duet with Elvis. SOUNDTRACK - MOVIE'S MUSIC SOUNDTRACK BEGINS "SPRING FEVER" (Click Here for Movie Scene)