Live a Little, Love a Little: Behind the Scenes of Elvis Presley’s 1968 Film

On February 22, 1968, Elvis Presley arrived in Los Angeles from Memphis, settling into a rented residence on Hillcrest Drive. While his trip west was primarily for commencing production on his twenty-eighth motion picture, other significant life events were also on his mind. His daughter, Lisa Marie, had been born just three weeks prior on February 1. Additionally, he was anticipating the start of work on his upcoming NBC-TV special, scheduled to begin in the first week of June 1968. This period was a notable juncture for Elvis Presley Live A Little Love A Little, marking a busy phase in his career and personal life.

Camera on set of Elvis Presley movie

This timeline meant that MGM had a tight three-month window during the summer of 1968 to film its latest Elvis Presley vehicle. This put considerable pressure on the studio, even though they already had two other Presley films, Speedway and Stay Away, Joe, completed and awaiting release.

Anticipating the production of this 1968 film, the studio and Colonel Parker began disseminating details about the upcoming Elvis Presley movie to the Hollywood press well in advance of filming. The film’s initial mention appeared in Florabel Muir’s Hollywood column on December 22, 1967.

“Metro may really succeed in changing the Elvis Presley image with his next film. It will be his eleventh for the studio, ‘Kiss My Firm But Pliant Lips,’ by Dan Greenburg. The emphasis will be on comedy rather than song.”

A week later, the Memphis Press-Scimitar reported that this unusual title was derived from Greenburg’s novel of the same name. However, after screenwriter Michael Hoey adapted Greenburg’s narrative for MGM, the movie’s title was officially changed to Live a Little, Love a Little. Douglas Lawrence was slated to produce, with Norman Taurog directing, marking his ninth directorial collaboration with Elvis. Taurog’s history with Presley included G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii, It Happened at the World’s Fair, Spinout, Double Trouble, and the as-yet-unreleased Speedway.

Producer Lawrence asserted that there would be no deviation from the established structure of previous MGM Presley films. Speaking to Hollywood columnist Harold Heffernan, he explained, “Any producer who tries to change Elvis Presley’s image is off base. I don’t experiment with anything successful.” Heffernan’s column on April 24 outlined the film’s core plot: “Elvis plays a photographer, who attempts to juggle a pair of contrary jobs, one for a reputable advertising agency, the other for a bawdy men’s magazine.” Columnist Jack Bradford later elaborated, saying, “To keep up with the changing times, Elvis will have three affairs with his leading lady … but Pres wants you to know: ‘It’s not a dirty film — just a little crazy.’”

The movie ultimately became known as Elvis Presley Live A Little Love A Little, a title that perhaps hinted at the slightly more mature themes than some of his earlier pictures.

Candid photo of Elvis Presley on movie set

Casting the Leads and Supporting Roles

The Hollywood press learned in early March that Michele Carey, a 25-year-old brunette, had been selected as Elvis’ twenty-first leading lady. An LA writer claimed Carey secured the part after competing with over 100 actresses in interviews across Los Angeles and New York.

Nashville’s The Tennessean provided a profile of Carey in a January 12, 1969, article:

“Michele’s good omen is that she’s a discovery of producer-director Howard Hawks, who launched the careers of Lauren Bacall and Jane Russell. He directed her movie debut movie, El Dorado, and she has subsequently appeared in The Sweet Ride and Changes. The daughter of a former Mayo Clinic surgeon, Michele was born in Annapolis, Md., and brought up in Rochester, Minn., and Fort Collins, Colo. At the age of 13, she was a piano prodigy, appearing with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. After high school, she became a model in Denver and moved on to Hollywood, where she caught Hawks’ eye.”

As a rival for Elvis’s character’s affection in the film, producer Lawrence cast Celeste Yarnall. The blue-eyed blonde had transitioned from a successful career as a top commercial and photographic model to pursue acting. A New York newspaper profiled her in October 1968:

“Her unusual, Nordic-like beauty led to the coveted Miss Rheingold crown. Winning a one-year contract, she traveled the world as spokesman for the company. Next came guest-star roles in TV series. At ’67 Cannes Film Festival was voted ‘Most Photogenic Beauty.’”

Numerous other young actresses were cast as models for Presley’s photographer character in the film. Susan Henning, a former Miss USA, was hired as a mermaid, and Miede Jensen, who had graced the covers of over two dozen magazines, landed her first film role as one of Elvis’s models. A May 12, 1968, Hollywood column listed several more actresses cast in Live a Little, Love a Little:

“A sextet of young actresses will play Kitty Girls opposite EP in his latest MGM musical comedy, Live a Little, Love a Little, now before the cameras at the Culver City Studio. The girls are Carolyn Antonson, Bonnie Bohm, Kathy Dawson, Vikki Parker, Sunny Tomblin and Susan White who will appear in the film’s takeoff on a prominent national magazine.”

The main male supporting roles were filled by Rudy Vallee, Dick Sargeant, and Don Porter. Sargeant played Bernice’s persistent but unrequited admirer, while Porter portrayed the editor of a Playboy-type magazine. Vallee, cast as the pompous head of a reputable advertising agency, was a surprising choice, as noted by the New York Daily News on March 11, 1968.

“The Vagabond Lover of the 1920s will join the hip-swinger of the 1950s in a new comedy rolling this month at Metro. Rudy Vallee co-stars with Elvis Presley, who plays a roving photographer. Rudy will be seen as the pompous head of an advertising agency who clashes with him. One of the most popular and versatile performers in show business history, Vallee has been a singing star, radio personality, bandleader, as well as stage and screen actor. His most recent film was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, recreating the award-winning role he played in the Broadway production.”

Production Kicks Off and Songs are Recorded

Elvis Presley reported for pre-production on his new MGM film on March 4, 1968. The initial week involved script rehearsals and recording four songs for the soundtrack: “Almost in Love,” “A Little Less Conversation,” “Wonderful World,” and “Edge of Reality.” These sessions took place at Western Recorders studio on Sunset Boulevard. Billy Strange, a composer-conductor-arranger, oversaw the sessions and composed the film’s musical score. For fans interested in Elvis’s diverse musical output beyond his film work, exploring tracks like elvis presley in the ghetto with the royal philharmonic orchestra offers a glimpse into his later career.

Principal photography for Live a Little, Love a Little commenced on March 13. To manage the significant crowds that Elvis Presley attracted whenever he appeared publicly, most scenes were filmed on the controlled environment of MGM’s Culver City lot.

Filming the Marineland Mermaid Scene

One particular scene in the script required filming at a popular tourist location. On March 15, director Norman Taurog planned to discreetly transport his crew about 20 miles down the coast to Marineland to shoot a mermaid sequence. However, as Harold Heffernan detailed in his Hollywood column, news of Presley’s presence quickly spread.

“The beautiful park appeared serene when the company of 50 trucked their equipment onto the porpoise area of the park. Within an hour, however, the grapevine had spread the sensational news, not only to customers inside, but apparently to outsiders for miles around. As the throngs closed in on the poolside, director Norman Taurog hastily phoned for additional guards, who in moments arrived by helicopter.

“Elvis plays a photographer, who attempts to juggle a pair of contrary jobs, one for a reputable advertising agency, the other for a bawdy men’s magazine. This segment has brought him to Marineland to get photos of a scantily-clad mermaid. She’s a fraud, of course — actually its actress Susan Henning, a former Miss USA — but she’s luscious all the same.

“The growing crowd around the porpoise tank doesn’t care. There’re intrigued. They are interested in seeing the mysterious Presley in the flesh as he chats casually with the incapacitated lady from the sea. Occasionally, Elvis turned and flicked a smile toward the onlookers.

“Suddenly the casual atmosphere changes, everything becomes serious. Taurog … signals for lights to go up and for the grips to tenderly lift Miss Henning out of her chair and onto the precarious end of the ‘feeding board.’ Taurog calls ‘action’ and Elvis begins clicking his camera at the mermaid. Even the porpoises began jumping out of the water right on cue. As the star begins delivering his lines, Miss Henning, eating what answers for a hunk of Danish pastry, looks up as Elvis says: ‘Hot damn! I’ve got to be at the music center in 20 minutes.”

When the cameras stopped rolling, Elvis signed a few autographs before retreating to his trailer. Heffernan noted that the crowd “grudgingly, began to disperse.” The production of elvis presley live a little love a little required careful management of his public appeal, a challenge often faced during his movie career compared to his dynamic stage presence seen in performances like elvis suspicious minds live best version.

Set Visitors and the Party Scene

While Harold Heffernan managed to observe the Marineland shoot, fellow Hollywood columnist Dorothy Manners found it difficult to get close to Elvis on the studio lot. However, she knew someone who could: her mother, Gertrude Winnett, was friends with Virginia Ream, who happened to be director Norman Taurog’s mother-in-law. Leveraging Virginia’s connection, the two women were invited to visit the set of Live a Little, Love a Little, where Elvis posed for a photograph with them. Later, Dorothy tried to elicit information for her column from her mother. “Did you ask him about the baby?” she inquired. “I did,” her mother replied, “and he said it made him nervous to hold her because her neck is still wobbly.” Dorothy concluded, “It’s the last time I send a relative out as a reporter.”

Los Angeles Herald-Express gossip columnist Harrison Carroll was known to be a favorite of Colonel Parker. In the early and mid-sixties, Carroll frequently observed and described the action on the sets of Presley’s movies in his columns. He was present when Live a Little, Love a Little’s “party” scene was set up and filmed. The scene featured the girly-magazine editor, played by Don Porter, hosting a party attended by “Pussycats”—attractive young women in revealing costumes with simulated cat features.

Scene from the movie featuring a party

While waiting for director Taurog to begin the action, Carroll conversed with Don Porter. “My first scene was what sold me on the picture,” Porter remarked. “I’m lying on a massage table. One girl is giving me a manicure, another a pedicure. A Japanese beauty is walking up and down my spine. I couldn’t resist the part. I told my wife she was barred from the set. All my men friends wanted to be my stand-in.”

Surveying the sixty extras, mostly attractive young women, on the set, Carroll jokingly asked the director, “Aren’t you getting a little old to direct all these pussycats?” Taurog declared, “Not at all. I’m just an old cat looking around.”

Carroll then spotted Elvis. He was dressed in a striking blue suit with four buttons down the front, buttons on each pocket, and two in the back, paired with a white turtleneck sweater. Carroll asked, “You wear turtleneck sweaters in real life?” Smoking a thin cigar, the star responded, “Sure. I love them.” Taurog added with a smile, “Now that he’s a married man, we let him smoke.” This insight into his personal style during the filming of elvis presley live a little love a little offers a glimpse into Elvis off-camera. His public image was carefully managed, a contrast to the more relaxed presence he sometimes displayed privately or even in different musical contexts such as elvis presley an american trilogy with the royal philharmonic orchestra.

Celeste Yarnall’s Experience

The party scene represents Celeste Yarnall’s significant episode in the film. Elvis’s character kisses her twice, although his character ultimately ends up with Michele Carey’s. Nevertheless, for Celeste, it was a dream realized. A few days before the nationwide release of Live a Little, Love a Little in October 1968, she shared her feelings with a New York City columnist.

“I may sound as though I were making it up, but as a high school girl, my dream was to become an actress and star opposite my idol, Elvis Presley. Now that I have worked with him, I can say that he is everything I expected and more. One of the grooviest men I’ve met. He’s so real he’s unreal, if you know what I mean.”

Celeste Yarnall and Elvis Presley on set

Filming Wraps Up

Following the party scene, filming on Live a Little, Love a Little concluded relatively quickly. Principal photography wrapped on May 1, 1968, coincidentally Elvis and Priscilla’s first wedding anniversary. Columnist Gene Handsaker reported some post-production comments from key participants. Director Norman Taurog observed, “Elvis has matured. His outlook on life has changed. He enjoys his work, reads quite a bit and analyzes a script better than ever.” Producer Douglas Lawrence commented, “I don’t know where this boy’s capabilities end.” Leading lady Michele Carey simply stated, “He’s very sweet.” These reflections highlight the positive working environment and perceptions of Elvis during the production of elvis presley live a little love a little. His collaborations extended beyond film; exploring elvis presley love me tender with the royal philharmonic orchestra showcases his enduring connection with music lovers.

Postscript by Alan Hanson

I met Celeste Yarnall in 2007 during Elvis Week in Memphis. I was there promoting my recently published book, Elvis ’57: The Final Fifties Tours, and Celeste was present, posing for photos and sharing memories of her film with Elvis Presley nearly 40 years prior. Time had seemingly done little to alter her appearance in my memory. Tragically, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 and passed away on October 7, 2018, at the age of 74. By a sad coincidence, just 45 days later, Michele Carey, who was Yarnall’s on-screen rival for Elvis Presley’s character’s attention in Live a Little, Love a Little, also passed away from “natural causes” on November 21, 2018, at the age of 75. For those interested in the intersection of classical music and Elvis’s catalog, a look at elvis presley philharmonic orchestra songs reveals another facet of his musical legacy.

Comment by Robert (2023)

I enjoy this movie and once again find Elvis to be relaxed and great in this as he was in Stay Away Joe and Change of Habit. I don’t understand why people criticize Elvis movies for plot holes when the vast majority of movies made have unrealistic scenarios. But, Elvis is great in this, and I enjoy the on location filming.

The production of elvis presley live a little love a little stands as an interesting chapter in Elvis’s filmography, capturing him during a period of transition just before his pivotal 1968 TV Special would redefine his public image. The behind-the-scenes stories provide valuable context to the film itself.