Harum Scarum

Harum Scarum is a 1965 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley, which was shot on the original Cecil B. DeMille set from the film The King of Kings with additional footage shot on location at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif. Some of the film was based on Rudolph Valentino's The Sheik released in 1921. The film reached #11 on the Variety national weekly box office chart, earned $2 million at the box office, and finished #40 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1965. The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. The film was released in Europe as Harem Holiday.

Plot

American movie star Johnny Tyrone goes to the Middle East to premiere his new picture. He is seduced by the lovely Aishah, then kidnapped by a man who wants Johnny to help him kill the king.

Johnny encounters a slave girl, Shalimar, who turns out to actually be the king's daughter. When he helps restore order to the government, Johnny and his new royal bride honeymoon in Las Vegas, along with a few of her dancing girls.

Harum Scarum (album)

Harum Scarum is the twenty-fourth album by Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3468, in November 1965. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 24, 25, and 26, 1965. It peaked at number eight on the Top LP's chart.

Content

Although 1965 had seen the release of Elvis for Everyone, a studio album which was actually recorded over a ten-year period dating back to Presley's first recordings from Sun Studios in Memphis, and a surprising worldwide hit with a five-year-old Gospel track, "Crying In The Chapel", it was back to the grind of making soundtracks. Elvis continued to grumble about the material and the continued pressure put on the stable of songwriters corraled by Freddy Bienstock — the writing team of Giant, Baum, and Kaye alone had provided 17 of 47 songs on the past four soundtracks in an eighteen-month period — but he soldiered on with as much grace as possible. In reality, almost any song could have been squeezed into the story lines, including old classics. But as long as sales continued, the formula required guaranteed control of publishing and new songs by the same songwriters. However, Presley's sales were plunging in music stores as well as ticket sales at the box office.