Crosby as Andy Joby Baker as Wilbur Jimmy Hawkins as Doc Nita Talbot as Sunny Daze Mary Ann Mobley as Deena Shepherd Fabrizio Mioni as Romano Orlada Peter Brooks as Brentwood Von Durgenfeld Jackie Coogan as Sgt. Benson John Fiedler as Mr. Penchill Chris Noel as Betsy Gail Gilmore as Nancy (credited as Gale Gilmore) Beverly Adams as Girl #2 (uncredited) Dan Haggerty as Charlie (uncredited) Red West as Extra in the Kit Kat Club (uncredited) Production notes Although MGM presented Girl Happy as a beach party film ("Elvis brings his beat to the beach!", "Elvis jumps with the campus crowd to make the beach 'ball' bounce!") and while Presley had appeared shirtless in prior films, he would never appear without a shirt again for the remainder of his professional career. For Girl Happy, Presley wears long sleeve shirts for most of the film, even while water-skiing. Filming began on June 22, 1964 and finished in late July. Even though the film is set in Fort Lauderdale, Presley did not film any scenes in the city. Primary shooting was done at the MGM studios, and the beach scenes were filmed in Southern California. Only second unit filming was done in Fort Lauderdale. Alternate titles considered were The Only Way to Love and Girl Crazy. Joe Pasternak had produced the similar spring break movie Where the Boys Are, also set in Fort Lauderdale in 1960. Shelley Fabares, Mary Ann Mobley, and Chris Noel each appeared in a beach party movie before Girl Happy: Fabares in Ride the Wild Surf, and both Mobley and Noel in Get Yourself a College Girl. Shelley Fabares sings "Spring Fever" in a duet with Elvis, and Nita Talbot sings the song "Read All About It". This was the first of three movies in which Fabares co-starred with Elvis. Soundtrack Reception Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote that the film "meanders familiarly" and that "the steady stream of tunes, as rhythmical as they are unoriginal" were its "saving grace." Variety called it "another musical winner," adding "A story line unburdened by anything but lightness and a dozen song numbers belted out in singer's customary style provide the type of pleasant fare which Presley's fans have come to expect." Margaret Harford of the Los Angeles Times called the film "another 'beach musical' that looks livelier and fresher than most." The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "very