convenient, foundation around which Wallis and staff have erected a handsome, picture-postcard production crammed with typical South Seas musical hulaballoo ... Under Norman Taurog's broad direction, Presley, in essence, is playing himself—a role sure to delight his ardent fans." Harrison's Reports graded the film as "Fair", adding, "As is the custom in a Presley production, the crooner-gyrater dominates the running time of the film. That is why, it is more the pity, now that he has so many films under his acting belt that he still continues to deliver such an embarrassingly poor performance." John L. Scott of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "does a lot for the 'paradise of the Pacific,' showing its foamy waves, palm trees, luaus and a couple of plush hotels, but not very much for Elvis' fans (what age bracket does he appeal to now?) ... One of these days Elvis will play a straight role with substance, and we'll definitely find out whether he can act or not." Accolades The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: "Blue Hawaii" – Nominated Soundtrack Presley's remake of the title song introduced it to an audience too young to remember Bing Crosby's original hit version. The soundtrack album was on the Billboard Pop Albums chart for 79 weeks, where it spent 20 weeks at #1. It has been certified by the RIAA for sales of three million copies in the U.S. The soundtrack album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961 in the category of Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture or Television. The soundtrack featured the hit song "Can't Help Falling in Love" sung by Elvis, which is certified Platinum by the RIAA, for U.S. sales in excess of one million copies. The song peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Billboard Hot 100 and Hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks as well as topping the British Charts in 1962. See also List of American films of 1961 References External links Elvis in Hawaii Presley's movies in Hawaii Review of the movie collection "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection" (including Blue Hawaii) 1961 films 1961 musical comedy films 1961 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Tiki culture Films directed by Norman Taurog Films set