Rebel With a Cause: Wild in the Country

WILD IN THE COUNTRY (US, 1961)

Original title: Wild in the Country

Filming date:

October - December 1960

Relese date:

June 15, 1961

Running time:

114min

Production company:

20th Century Fox

Budget:

US$ 3 million

Box office:

US$ 2 million

Main cast:

Elvis Presley

Hope Lange

Tuesday Weld

Millie Perkins

John Ireland

Soundtrack:

"Surrender" (single)
[b/w "Lonely Man"]
(February 7, 1961)
"I Feel So Bad" (single)
[b/w "Wild in the Country"]
(May 2, 1961)
"Wild In the Country" (CD)
(FTD - 2008)

"The Something For Everybody Sessions (feat. the Wild in the Country Sessions" (CD)

(FTD - November 2020)

Filmed over two months in Napa Valley, California, and on a studio in Hollywood, this would be the last film to feature Elvis in a serious role before "Charro!" (1969).

The plot is so serious that it deals with a taboo subject even today, suicide. In the original director's cut, Hope Lange's character managed to commit suicide, but the audience chosen to make the film's initial review thought it would be too dramatic and the scene was removed from the final version.

Elvis and Hope Lange in a Wild in the Country poster

During filming, Elvis and bad girl Tuesday Weld began a short-lived romance. Upon learning of the case, Colonel Parker instructed Elvis to finish it fearing that it would weigh on the actor's image when openly disclosed by the press. In addition, actor John Ireland also competed for the young woman's attention.

Elvis and Tuesday Weld in a scene from Wild in the Country

There was also a very clear flirtation with Hope Lange, but this also did not prosper because Lange was in the process of divorce at the time and the breakup was only made official in March 1962 - when Elvis was officially dating Priscilla.

Elvis and Millie Perkins in a Wild in the Country poster

Wild In the Country premiered on June 8, 1961 in Memphis with Elvis, Hope Lange and Tuesday Weld in attendance. The national premiere, which also featured all three stars, took place in Hollywood on June 15, 1961. Neither critics nor audiences liked what would be the last film with serious Elvis elements for the next eight years.

Elvis, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins and John Ireland ein a Wild in the Country poster

SOUNDTRACK

Wild in the Country never received an LP or an EP. Instead, Parker preferred to release the songs as singles to raise more money.

Of the five songs recorded in two sessions on November 7 and 8, 1960, two - "In My Way" and "Forget Me Never", which was not used in the film - would not be released until 1965. "Lonely Man", which was also left out of the production and was the B-side of "Surrender", was the one that qualified the worst in the charts - 32nd place; "Wild in the Country" was the best - 26th place. "Husky Dusky Day" was released only on themed compilations and its recording location and day is unknown.

In 2008, FTD released a CD that marked the first time that recordings for the film's soundtrack were combined into a single work. The complete recording sessions would only be made available in 2020, by the same label.

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SUPPORTING CAST

TUESDAY WELD

Born August 27, 1943, Tuesday was an up-and-coming child actress and won her first Golden Globe Award - Most Promising New Actress - in 1960, shortly before filming with Elvis. She participated in several films and series in the 1960s and 1970s. Her career declined in the early 1980s and in the 1990s she played a single role of great importance, the wife of Detective Prendergast in the acclaimed "Falling Down" (1993) . Her last film work dates back to 2001, in "Chelsea Walls".

Currently, the actress lives in New York and is 79 years old.

HOPE LANGE

The actress was born in 1933 into a family of theater actors and learned to act early. Her first appearance in cinema took place in 1943, at the age of 9, but her career would begin in the mid-1950s. Her big break came in 1957 with the controversial "Peyton Place", which competed for 9 Oscars without winning any.

The good rise in her career earned her important participation in films and series from 1958 on, with "Wild in the Country" being the first of a series of films where she played serious and problematic roles. The 1960s to 1990s brought guest appearances in series and smaller films. She last appeared in a production in 1998.

Hope Lange died of ischemic colitis on December 19, 2003, aged 70.

MILLIE PERKINS

The actress who was born in 1938 made her first film work in 1959, starting with the very important role of Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank". Her second film was "Wild in the Country", and from there came big and small roles that interspersed until the 1990s.

On TV she participated in famous series such as "Knot's Landing" (1979-1993), "Elvis" (1990)-where she played Gladys Presley-and "The Young and the Restless" (2006). Her last film, "Though None Go With Me", dates from 2007.

Although she hasn't acted since 2008, the actress is still active in her career and waiting for new roles. She is 85 years old and lives in Passaic, New Jersey.

JOHN IRELAND

Born in Canada in 1914, his family moved to New York when he was still a baby. Never having known his father, John had to drop out of school to help his mother with jobs as odd as wrestling a dead octopus at a water park. In possession of a few Shakespeare books, he discovered a love for acting in the early 1940s.

The opportunity to work with John Ford followed and his career peaked in 1947 when he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. From the 1950s Ireland divided her time between film, television and theatre.

The actor was a frequent tabloid target for his relationships with young stars like Tuesday Weld, who was just 16 at the time. His prolific career and contribution to film earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame upon his passing on March 21, 1992, aged 78.

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