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Stay Away, Joe

Play trailer Poster for Stay Away, Joe PG Released Mar 8, 1968 1h 42m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Having made a name for himself as a rodeo star, Joe Lightcloud (Elvis Presley) returns to his Navajo reservation with a scheme to start a cattle business that could support the entire tribe. But no sooner does he convince a congressman to donate a stud bull and a herd than his senile father, Charlie (Burgess Meredith), cooks the former, and his feckless sister, Mary (Susan Trustman), sells the latter. Joe struggles to recoup the loss while romancing a local white woman (Quentin Dean).
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Stay Away, Joe

Audience Reviews

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Phil S Ultimately ….this is a terrible movie . The Native American stereotyping in 1968(?) is horrifying . And we know 8 years earlier elvis at age 25 won an award for his portrayal of a “half breed “ out west in a range war . That was the very good “flaming star “, albeit a relative box office bomb Why am I writing this ? Because elvis was every bit as engaged as he was making his classics jailhouse rock and king creole ! He’s slimmed down , w the sideburns the fans missed in so many of his goody 2 shoes light teen musicals (this has just 4 times and except for one , they are excellent abd fit the proceedings such as they are ) The supporting actors creds are obvious (burgess Meredith , LQ jones, Katy jurado) in this bizarro tale of a “returning home Navajo “ who instead of taking care of business parties so hard his childhood home literally falls apart . If you love elvis ….enjoy him enjoying himself , in the sedonas ! That’s all , baby Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/21/24 Full Review Michele B I actually kind of like this one. I think part of the reason this one was decent was because i had exceptionally low expectations considering this one was his well known worst movie but honestly it's not. this actually might be one of the most chaotic movies i've ever seen. It definitely has a few boring moments but also some really comedic ones. this movie is definitely dated and does a lot wrong but it felt almost satirical. I know i'm outnumbered in this opinion but i'd put this movie in the top half of his better ones only because it's not a typical Elvis movie and it's just purely insane which makes it an interesting watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/04/23 Full Review steve d It has not aged well, and the story scarce. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Elvis movies are often trashed for good reason and Stay Away, Joe is regularly placed near the bottom of the trash pile. While its dated stereotypes of Native Americans might appear offensive today and the film coasts along with minimal plot, it is at least an attempt to broaden the Elvis movie away from songs and girls and more songs and girls. He stars as Native American rodeo rider Joe Lightcloud, who returns to the reservation with 20 heifers and a prize bull to raise cattle as part of a government scheme. Things go awry, Elvis gets to romance a few girls, sing just a couple of songs (including one about a bull, that he insisted not be released) and finish in a house-destroying brawl. Despite the lack of plotting, the film has a few funny lines and a breezy air. The Arizona locations are stunning and Elvis seems relaxed and to be enjoying himself. It's not typical Elvis formula, and it's not really good, but it's better than Harum Scarum. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member It's no King Creole, but it's still better than The Last Jedi. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member HORRIBLE. Easily the worst Elvis movie. Terrible characters, racist stereotypes, zero plot... I wanted to punch Quentin Dean's character in the face, obnoxious 19 year old who acts like a 9 year old sex doll airhead. Shot like a bad Terry Gilliam movie too. The only redeeming factor of this film is the opening scene in which Elvis herds a group of cattle in his white Cadillac convertible. Amazing. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Stay Away, Joe

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Having made a name for himself as a rodeo star, Joe Lightcloud (Elvis Presley) returns to his Navajo reservation with a scheme to start a cattle business that could support the entire tribe. But no sooner does he convince a congressman to donate a stud bull and a herd than his senile father, Charlie (Burgess Meredith), cooks the former, and his feckless sister, Mary (Susan Trustman), sells the latter. Joe struggles to recoup the loss while romancing a local white woman (Quentin Dean).
Director
Peter Tewksbury
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 8, 1968, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 42m
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