Change of Habit
Encyclopedia
Change of Habit is a 1969 musical drama film starring Elvis Presley
and Mary Tyler Moore
. It was Presley's 31st and final film acting role; his remaining two film appearances were concert documentaries. It was also Moore's fourth and final film under her brief Universal Pictures
contract; she would not appear in another theatrical movie until Ordinary People
in 1980. The film peaked at a respectable #17 at the box office.
clinic who falls for a co-worker, Michelle Gallagher, unaware that she is a nun
.
Elvis stars as a professional man for the first time in his career. Dr. Carpenter heads a ghetto clinic in a major metropolis. He is surprised to be offered assistance by three women. Unknown to him, the three are nuns in street clothing who want to aid the community but are afraid the local residents might be reluctant to seek help if their true identities were known.
Carpenter falls in love with Sister Michelle Gallagher, played by wholesome Mary Tyler Moore
, but Sister Michelle's true vocation remains unknown to Dr. Carpenter. She also has feelings for the doctor but is reluctant to leave the order. The film concludes with Sister Michelle entering a church to pray for guidance to make her choice.
, Presley's films had been making less profit in recent years. When Parker had struggled to find any studio willing to pay Presley's usual $1 million fee, he struck a deal with NBC
to produce one feature film, and a TV Special entitled 'Elvis
'. NBC would pay Presley $1.25 million for both features, and Parker was happy in the knowledge that he was still able to earn $1 million for his client.
The film Change of Habit had been announced in 1967, with Mary Tyler Moore signing up in October 1968. It was considered a Moore vehicle until January 1969 when Presley signed on to take the lead role.
The film was shot in the Los Angeles area and at the Universal Studios
during March and April 1969. It was released nationwide in the United States on November 10, 1969 and spent four weeks on the Variety Box Office Survey, peaking at #17.
Mary Tyler Moore and Edward Asner would soon become co-stars of her self-named The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, one of television's enduring hits from 1970-77. In Change of Habit, however, they shared no scenes together.
, what would come to be known as the comeback television special had already been broadcast, its attendant album had been his first top ten LP in four years, and he had just finished the sessions at American Sound Studio
yielding From Elvis in Memphis
and the top ten singles
"In the Ghetto
" and "Suspicious Minds
" that would cement his resurgence as a force in American popular music
. He had a month-long engagement at the International Hotel
in Las Vegas
lined up in August, his first live performances in eight years, and clearly now had turned his career around.
A song recorded at American, "Rubberneckin'," would be used in the film and subsequently issued as the b-side of RCA single 47-9768 "Don't Cry Daddy
" in conjunction with the movie premiere. Four songs would be recorded at the soundtrack sessions, of which "Let's Be Friends" would not be used in the film. The four songs would be released commercially on budget albums, "Let's Be Friends," the title track "Change of Habit
," and "Have A Happy" on Let's Be Friends
the following year, with "Let Us Pray" issued on the 1971 album You'll Never Walk Alone
.
Some reference sources erroneously list an outtake from the earlier Presley film, Charro!
, "Let's Forget About the Stars" (a song also released on the Let's Be Friends album), as being a song recorded for Change of Habit.
Reviews
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
. It was Presley's 31st and final film acting role; his remaining two film appearances were concert documentaries. It was also Moore's fourth and final film under her brief Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
contract; she would not appear in another theatrical movie until Ordinary People
Ordinary People
Ordinary People is a 1980 American drama film that marked the directorial debut of Robert Redford. It stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton....
in 1980. The film peaked at a respectable #17 at the box office.
Plot
Dr. John Carpenter is a physician in a ghettoGhetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
clinic who falls for a co-worker, Michelle Gallagher, unaware that she is a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
.
Elvis stars as a professional man for the first time in his career. Dr. Carpenter heads a ghetto clinic in a major metropolis. He is surprised to be offered assistance by three women. Unknown to him, the three are nuns in street clothing who want to aid the community but are afraid the local residents might be reluctant to seek help if their true identities were known.
Carpenter falls in love with Sister Michelle Gallagher, played by wholesome Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, but Sister Michelle's true vocation remains unknown to Dr. Carpenter. She also has feelings for the doctor but is reluctant to leave the order. The film concludes with Sister Michelle entering a church to pray for guidance to make her choice.
Cast
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
: Dr. Carpenter - Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
: Sister Michelle - Barbara McNairBarbara McNairBarbara McNair was an African American singer and actress.Born Barbara Jean McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago...
: Sister Irene - Jane ElliotJane ElliotJane Elliot is an American actress, known for her role as Tracy Quartermaine, a role she has played on General Hospital and The City ....
: Sister Barbara - Edward Asner: Lt. Moretti
- Leora DanaLeora DanaLeora Dana was an American film, stage and television actress....
: Mother Joseph - Regis ToomeyRegis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
: Father Gibbons - Darlene LoveDarlene LoveDarlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....
: Backup Singer (uncredited) - A MartinezA MartinezAdolfo Larrue Martinez, III , better known as A Martinez, is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara and the primetime dramas L.A. Law and Profiler.-Early life:...
: Second Teen (uncredited) - Robert EmhardtRobert EmhardtRobert Emhardt was an American stage, film, and television actor. He typically played villains.Emhardt studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He began his Broadway career as an understudy for the equally heavyset Sidney Greenstreet in the 1930s, with his actual stage debut...
: The Banker - Doro MerandeDoro MerandeDoro Merande was an American actress who appeared in Hollywood films, onstage and on television. A well-regarded character actress, she frequently portrayed "sour, witchy old women"...
: Rose - Richard CarlsonRichard CarlsonRichard Carlson was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, Carlson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an M.A. degree, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He later appeared on the Broadway stage in the 1930s after studying...
: Bishop Finley
Behind the scenes
By 1969, Presley's future in Hollywood was under threat. Although still financially successful, mainly due to the "make 'em quick, make 'em cheap" attitude of Presley's manager Colonel Tom ParkerColonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
, Presley's films had been making less profit in recent years. When Parker had struggled to find any studio willing to pay Presley's usual $1 million fee, he struck a deal with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to produce one feature film, and a TV Special entitled 'Elvis
Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special
Elvis, starring Elvis Presley, was the title of a 1968 United States television special. Sponsored by The Singer Sewing Machine Company, it aired on December 2, 1968 on the NBC television network...
'. NBC would pay Presley $1.25 million for both features, and Parker was happy in the knowledge that he was still able to earn $1 million for his client.
The film Change of Habit had been announced in 1967, with Mary Tyler Moore signing up in October 1968. It was considered a Moore vehicle until January 1969 when Presley signed on to take the lead role.
The film was shot in the Los Angeles area and at the Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
during March and April 1969. It was released nationwide in the United States on November 10, 1969 and spent four weeks on the Variety Box Office Survey, peaking at #17.
Mary Tyler Moore and Edward Asner would soon become co-stars of her self-named The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, one of television's enduring hits from 1970-77. In Change of Habit, however, they shared no scenes together.
Soundtrack
When Presley entered Decca Universal Studio on March 5, 1969, for two days to record his final dramatic motion picture soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, what would come to be known as the comeback television special had already been broadcast, its attendant album had been his first top ten LP in four years, and he had just finished the sessions at American Sound Studio
American Sound Studio
American Sound Studio was a recording studio located at 827 Thomas Street in Memphis, Tennessee. More than one hundred hit songs were recorded there between its founding 1967 and its closing in 1972, The music for these hits was played by the house band "The Memphis Boys", also known as the "827...
yielding From Elvis in Memphis
From Elvis in Memphis
From Elvis in Memphis is the thirty-fifth album by American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley, released on RCA Records LSP 4155, in June 1969. Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, between January 13–16 and 20–23, and February 17–22, 1969...
and the top ten singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"In the Ghetto
In the Ghetto
"In the Ghetto" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1969. It was written by Mac Davis and made famous by Elvis Presley who had a major comeback hit with the song in 1969. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with "Any Day Now" as the flip side...
" and "Suspicious Minds
Suspicious Minds
"Suspicious Minds" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James that, after the failure of his own recording, was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman becoming one of his most notable hits and a number one in 1969, "Suspicious Minds" was widely regarded as the single that returned...
" that would cement his resurgence as a force in American popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. He had a month-long engagement at the International Hotel
Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
lined up in August, his first live performances in eight years, and clearly now had turned his career around.
A song recorded at American, "Rubberneckin'," would be used in the film and subsequently issued as the b-side of RCA single 47-9768 "Don't Cry Daddy
Don't Cry Daddy
"Don't Cry Daddy" was written by Scott Davis and recorded by Elvis Presley on January 15 and 21 1969 and released as a single. The rhythm track was laid down on 15 January and Elvis' vocal overdub on the 21st. Some speculate that it is a consolation song considering that Elvis's father became a...
" in conjunction with the movie premiere. Four songs would be recorded at the soundtrack sessions, of which "Let's Be Friends" would not be used in the film. The four songs would be released commercially on budget albums, "Let's Be Friends," the title track "Change of Habit
Change of Habit (song)
Change of Habit is a song by Elvis Presley. It is the title track to the 1969 film Change of Habit and first released on the album Let's Be Friends....
," and "Have A Happy" on Let's Be Friends
Let's Be Friends
Let's Be Friends is the thirty-seventh album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Camden Records CAS 2408, in April 1970. It is the second Presley budget album to appear on the RCA subsidiary label. It peaked at #105 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
the following year, with "Let Us Pray" issued on the 1971 album You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone (Elvis Presley album)
You'll Never Walk Alone is a gospel compilation album by Elvis Presley, released in 1971 on RCA Camden. The album consisted primarily of previously released Gospel recordings by Presley dating back as far as 1957. You'll Never Walk alone was a minor hit single for him in the late 1960s...
.
Some reference sources erroneously list an outtake from the earlier Presley film, Charro!
Charro!
Charro! is a 1969 Western film starring Elvis Presley. It was his only role that didn't feature him singing on-screen, and is the only Presley film to feature no songs at all except for the main title theme. It also features a bearded Presley for the first and last time in any of his films.The film...
, "Let's Forget About the Stars" (a song also released on the Let's Be Friends album), as being a song recorded for Change of Habit.
Personnel
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- vocals - The BlossomsThe BlossomsThe Blossoms were a backing group from California. They had a recording career in their own right and were to the American West Coast what The Sweet Inspirations were to the East Coast and The Andantes were for Motown.-Early years:...
- backing vocals - B.J. Baker, Sally Stevens, Jackie Ward - backing vocals
- Howard RobertsHoward RobertsHoward Roberts was an American jazz guitarist, educator and session musician.-Biography:Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began playing guitar at age 8. By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally locally....
, Dennis Budimir, Mike Deasy, Robert BainRobert BainRobert Bain was an Ontario politician. Bain served as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Timiskaming for two years. He was a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party caucus in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario....
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Roger KellawayRoger KellawayRoger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Joe MondragonJoe MondragonJoe Mondragon is an American jazz bassist.Mondragon was an autodidact on bass, and began working professionally in Los Angeles. He served in the Army during World War II, and then joined Woody Herman's First Herd in 1946...
- double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Lyle Ritz, Max BennettMax Bennett (musician)Max Bennett is an American jazz bassist and session musician.Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa. His first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Carl O'Brian - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Film music track listing
- "Change of HabitChange of Habit (song)Change of Habit is a song by Elvis Presley. It is the title track to the 1969 film Change of Habit and first released on the album Let's Be Friends....
" (Buddy KayeBuddy KayeJules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye was an American award-winning songwriter, musician, producer, author and publisher. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como, Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield...
and Ben WeismanBen WeismanBen Weisman was an eccentric American composer significant for having written more songs recorded by Elvis Presley than any other songwriter in history. The "Mad Professor" as Weisman was nicknamed by Elvis, worked with the King from 1956 to 1971...
) - "Let's Be Friends" (Chris Arnold, David Martin, Geoffrey Morrow) (not used in film)
- "Let Us Pray" (Buddy Kaye and Ben Weisman)
- "Have A Happy" (Buddy Kaye, Dolores FullerDolores FullerDolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter best known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Edward D. Wood, Jr. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in Bride of the Monster...
, Ben Weisman)
External links
- For Elvis Fans Only Website dedicated to Elvis Presley's Movies.
Reviews
- Review by Graeme Clark at The Spinning Image (UK).
- Review by Mark Zimmer at digitallyOBSESSED!, July 29, 2002.
- Review by Eric Profancik at DVD Verdict, September 5, 2002.