The Roustabout ferris wheel today

If your a fan of Elvis Presley you pretty much know his 1964 movie Roustabout. Probably more than me. I've only seen the film once, basically to see the Ferris Wheel. That makes me sound like I have some unnatural obsession with ferris wheels. Far from it. I'm not a huge fan of riding them but for the sake of a good story, I did. A few years ago I heard that the ferris wheel from the movie, Roustabout, was now living in Australia.


The original exteriors for Routabout were filmed in Thousand Oaks, California. In a cow pasture! Luckliy the ferris wheel now has ocean views. When I found myself in Semaphore, I made a beeline and I just had to check out this movie icon. As I walked up I noticed the sign claiming it to be the real thing! Yes, it's even called, The Roustabout! Poor Barbara Stanywck doesn't even rate mention on the sign.


As I'm easily impressed I asked the operator if he knew any history and how it ended up half way around the world. He didn't seem interested in talking about it. I'm guessing he'd recounted the story so many times he was probably bored repeating it. The sign claimed it was in the movie, so I kept up my questions. I learnt that it WAS from the film. The original chairs were replaced a few years ago. The originals were unsafe and he didn't know where they were now. The only other fact I could muster was it shipped to Australia a number of years ago. I thanked him for having to deal with my questions and I hopped on for my three minute ride.


When visiting Semaphore in South Australia make sure to visit and ride the ferris wheel that Elvis rode in the movie, Roustabout. Book that vacation now!