Juliet Prowse, Presley's co-star in G.I. Blues, was signed to play Maile, but she wanted to use another studio's make-up artist and have the studio pay to fly her secretary to Hawaii, she pulled out of the film.
Angela Lansbury, who played Elvis' mother, was only 35 years old when the movie was filmed, a mere 10 year older than Elvis.
Pamela Austin's movie debut.
Approximately seven minutes before "The End," Maile ('Joan Blackman') kicks Chad (Elvis) out of her room on Kauai, then peeks through the blinds. Briefly in her view is a couple paddling a canoe. The woman, blond and seated in front, is Pop singer Patti Page. How Patti paddled her way into being an extra came about because she was then married to Charles O'Curran, a choreographer and music stager for many films produced by Hal B. Wallis, including "Blue Hawaii."
Elvis gave his famous ukulele from this film to Hank Garland, nicknamed "Sugarfoot." Garland was one of the top session guitar player during the 1950s in Nashville. He recorded with Elvis and toured with him from 1958-1961. Elvis etched his initials into the ukulele for Garland. During his 1961 Hawaiian benefit concert (for the Arizona Memorial), Elvis was quoted as saying that Garland was "one of the finest guitar players in all of the country."
The closing scene, where Elvis is getting married by the pool, was shot at the Coco Palms Resort on Kauai, where Elvis was staying when filming the movie.
The soundtrack album for this movie is not only Elvis' most successful chart album, but it is also the number one album overall for 1961. "Blue Hawaii" spent 20 consecutive weeks at the #1 spot of the Billboard Top LP's chart in 1961-1962 (a record to be broken only in 1977 by Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" album), and it stayed on the charts for 79 weeks.
Turn the sound up loud when Chad (Elvis) is first seen leaving the plane - you will hear hundreds of screaming fans who were watching the shoot.
Hal B. Wallis:
walking down the street.