This thread has concentrated on his acting movies, but c’mon, if you’re going to watch Elvis’ movies, you have to include the concert footage too: The '68 Comeback Special,, Aloha From Hawaii, and Elvis-That’s the Way It Is.
Not to be an ass about it, just a little more of a completist.
“If you want me, baby, just Challah.”
I believe the quote that summed up the Elvis movies is, “They didn’t want them good. They wanted them Thursday.”
One of his better films is “Flaming Star,” made in 1960 and directed by Don Siegel. It’s a western drama with only two songs: the title song and one other very early on. Elvis was an untrained actor and Siegel was often frustrated by him, but he did manage to get a credible performance out of him. Definitely worth a watch.
I was going to mention this. It’s a movie, not an “Elvis Movie.” He doesn’t get top billing and he sings one or two acoustic songs. It’s not great but it’s a solid movie. It’s a glimpse of what might have been if Col Parker hadn’t pushed him into the other types of movies.
NM
Lovin’ You
Jailhouse Rock
King Creole
These are his 2nd through 4th movies and they are the ones to see. They are in a different category than the later ones in any case, even though I think the male lead is a “singer” in each one.
Elvis parents appear at the county fair scene in Lovin You. Jailhouse rock is just iconic in every scene. King Creole was taken from a novel by Harold Robbins. He went into the army soon after these were made.
Viva Las Vegas is a good Elvis movie because it has Ann-Margret in it. It should just be called an Ann-Margret movie. Every movie with Ann-Margret in it is a good movie.
Col. Tom Parker didn’t want to see Elvis in any dramatic roles. Elvis had charisma and ambition, he could have stretched himself. He wanted to be in ‘A Star is Born’ opposite Barbra Streisand, and Col. Tom vetoed that. He wanted to play ‘Eddie’ in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and Col. Tom vetoed that. He wanted Elvis to churn out cheapie drive-in ‘Elvis’ movies with lots of chubby girls in bikinis and Elvis churning out ‘nothing’ songs. (My aunt, 10 years older then me, was a fervent fan. I thought Elvis was for older people who missed the 50’s.) There were some good things about some of his movies, some because of scenery or excellent co-stars, and nothing wrong with his singing, but he never did reach his potential as a REAL ‘star’. (I just saw Harum Scarum, oh, that was just plain SAD).
There was GI Blues, which was basically just made to tell the world that Elvis was getting out of the Army. It was worth seeing if only to ogle Juliet Prowse. I saw all of those movies in the theater when I was a kid. I remember going to Love Me Tender in particular, because after the movie they were giving away a limited number of Elvis photos. A girl I was sweet on was outside the theater, crying because she didn’t get one. Very puzzling to my ten-year-old self.
Wasn’t Harem Scarum the one that opens with Elvis karate chopping a tiger?
I looked up Follow That Dream (1962) on IMDb to see how it ranks.
FTD is as generic Elvis pic as you can get. But I remember seeing it in the theater as a kid and enjoying it. I guess you had to be young, naive and all that. I am also a big Arthur O’Connell fan.
Then I saw it’s user rating is 6.6 (1,846 reviews).
Most films are nowhere 6.6. Even Viva Las Vegas is 6.4.
Maybe there’s a lot of other Arthur O’Connell fans out there.
Looking at other ratings it’s clear that Harum Scarum (1965) is when people gave up on his films. The ones from late 64 to before HS aren’t as good as the rankings on IMDb, IMHO. I think there was delayed affect from the Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night. Elvis was no longer relevant in music or films.
Well, there was that one he sings in…
When I was a kid, I was watching an Elvis Presley movie. Coincidentally, I became violently ill at the same time. Obviously there was no physiological connection, but the coincidence put me off of Presley movies for many, many years. (Same thing happened with tomato soup.)
One thing is that he wore a Hamilton Ventura watch in Blue Hawaii. Admittedly, I bought mine (like this one)because that’s what they wore in the first Men In Black movie, but I do appreciate the Elvis connection. I wish I could remember where I put it!
Name one.
Just saw Ken Russell’s film of the Who’s Tommy in the cinema last night. Yes. Ann Margret makes every movie better. Even writhing in baked beans.
GI Blues, Kissin Cousins, Paradise Hawaiian Style are my favorites. Love the GI Blues song
Ask the husband, he is more of an Elvis freak. He likes all the girls on the movies!
Loving You, King Creole and Viva Las Vegas are my three favorite Elvis movies.
USA ranks the 10 best Elvis movies and 3 to avoid.
Change of Habit.
Dr. Elvis “cures” autism.
:rolleyes:
…AND gets a beautiful virginal nun (Mary Tyler Moore) to fall in love with him. (Maybe, because I think the ending leaves it unconfirmed, but, really? A beautiful woman not ending up in live with Dr. Elvis?)
…AND Elvis’ character’s name is John Carpenter. (Get it?)
OK, maybe I was thinking more of ‘Beach Party’ movies, and when I say chubby girls, I mean in contrast to the lean, mean hardbodies with big plastic boobs in fashion today.
But I found him singing House of Sand in ‘Paradise Hawaiian Style’, Beach Shack in ‘Spinout’ and Hey Hey Hey in ‘Clambake’.
There are three.
Cite? It’s well known that Elvis met Meat Loaf and Tim Curry at a performance of “The Rocky Horror Show”, but I’ve never seen anything to suggest he ever expressed a desire to be in the film version.
