On August 16, 1977, the world lost iconic performer Elvis Presley, who died at the young age of 42. Presley excelled in many media, from music to television to films and the concert stage, and he became a beloved cultural king worldwide. In music, he was nicknamed the “King of Rock and Roll,” but that genre was not his sole claim to musical significance. Presley performed and was influenced by a number of genres, including country, rockabilly, pop, blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues. In his career, Presley won three Grammy Awards (all for gospel music and none for rock) plus received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1971.
Although he got his start performing rockabilly, the Tupelo-born (on January 8, 1935), Memphis-raised Presley gradually expanded his sphere of influence to include film, television and the concert stage. His appearances on television in the 1950s, in particular on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” caused a storm of controversy about the sexual nature of his pelvic gyrations, so that selective camerawork had to be utilized to protect the delicate sensibilities of the CBS and Sullivan audience. But that only fueled the mania to see Elvis among his fans, and that jump started his new career on the big screen.
Presley’s film output can be divided into two genres. One is the “Elvis movie” where his characters show up in some exotic place looking for work but instead finds every girl hanging on to his every note. The second is the more serious films where, Presley, anxious to show his bona fides as a real actor, takes on characters and situations that are far from the music and dancing of his other films. And when he was given a chance to shine, Presley, on more than one occasion, proved that he had some serious acting chops indeed.
In honor of his memory, enjoy touring our new photo gallery of his top 10 movies ranked worst to best, including “Blue Hawaii,” “Love Me Tender,” and “Viva Las Vegas.”
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10. BLUE HAWAII (1961)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Director: Norman Taurog. Writers: Hal Kanter, Allan Weiss. Starring Elvis Presley, Angela Lansbury, Joan Blackman.
“Blue Hawaii” was the first of three films that Presley shot in the Aloha State — the others being “Girls! Girls! Girls!” and “Paradise Hawaiian Style.” Here he plays Chad Gates who has just gotten out of the Army, mirroring Elvis’ real-life experience, and returns to his home in Hawaii ready to take up his life of surfing the day away. However, his stern mother Sarah Lee (Angela Lansbury, who was only 36 at the time she made the film) who wants Chad to step up and manage the family business, the “Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company.” But in “Blue Hawaii,” the film is much more about the music and the vistas rather than the plot.
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9. CHARRO! (1969)
Image Credit: National General/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Writer/Director: Charles Marquis Warren. Starring Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French.
What if Elvis was plunked down into the middle of a spaghetti western? The bizarre idea pretty much constitutes the essence of “Charro!,” one of the more unusual parts of Elvis’ filmography. To begin with, it is the only film in which he does not perform onscreen — he sings the title song over the main credits, but that’s it. It’s also the only one of his films in which a sports a beard, as befits the hero of a spaghetti western. And he’s actually pretty convincing in the part (he’s pretty quick on the draw) and proves that he can still carry a film even without singing.
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8. KID GALAHAD (1962)
Image Credit: Mirisch/United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Phil Karlson. Writers: William Fay, Francis Wallace. Starring Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Charles Bronson.
Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a boxing musical, right? In “Kid Galahad,” Elvis plays Walter Gulick, who an-vet who has just finished up his stint in the military (again!) and settles down in the Catskill Mountains looking for work as a car mechanic. Instead, he gets an offer from sleazebag boxing promoter Willy Grogan (Gig Young) to work as a sparring partner for the bunch of palookas whom he manages (and exploits). When Walter knocks out one of Willy’s top fighters, the promoter realizes that he can make some money off this kid and sticks him in the ring. Oh, and there are also songs (of course).
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7. WILD IN THE COUNTRY (1961)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Philip Dunne. Writer: Clifford Odets. Starring Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins.
“Wild in the Country” is one of the most un-Elvis-like films in the Presley canon. With a screenplay by legendary playwright Clifford Odets, the film focused on Glenn Tyler (Presley) who is troubled at times and forced by a court to seek help from psychologist Irene Sperry (Hope Lange), with whom he is suspected of having an affair. Glenn later aspires to a literary career and heads off to college to pursue his dreams, not a very Elvis-y thing to do. With all the talk of illicit affairs and an out-of-wedlock baby, “Wild in the Country” can be clearly called his most adult film.
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6. LOVE ME TENDER (1956)
Image Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock Director: Robert D. Webb. Writer: Robert Buckner. Starring Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Elvis Presley.
Elvis made his film debut in this 1956 Civil War drama, which marked the only time in his film career that he was not top-billed. His role as Clint Reno, who stayed at home to care for his mother while his three brothers were off fighting in the Civil War, is definitely a supporting role, but that was actually a smart choice on Presley’s part, as it gave him a chance to learn film acting while not being expected to carry the film. Both Elvis and the film received some nice reviews, but Presley’s fans turned out at the box-office where “Love Me Tender” became a significant financial success.
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5. ROUSTABOUT (1964)
Image Credit: Collection/REX/Shutterstock Directors: John Rich, Eugene Rich. Writers: Allan Weiss, Anthony Lawrence. Starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman, Leif Erickson.
At first glance, “Roustabout” looks like another generic “Elvis movie” — Elvis is looking for a job (again), and this time his character, musician Charlie Rogers, hooks up with a struggling traveling carnival. You’ve pretty much seen it before. But there are two elements here that help it rise from the pack. The first is a slightly better script that an “Elvis movie” usually producers, and for their work, Anthony Lawrence and Allan Weiss earned Writers Guild Award nominations. And then there’s the owner of the carnival, Maggie Morgan, played by Barbara Stanwyck. (Or, if you “Big Valley” fans prefer, Miss Barbara Stanwyck.) Largely, she does her Stanwyck thing in “Roustabout,” which is plenty enough for me, and it’s always fun to see now-legends, such as Stanwyck here and Angela Lansbury in “Blue Hawaii” making their way through an Elvis Presley world.
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4. KING CREOLE (1958)
Image Credit: Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Michael Curtiz. Writers: Herbert Baker, Michael V. Gazzo. Starring Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart.
In one of Presley’s better-reviewed films, “King Creole,” he portrayed Danny Fisher, a teenager who finds himself getting involved with gangs and romancing two women in New Orleans. Based on a novel by Harold Robbins, the film had at the helm a strong director, Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca”) and such accomplished character actors as Carolyn Jones and Walter Matthau, but Presley responded by rising to their expertise and delivered one of his best performances. Two weeks after completing production on the film, Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army.
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3. JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957)
Image Credit: MGM/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Richard Thorpe. Writer: Guy Trosper. Starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler. Mickey Shaughnessy.
Though thought by many to be otherwise a forgettable film, “Jailhouse Rock” has always ranked high on any list of iconic Elvis Presley film, largely thanks to a brilliant dance number of the film’s title tune. Filmed in crisp black-and-white, Presley and his “convict” dancers perform the number a wholly stylized background, black bars signifying prison cells set against a blinding white background. The effect is stunning, as is the choreography by Alex Romero which incorporated many of the hip gyrations that Elvis had made so famous. The scene is cited by many as the best musical sequence in any Presley film.
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2. FLAMING STAR (1960)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Don Siegel. Writers: Clair Huffaker, Nunnally Johnson. Starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Dolores Del Rio, John McIntyre.
It was no secret at the time that Elvis was occasionally frustrated at the trajectory of his film career. He was smart enough to realize that his “Elvis movie” extravaganzas with singing and dancing were his bread and butter, he wanted to be considered a serious actor but was stymied at the lack of opportunities that came his way. But when Elvis was given the chance, he demonstrated that he had the stuff, never more so than in Don Siegel’s 1960 Western in which he plays Pacer Burton, who is of a mixed race, son of a Texan father (John McIntyre) and his Kiowa mother (Dolores Del Rio. When the Kiowas begin to raid nearby neighborhoods, Pacer is torn between being loyal to his tribe and protecting his family. The critical consensus is that, in “Flaming Star,” Presley gives his best screen performance ever.
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1. VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964)
Image Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock Director: George Sidney. Writer: Sally Benson. Starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova.
The reason that my choice for the #1 “Elvis movie” ever is “Viva Las Vegas” can be summed up in one hyphenated name: Ann-Margret. “Viva” fits snugly into the “Elvis movie” formula — he wanders into some exotic location looking for a job, meets a young woman who’s initially feisty but who melts the moment he picks up his guitar and rocks out. Ann-Margret, however, brings something different to the table — she gives just as good as she gets, is every bit his equal and earns every bit of the title co-star. The chemistry between the two stars is palpable and helps to up Elvis’ game, prompting him to deliver some of the best musical performances in his film career. “Viva Las Vegas” is an “Elvis movie” par excellence.
