Saturday Night Cinema
King Creole

Elvis Presley would have turned 75 yesterday. What better way to celebrate than to run the one film that Elvis liked, was most proud of.  Most of his other Hollywood properties were exploitative vehicles for musical numbers.

King Creole is an American motion picture directed by Michael Curtiz, released by Paramount Pictures on July 2, 1958. The film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, and Walter Matthau.[1] It is Presley's fourth movie (the third and last filmed in black & white), and adapted from the 1952 novel by Harold Robbins, A Stone for Danny Fisher.

Hal Wallis acquired the rights to A Stone For Danny Fisher with the intentions for it to be a non-musical vehicle starring either James Dean or Ben Gazzara.[2]
Following the death of Dean in 1955, the project was shelved. In
January 1957, following the success of an Off-Broadway stage version of
the story,[2] Presley's name was suggested as a possible replacement.[2]
After negotiations were completed, the character of Fisher was changed
from a boxer to a singer and the location was moved from New York to
New Orleans.[2]

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With filming due to begin in January 1958, Presley had to get
special permission to defer his draft notice, which he had received in
December 1957, until after filming was complete.[3]

Michael Curtiz, a noted director during the golden era of the Hollywood studio system whose famous productions included The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938, Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942, and in the same year, Casablanca, was hired to helm the project.[2]

After seeing an early copy of the finished film Presley thanked
Curtiz for giving him the opportunity to finally show people the
potential he had as an actor.[2] King Creole was said to have been Presley's favourite role of his entire career,[2] and he had high hopes of returning from the army to pick up from where he had left off.[2]
However, despite being better received by the critics than his previous
films, and ticket sales being very good, he never got the chance to be
taken as seriously as an actor again (with, perhaps, the exception of
the western Charro), partly due to the success of later films such as Blue Hawaii, G.I. Blues, and Viva Las Vegas;
all quick to film, cheap to make box-office hits with enough songs to
sell soundtrack albums and entertain the masses of Presley fans who
were more eager to see him sing than act.[2]

King Creole was the last film Presley made during the 1950's and is often considered to be his best role.[2]

Filming took place between January 20 and March 12 1958.[4]

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Thanks for sharing!