SunAndMoon Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Hardly anyone is going to deny that Elvis Presley was one of the greatest singers in the history of music. A great actor, on the other hand...not so much. His voice is legendary, and his movies are legendarily awful. Or so I hear. I've only seen King Creole, so I can't comment on his entire filmography. I thought it was all right. I can't tell bad acting from good unless it's really wooden, and Elvis's acting didn't strike me as being obviously terrible. What say you, my fellow forum-goers? Did I watch the only decent Elvis movie? Was the King himself any good as an actor? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukhov Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 I don't think he was a bad actor but he was definitely given terrible scripts/ movies. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 It largely is a matter of personal opinion. I never thought his acting was as bad as some try to make it out to be, his problem was mostly being quickly typecast and given "throw away" roles in which he seemed to be a similar character in many of his flicks. Ex G.I., Race car driver, mechanic, crop duster pilot, etc. that can also sing and get all the good looking girls in whatever town he's in to hang on him like tinsel. KING CREOLE was one of his better efforts, along with the year earlier JAILHOUSE ROCK. And given his lack of formal acting training, directors of many of his movies did manage to get competent performances out of him (IMHO) but I doubt he made Brando or Olivier nervous. And although it was claimed he longed for more "serious" roles in more serious movies, it's said the Colonel made sure most of his movies were vehicles for new songs to be showcased and too, generate revenue from soundtrack recording sales. There's only a few in which he's NOT a singer or that even have ANY of him singing in them. WILD IN THE COUNTRY('61) is the only one I can think of,... Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det Jim McLeod Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Sepiatone said: There's only a few in which he's NOT a singer or that even have ANY of him singing in them. WILD IN THE COUNTRY('61) is the only one I can think of,... I think "Flaming Star" is his best. He is heard singing the title song over the credits and sings some western folk song with a guitar at the beginning and that's it. It's a challenging role of a half white half Indian who torn between two worlds. Veteran supporting cast (Dolores Del Rio and John McIntire) along with great director Don Siegel also help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 3 hours ago, SunAndMoon said: What say you, my fellow forum-goers? Did I watch the only decent Elvis movie? Since it wasn't Viva Las Vegas (1964), with red-hot firecracker Ann-Margret, and arguably Elvis's best movie song, no. 2 hours ago, Sepiatone said: It largely is a matter of personal opinion. I never thought his acting was as bad as some try to make it out to be, his problem was mostly being quickly typecast and given "throw away" roles in which he seemed to be a similar character in many of his flicks. Ex G.I., Race car driver, mechanic, crop duster pilot, etc. that can also sing and get all the good looking girls in whatever town he's in to hang on him like tinsel. And although it was claimed he longed for more "serious" roles in more serious movies, it's said the Colonel made sure most of his movies were vehicles for new songs to be showcased and too, generate revenue from soundtrack recording sales. There's only a few in which he's NOT a singer or that even have ANY of him singing in them. WILD IN THE COUNTRY('61) is the only one I can think of,... And Elvis was reportedly originally up for Kris Kristofferson's role in the '77 "A Star is Born", but both management and the studio thought Elvis & Barbara Streisand would be a battlefield--There is only ONE star in an Elvis pic, they argued, and you don't put him in supporting roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I love Viva Las Vegas. Elvis is Elvis, but he and Ann-Margret have such great chemistry. The film is fun. I also love Jailhouse Rock. It's a little more serious than some of his other fare. I also love Kissin' Cousins. No. It's not a good movie. It's rather dumb at times. But it's amusing. Elvis plays his own (blonde) hillbilly twin. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukhov Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I like the one where he helps the asian girl find her father during the World's Fair. That one is very cute. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 10 hours ago, speedracer5 said: I love Viva Las Vegas. Elvis is Elvis, but he and Ann-Margret have such great chemistry. The film is fun. I also love Jailhouse Rock. It's a little more serious than some of his other fare. I also love Kissin' Cousins. No. It's not a good movie. It's rather dumb at times. But it's amusing. Elvis plays his own (blonde) hillbilly twin. Dumb, "at times"? Well, I'm not saying Presley's movies weren't entertaining or fun. As hormone ravaged adolescents we loved going to see Presley movies 'cause the GIRLS in them were so FINE! Like all them "Beach blanket" movies in the early to mid '60s, it wasn't to see and hear FRANKIE AVALON sing is why we flocked to 'em! It was more ANNETTE FUNICELLO and her "Pu**Y Posse" that was the draw. Sepiatone 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Okay I must admit I'm a fan of his movies too. I'm not into the sanctimonious, beat you over the head message movies of the 60s, so what's that leave me? Basically I see him as a likeable character actor, and not anything more serious than that. I suppose he had a bit of Dean Martin, but then I suppose it would also be fair to say he had a bit of Arch Hall. Lots of fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayban Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 In his early films for Hal B. Wallis, he showed a lot of acting promise, but then MGM and the formulaic musicals took over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight08 Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 One of my personal favorites is "Blue Hawaii", not only for the beautiful songs but also for the scenery. It is one of his "formula" movies but this one is a step above the others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 He gave an excellent dramatic performance in his 2nd film Loving You (1957). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Faiola Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 I'm sure KING CREOLE was an education for Presley. He not only worked under Michael Curtiz - who usually got his actors to underplay admirably - but he was also working with really good actors such as Walter Matthau, Carolyn Jones, Val Avery and Paul Stewart. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayban Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 His largely suppressed love affair with Nick Adams must've been a major ache in his life. Indeed, Adams, who wanted to make capital of the relationship, wrote a basically cleaned-up version of their relationship. When Adams supposedly committed suicide, just before threatening to tell the truth, it was largely surmised by Hollywood insiders that Adams had been murdered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunAndMoon Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 *raises eyebrows skeptically* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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