Back in 2010, when I realized G.I. Blues was about to have its 50th anniversary, I decided to do a pictorial post on it. Then the idea quickly changed to a regular feature when each successive movie reached the 50-year mark.
The problem with this plan was that it was too late to do Elvis’ first four movies. Their 50th anniversaries were already in the past, but I collected their photos anyway.
So, let’s look at them, now.
Love Me Tender:
I like Elvis’ look in this. If it is a colorized photo, somebody did a good job. Note that it came from Romania. Folks everywhere love Elvis.
Check out the center poster. It says, “Don’t Die Elvis Presley.” I guess she heard that Elvis died at the end of the movie and was protesting it.
One thing for sure, Elvis never again had a co-star that looked this handsome.
?
Something really funny must have been said, because Richard Egan and Elvis are laughing big time.
Although “Love Me Tender” was a straight up cowboy movie, Elvis did sing four songs and showed a little of his stage moves to the family out on the front porch.
This must have been during a break in filming, and Elvis killed some time playing around on a banjo. He doesn’t play it in the movie.
I’ve seen “Love Meat Tender” in other spoofs, but this has to be the first and it was actually hung in a meat market, not created on a computer.
I have a caption. “You ain’t nuthing but a hound dog. Been snoopin’ round my door.”
Of course those are the original Big Mama Thornton lyrics. Elvis changed them to “crying all the time.”
Loving You
I just love this shot of Elvis. What a spectacular stage move. And it looks like Elvis really got the Jordanaires jacked up, too.
There are two cool things about this picture. The first is the way Elvis looks. Great shot.
The other is that Vernon and Gladys are in the audience for this concert. They are on screen so briefly that you don’t have a chance to think about how unrealistic it would be to have two middle-aged folks seated in the midst of bunch of screaming teenagers.
Elvis talked to his mom during a break in filming. I don’t know why these first three photos are in black-and-white because the movie was in color.
This is a great scene where Elvis gets into a fight with a heckler after singing “Mean Woman Blues.” Music videos didn’t exist in 1957, but this scene would have made an outstanding one.
I have a caption for this photo. “After filming ends for the day, Elvis and his costar head to his trailer to study their lines.”
This scene is so much fun. That groupie really tried hard to have her way with Elvis.
Jailhouse Rock
As publicity shots go, this one of Elvis and Judy Tyler is pretty good. The shadings of green really improve the black and white photo.
Do you remember this scene with the loud-mouth heckler? Elvis shut him up big time. Sorry that the girl got so scared, too.
Elvis really had the hair going in this shot, didn’t he?
Here’s another illustration of the great facial expressions Elvis made in his movies.
The tag on this said it was “Blocking out a shot.”
I rotated this picture 90% to check, and I believe that is Elvis, not a stuntman.
King Creole
This is a very clever concept. Without words, this poster lets you know that Elvis has something going on with two different ladies. One is young and innocent, and the is older and tempting.
Now Elvis is with four women. The one the left is his character’s sister Mimi, but who is the one with the banana-skin costume?
Here she is again. Do you remember her part?
She was a dancer named Forty Nina, who had been the club’s favorite performer until Elvis came along. Forty Nina. Fun name.
I like this poster, but Elvis’ left hand looks really big. The black leather coat looks suspiciously like the one in the ’68 Special.
Elvis can look cool just hanging out on a French Quarter balcony.
Elvis kissing Carolyn Jones. That leads us to next week –a look at Elvis kissing several dozen women.
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