The "King of Rock 'n' Roll" and the eye of a musical hurricane, Elvis popularized a charged new beat. His recording success was astounding, and his personal appearances caused near-riots. The so-called moral leaders of the nation condemned his blasphemous music and objected to his legendary hip gyrations, which earned him the nickname "Elvis the Pelvis."
But it wasn't just his swinging hips and rockabilly sound that drew audiences: Elvis Presley also had personal charm, counterbalanced by bedroom eyes and a sensual sneer. His overwhelming appeal to the teenage market could hardly be ignored by Hollywood. Previous singing sensations such as BING CROSBY and FRANK SINATRA had become major movie stars, and Elvis Presley certainly had the same potential. In a career that included 33 movies, his potential - at least commercially - was well realized with ticket sales of roughly $150 million. His movies, in fact, represent the most commercially successful series of musicals ever produced by Hollywood.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley had an identical twin who died at birth. The family later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and the young Elvis Presley seemed destined for a career as a truck driver until he hit it big at Sun Records. RCA quickly signed him in 1955, and his career began to soar. He had one hit song after another, and in 1956 he made his movie debut in Love Me Tender, a post–Civil War western in which he played a supporting role and sang four songs, including the title tune. He starred in a total of 30 musicals, most of them formulaic and inexpensively produced. They were generally dismissed by the critics, and Elvis was considered a poor actor.
Although the majority of his musicals were indeed insipid, it must be said in Elvis's defense that he moved through them with considerable charm and an amiable lack of concern for their nonsensical plots. After all, the films were mere excuses for musical numbers, and there were usually a few good songs per film. There were, however, a handful of genuinely good Elvis Presley musicals, among them Jailhouse Rock (1957), Viva Las Vegas (1964), and Frankie and Johnny (1966).
Elvis Presley also starred in two nonmusicals: Flaming Star (1960) and Wild in the Country (1961), the latter based on a Clifford Odets piece. He was quite good in the first but out of his depth in the second. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that under the guidance of a good director such as DONALD SIEGEL, who put him through his paces in Viva Las Vegas and Flaming Star, Elvis Presley could be quite impressive.
Although Elvis Presley's music and film careers dipped during the Beatles-led British invasion of the mid-1960s, his films were still commercially viable, although they were soon made with even less attention to plot and production values, making them almost painfully unwatchable. In his last film, Change of Habit (1969), Elvis Presley actually plays a doctor who falls in love with a nun (Mary Tyler Moore); it was an embarrassing exercise.
Elvis Presley went into semiseclusion after his film career ended, and he didn't reemerge until a Las Vegas comeback gig caused a sensation. Although he continued to tour and perform, he delved heavily into prescription drugs, which ultimately led to his death at the age of 42.
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