Elvis Presley Movies

Back to "Movies" Main Page

"Elvis movies" really fall into their own genre.  No one else ever had their own type of movie that became so identifiable with the star itself.  Elvis' movies simply can't be classified as "musicals".  His movies had a formula, and no other movie or movie series matched it.  What are the telltale signs of a typical Elvis movie?

• Bright, colorful filming
• Lots of sexy young girls
• Upbeat rock 'n' roll songs
• Comedy, often corny
• Lots of dancing
• Simple, not necessarily bad acting
• Interesting plot ideas that always put the basic character of "Elvis" in different situations

When someone says "Elvis movie", you know what they're talking about.  No other rock star has ever had that, and probably never will.  In retrospect, early audiences of his films can think of them as just really long music videos.  Elvis Presley movies is probably the chief instigator of the music video, made so popular in the 1980s.

It's been pretty well documented how Elvis himself disliked his films.  I think he really only disliked them because it made him typecast.  Some of them are quite good, and some are absolutely terrible.  But I think, like most people would, he got tired of doing the "same old thing" after his first few musical comedies and wanted to do something different.  If Elvis stepped back and took another look at his own movies, I don't think he would find them as bad as he first thought.  Some of Elvis' films are quite legitimate and entertaining.

How many of these do you remember?

1. Love Me Tender (1956, Twentieth Century Fox)
2. Loving You (1957, Paramount)
3. Jailhouse Rock (1957, Paramount)
4. King Creole (1958, Paramount)
5. G.I. Blues (1960, Paramount)
6. Flaming Star (1960, Twentieth Century Fox)
7. Wild in the Country (1961, Twentieth Century Fox)
8. Blue Hawaii (1961, Twentieth Century Fox)
9. Follow That Dream (1962, United Artists)
10. Kid Galahad (1962, United Artists)
11. Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962, Paramount)
12. It Happened at the World's Fair (1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
13. Fun in Acapulco (1963, Paramount)
14. Kissin' Cousins (1964, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
15. Viva Las Vegas (1964, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
16. Roustabout (1964, Paramount)
17. Girl Happy (1964, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
18. Tickle Me (1965, Allied Artists)
19. Harum Scarum (1965, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
20. Frankie & Johnny (1966, United Artists)
21. Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966, Paramount)
22. Spinout (1966, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
23. Easy Come, Easy Go (1967, Paramount)
24. Double Trouble (1967, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
25. Clambake (1967, United Artists)
26. Stay Away, Joe (1968, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
27. Speedway (1968, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
28. Live a Little, Love a Little (1968, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
29. Charro! (1969, National General)
30. The Trouble With Girls (1969, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
31. Change of Habit (1969, Universal)

Documentary Feature Films:
1. Elvis: That's the Way it is
2. Elvis on Tour

---

14. Kissin' Cousins (1964, MGM)



16. Roustabout (1964, Paramount)



17. Girl Happy (1964, MGM)



18. Tickle Me (1965, Allied Artists)