This Elvis film has a lot going for it - his first proper starring vehicle, first for Hal Wallis, his first in colour, includes a cameo from his parents, a plotline that supposedly mirrors his own rise, a decent score (including 'Teddy Bear') - so I wondered why no one ever seems to get too excited by it when talking about Elvis films... and after watching it I can understand.
While it's interesting to note some similarities between the film's story and the real Elvis story (here he's a delivery boy who is discovered by a manager, who skilfully publicises his attraction to female audience), it's a dull story most of the time - little conflict, just sort of plodding along in a this-happened-then-that-happened way. Even the finale, where Elvis is effectively banned and the kids rally to his defence (years before "Footloose") is muffled - just writing it then it struck me, that sounds like an exciting situation, it should have been, but its not. (The director, Hal Kanter, was a writer.)
Dolores Hart is charming as his proper love interest but as with the later King Creole, Elvis' real attraction seems to be for an older, more worldly woman - in this case his manager, Lizabeth Scott (she of the interesting face and Sapphic aura) - but the film then shies away from this, and pairs Scott safely off with bland Wendell Corey, who is in a band. The most effective scene is where Elvis is at a diner and all these girls fuss over him, prompting the boyfriend of one of them to start a fight - I'm sure this happened in real life all too often.
The King himself is in decent form - the script stacks the chips in his favour (as pointed out by Shipman: he's got chip on his shoulder but isn't bitter, he just needs to be mothered, he's an orphan, aw...), and he gets to swivel his hips in a way forbidden by the Ed Sullivan Show. The finale is a bit yucky - Elvis going to Hart, Scott and Corey "you're the only family I've got in the world and I need you" then going in to sign a contract - Scott's his manager, and Hart and Corey are part of his band so they're all financially dependent on him... so you can't help feeling when Elvis goes in that room it's "hello exploitation". Unfortunately, I'm sure this happened in real life all too often, too. (Col Tom Parker is credited as "technical adviser".)
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