KING CREOLE
(Paramount, 1958)

Based on Harold Robbins' novel A Stone For Danny Fisher, King Creole was Elvis's fourth feature film, and his final acting role before his military conscription. The film was completed when Elvis personally wrote to the draft board asking for a deferrment. Executives at Paramount Studios breathed a sigh of relief, as much investment had already gone in to the production. This was a wonderful opportunity for Elvis to work in what was essentially a dark drama with Academy Award-winning people like director Michael Curtiz (director of earlier film classics like Casablanca, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Angels with Dirty Faces) and actor Walter Matthau. Carolyn Jones, Dean Jagger and Vic Morrow also shone in their respective roles. However, Elvis's performance as the volatile Danny Fisher easily matched the dramatic power of his professionally-trained fellow actors - his intensity in the role quite a revelation in fact.

The soundtrack music, much of it composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, was first rate - an effective fusion of rock and jazz, totally appropriate for the New Orleans setting. Apart from the soundtrack being available on an LP (the standard release pattern for an Elvis film) there were two EP's - King Creole Vol. l & 2, which was an unusual situation. This did occur again several years later with Tickle Me (1965), but in that instance the material was all previously recorded anyway and not created specifically for the project, so does not quite compare. The song Danny, recorded for the film but cut from the final print, was not officially released until 1978 - on the Legendary Performer Vol. 3 album.

In what was a very demanding role, Elvis rose to the challenge admirably in many scenes of physical and verbal conflict. His perceived `rebel' image within his first four films would undergo a radical transformation upon his return from military service in Europe in 1960. King Creole went a great deal of the way in lending Elvis credibility as a dramatic actor, and the reviews for the film, upon release were, almost without exception, of a favourable nature.

Elvis always stated that King Creole was his own personal favourite of his own films.

This information was produced by the Elvis Presley Film Society in June 1999