Elvis films - your thoughts?

[John]

This topic is born from a conversation between Glyn and myself on another thread.

I said in response to a comment from Glyn:

Now, as for the films, I grew up with them and have so many fond memories of most of them.

My late mother liked them, my grandmother, long gone, liked them. My children liked them and my grandchildren like some of the songs from them. My three cousins that I grew up with, two of whom are now no longer with us, liked them.

In the 60s I began dating and went out with some lovely girls, and saw 3-4 Elvis films with girls who liked him. Did we notice how embarrassing some were? No. It was just harmless entertainment. In bad times, watching the odd Elvis film took my mind off the crap that was going on. As a child, as a teenager, as an adult, now as an old man, there's always been something of value in an Elvis film, no matter how small. It's all about perspective. I doubt I've seen any of them more than 6-7 times at the most. In fact most of them I've probably only seen 3-4 times. I take them at face value. It's just entertainment, and I'm glad we've got them.

I further added:

I agree that he could, and should have made more dramatic films. We know he was capable, and yes his talent was wasted, but we have what we have.

I guess that if someone became a fan later, say after the movie years, do they have a very different view of the films? They wouldn't have had the experience of seeing them in a cinema when they first came out.

So what are your memories of Elvis films? Did you first see them at the cinema, or later when they were being shown on TV, or maybe on video, or even DVD?

Let us know, please.

[Colin B]

So what are your memories of Elvis films? Did you first see them at the cinema, or later when they were being shown on TV, or maybe on video, or even DVD?...

All of the earlier ones at the cinema, then from VHS videos or on TV.

See the 'Elvis Films' poll.

[ED209]

I dont have any real memories regarding the films.
In fact I have only seen approx 10 of them over the last 40 years and have no desire to see the rest.
The only 2 that isnt available already and I wish for a bluray release is Loving You and the original TTWII
version…..the rest is thanks but no thanks.

[colonel snow]

I saw all his movies during his lifetime in the cinema or fanclubmeetings in the 80’s; then I got all the movies on VHS and later on I got a few on reel and or DVD. At the present time I nearly watch the movies.

colonel snow

[Colin B]

...At the present time I nearly watch the movies.

I have this image of you taking down the DVDs, reading the sleeves, then puttinmg them back without viewing ...

[Mister Moon]

This topic is born from a conversation between Glyn and myself on another thread.

I said in response to a comment from Glyn:

Now, as for the films, I grew up with them and have so many fond memories of most of them.

My late mother liked them, my grandmother, long gone, liked them. My children liked them and my grandchildren like some of the songs from them. My three cousins that I grew up with, two of whom are now no longer with us, liked them.

In the 60s I began dating and went out with some lovely girls, and saw 3-4 Elvis films with girls who liked him. Did we notice how embarrassing some were? No. It was just harmless entertainment. In bad times, watching the odd Elvis film took my mind off the crap that was going on. As a child, as a teenager, as an adult, now as an old man, there's always been something of value in an Elvis film, no matter how small. It's all about perspective. I doubt I've seen any of them more than 6-7 times at the most. In fact most of them I've probably only seen 3-4 times. I take them at face value. It's just entertainment, and I'm glad we've got them.

I further added:

I agree that he could, and should have made more dramatic films. We know he was capable, and yes his talent was wasted, but we have what we have.

I guess that if someone became a fan later, say after the movie years, do they have a very different view of the films? They wouldn't have had the experience of seeing them in a cinema when they first came out.

So what are your memories of Elvis films? Did you first see them at the cinema, or later when they were being shown on TV, or maybe on video, or even DVD?

Let us know, please.

My parents gave me my first Elvis record (actually, it was a double cassette, a greatest hits compilation) at my request in the summer of 1978. I was 12. I knew Elvis because I had seen some of his movies on TV in the mid-70s - "Blue Hawaii" was one of them, and maybe some other early 60s one. When I saw, on TV too, "King Creole" and, especially, "Jailhouse Rock" in 1980 my brain nearly exploded. Later, I got to see many other of his films on TV, as they were shown chronologically on a weekly basis, and that's when I could see that each film was followed by a worse one, and on and on. By the time we got to the post-"Roustabout" films, it was literally insufferable. I couldn't stand to sit through those things. I remember I didn't even watch the later ones. I got so bored, and sick to see my musical hero going through that crap - bad films, bad music, unworthy of Elvis.

The only Elvis-related movies I have seen at the cinema are John Carpenter's "Elvis" in 1979, "This Is Elvis" two or three years later, and the recent biopic. "This Is Elvis" was a real highlight. To see those early TV shows on the big screen was, frankly, a marvelous experience that's engraved in my brain. At around the same time, a friend of mine who was a total 70s Elvis junkie introduced me to "TTWII", "On Tour", "In Concert", as well as both "Aloha" shows, and 68 Special outtakes. It all left mixed feelings inside me - I couldn't believe it all was the same guy. I still can't.

[Glyn]

Although I did make a negative comment on the 60’s movies I must say that when I became a fan in 1972 and adopted him as my idol when my mum took me to see Elvis on Tour at Southend cinema, I couldn’t afford to buy any albums as I was only 9.
So I had to console myself with her copy of the Girl Happy album which I played over and over and learnt all the lyrics.
So in a way I do have fond memories, even with one of the worst soundtrack albums.
It had to do, especially as the only record I could afford was Burning Love which got left on a window ledge and melted in the sun after I had only played it a few hundred times - I was gutted.

[John]

Burning Love which got left on a window ledge and melted in the sun after I had only played it a few hundred times - I was gutted.

It was meant to be.

[Glyn]

The movie titles were mostly OK (except Tickle Me). I often wonder what we would have got if the films were made in the UK where I live - Blue Harlow, Viva Norfolk Broads, Colchester Holiday and Paradise, Basildon Style perhaps.

[HillbillyCat]

John has already summed it up perfectly for me!

[cadillac-elvis]

My history with the Elvis movie started long before I became a fanatic and long before I started buying his records.

I had seen most of them on TV before he had died in 1977. They used to show them all the time on the afternoon movie time.

Or you could catch them on the midnight movie time.

I thought and still think for the most part they are entertaining escapism.

And the music was fun as well. There is something in each and every one of them that has something worth mentioning.

And an Elvis movie is how I became a fan, and "Elvis that's the way it is" was the movie that started it all for me.

I then had to explore his entire catalog.

Currently, what I collect most now is bluray prints of his movies and so far I have 16 of them and they are so far above DVD as DVD was above VHS.

And going back to those afternoon movie showings, they were nearly always dirty old scratchy prints.

But even most DVD's and VHS offered up grainy color faded versions of the movies.

The upgrades on bluray are truly worth the money to get those.

[John]

Looks like it's possible that Colin and I are the only ones to have seen most of these in the cinema when they were originally released, although I first saw Love Me Tender on TV in about 1966 maybe, and G.I. Blues when I was in school in Africa. I don't know now which films were not shown in the cinema in England at the end of the movie years, so those I would have first seen either on TV or video I guess.

[Rickeap]

I became a fan by being dragged along by my friends to watch TTWII. Polk Salad Annie did it for me.
I also have early memories of watching Clambake in the cinema and being amazed when the film went upside down. I don't remember hating the film as a young lad, though i came to reconsider its worth later on.
I can re-watch quite a few, but there are some clunkers I won't watch again.

[Nolan Truth]

The only one I really struggle with is ‘Harem’, all the others I can watch straight through no problem.
I take them for what they are, entertaining on different levels, but ‘Harem’ is just so poor on every level.
Story, production, look, songs, acting.
Terrible, and even the album cover photo is reversed.
I think a talking camel might have actually helped !

[John]

The only one I really struggle with is ‘Harem’, all the others I can watch straight through no problem.
I take them for what they are, entertaining on different levels, but ‘Harem’ is just so poor on every level.
Story, production, look, songs, acting.
Terrible, and even the album cover photo is reversed.
I think a talking camel might have actually helped !

Apart from Hey Little Girl with it's very dodgy lyrics (how did that get through?), I don't mind the songs. Perhaps it's better just listening to them to watching them on screen. However, Elvis in a turban??? That would never happen in real life, would it? Nah, never.