Sure, Elvis isn't the best actor in the world, but his persona works well here.
The plot involves Elvis, a young man who fights a drunk man in a bar and inadvertently kills him. The man had been accosting a young woman in the bar and Elvis didn't like it and punched him, which led to the brawl. Anyway, Elvis ends up being convicted of manslaughter and is sentenced to 1-10 years in jail. While in jail, he meets Mickey Shaughnessy, a has-been country singer who seems to have been in the clink for a while. Shaughnessy hears Elvis sing and promises to teach him how to play the guitar. He later convinces Elvis to perform in an upcoming inmate variety show which is also televised. After the appearance, Elvis receives gobs of fan letters. Jealous, Shaughnessy arranges to make sure Elvis doesn't receive his fan letters. He then convinces Elvis to sign a "contract" promising to cut him in for 50% of the profits if Elvis becomes a star.
After almost two years, Elvis is released from jail, he gets a job at a nightclub where he meets a beautiful young woman, Judy Tyler. Tyler's story is tragic. Just days after completing production on this film, her first big role, she and her husband were killed in a gruesome car accident. She was only 24. I really liked her in this film. She also had a beautiful speaking voice. I think she would have made something of herself in the movie business had fate not intervened. Anyway, after hearing Elvis sing onstage (during an impromptu performance), she convinces him to record a demo for a local record studio. Elvis' song ends up being stolen by another artist and he and Tyler form their own record label to produce his music. Elvis' career takes off and so does his ego.
Elvis' character seems to be a bit quick tempered as he hits people frequently throughout the film. I thought that Tyler's character somewhat evened out Elvis' character. If he had a tendency toward being impulsive, she was more level headed and rational. Shaughnessy's character was also interesting as he was a bit of a sleaze but you also felt bad for him as well.
The songs in the film were good too, my favorite though being "Jailhouse Rock", which is part of a prison-themed performance planned for the television special that Elvis is to appear in and shows Elvis in all of his glory.
Certainly less formulaic than the 60's Elvis films, I really enjoyed this one.
The plot involves Elvis, a young man who fights a drunk man in a bar and inadvertently kills him. The man had been accosting a young woman in the bar and Elvis didn't like it and punched him, which led to the brawl. Anyway, Elvis ends up being convicted of manslaughter and is sentenced to 1-10 years in jail. While in jail, he meets Mickey Shaughnessy, a has-been country singer who seems to have been in the clink for a while. Shaughnessy hears Elvis sing and promises to teach him how to play the guitar. He later convinces Elvis to perform in an upcoming inmate variety show which is also televised. After the appearance, Elvis receives gobs of fan letters. Jealous, Shaughnessy arranges to make sure Elvis doesn't receive his fan letters. He then convinces Elvis to sign a "contract" promising to cut him in for 50% of the profits if Elvis becomes a star.
After almost two years, Elvis is released from jail, he gets a job at a nightclub where he meets a beautiful young woman, Judy Tyler. Tyler's story is tragic. Just days after completing production on this film, her first big role, she and her husband were killed in a gruesome car accident. She was only 24. I really liked her in this film. She also had a beautiful speaking voice. I think she would have made something of herself in the movie business had fate not intervened. Anyway, after hearing Elvis sing onstage (during an impromptu performance), she convinces him to record a demo for a local record studio. Elvis' song ends up being stolen by another artist and he and Tyler form their own record label to produce his music. Elvis' career takes off and so does his ego.
Elvis' character seems to be a bit quick tempered as he hits people frequently throughout the film. I thought that Tyler's character somewhat evened out Elvis' character. If he had a tendency toward being impulsive, she was more level headed and rational. Shaughnessy's character was also interesting as he was a bit of a sleaze but you also felt bad for him as well.
The songs in the film were good too, my favorite though being "Jailhouse Rock", which is part of a prison-themed performance planned for the television special that Elvis is to appear in and shows Elvis in all of his glory.
Certainly less formulaic than the 60's Elvis films, I really enjoyed this one.