Elvis_Presley_on_film_and_television
Elvis Presley on film and television
Filmography
Elvis Presley was an American entertainer who achieved great initial success as a singer and stage performer. He publicly expressed an early career goal of following in the footsteps of his role models James Dean and Marlon Brando to become a top dramatic actor.[1] His manager Colonel Tom Parker's persistent lobbying of William Morris Agency president Abe Lastfogel for a Presley screen test paid off on March 26, 1956, when the singer auditioned at Paramount for a supporting role in The Rainmaker.[2] Although not chosen for the part, he signed a contract with Paramount producer Hal Wallis on April 25 that also allowed him to make films with other studios.[3]
His feature debut was in Love Me Tender in 1956 for 20th Century Fox, which was the biggest acting debut of all time,[4] with the commercial success of the soundtrack EP being a bellwether for the next three Presley films, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, and King Creole. Elvis returned to acting after leaving the army in 1960, with G.I. Blues and a dramatic western Flaming Star. The popularity of his romantic musicals established a formula for the coming years.
Over time, Presley became bitter that his hopes for dramatic roles were not coming to fruition,[5] stating that Clambake was his worst film. He began to complain about the deteriorating quality of the films and his belief that his manager's objectives were more monetary than anything else.[6] At the expiration of all studio contracts, he returned to live entertaining. The two concert documentaries Elvis: That's the Way It Is in 1970 and Elvis on Tour in 1972 were the final theatrical releases for Presley.[7] Both were among the most successful concert documentaries of their day with Elvis on Tour winning prestige with a Golden Globe award and starting off the career of Martin Scorsese.
Elvis was the highest paid actor in Hollywood, but said that he didn't need money to be successful[8] and that no amount of money was necessary, even though he expected his usual million dollar salary to star in A Star is Born.[9] This being the last film offer of Elvis' career, although he was always contractually obliged to have top billing in every film and this is something that his co-star Barbra Streisand didn't accept.
Over the years and with a reassessment of his acting career, roles in films like Charro! or Wild in the Country have come to show how good Elvis was as an actor.[10][11] Many consider him to have been the best singer-actor in Hollywood history. [12]