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Reviews
King Creole (1958)
Elvis at his best
For anyone who doubts that Elvis' acting talent was wasted during his film career, cast a critical glance at 'King Creole'. The film, based on the Harold Robbins novel, 'A Stone for Danny Fisher', is very well directed (by Michael Curtiz) and acted by Elvis, ably supported by the talented Walter Mathau and Carolyn Jones.
King Creole was filmed in New Orleans and tells the story of Danny Fisher, a young busboy turned nightclub singer who gets involved in street gangs and inevitably with Maxie Fields, a ruthless nightclub owner.
Elvis always said that this was his favourite film, and it is not too difficult to see why, given his encouraging performance and the fact that the material he was handed after this outing did not allow him the opportunity to develop as an actor. It is unfortunate that the Studios only interest in Elvis was as a short term moneyspinner.
Change of Habit (1969)
Elvis - The Doctor
Elvis Presley made his last acting appearance in this film, playing a doctor opposite nun, Mary Tyler Moore. The story revolves around 3 nuns abandoning their habits, and adopting 'street clothes' to work as nurses in a ghetto practise run by Dr.John Carpenter (Elvis). There are some good scenes where Elvis is allowed to show some acting skills for which he was never really appreciated, mostly due to the woeful scripts he endured during his acting career. On the few occasions that he was given good material, his acting talents shone through. (Most notably in King Creole).
At this point in Elvis' career it is obvious that he was relishing completing his 10 year film contract as he had become completely disillusioned with the film industry and the bad material he had been given for the best part of 6 years.
The good moments in this film only emphasise the disappointment that Elvis' film career did not reach it's full potential, and we can only ponder what might have happened had he accepted roles in films such as Midnight Cowboy or A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand, both of which were offered to him.