Main Cast: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughan Taylor, Jennifer Holden
Release Year: 1957
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
One of the best of Elvis Presley's pre-Army films, Jailhouse Rock offers us the sensual, "dangerous" Elvis that had won the hearts of the kids and earned the animosity of their elders. Presley plays a young buck who accidentally kills a man while protecting the honor of a woman. Thrown into prison, Elvis strikes up a friendship with visionary fellow-con Mickey Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy suggests that Elvis perform in the upcoming prison show. Ol' swivel-hips scores a hit, and decides to stay in showbiz after his release. Together with pretty Judy Tyler (the former Princess Summerfall Winterspring on Howdy Doody, who would die in a horrible traffic accident shortly after completing this film), Elvis sets up his own record company. Alas, success goes to his head, and soon Elvis plans to ditch Tyler in favor of signing with a big-time label. Shaughnessy shows up long enough to punch out Elvis for his disloyalty; as a result, Elvis' vocal chords are damaged and he is unable to sing. Deserted by his flunkeys and hangers-on, Elvis learns the value of friendship and fidelity when Tyler and Shaughnessy stay by his side in his darkest hours. His voice restored, Elvis climbs back up the charts--but this time, he's a much nicer fellow, and a lot more committed to Tyler. Usually the musical numbers in a Presley picture (this one has a doozy, complete with chorus boys dressed as convicts!) are more compelling than the plot. Jailhouse Rock is a perfect balance of song and story from beginning to end; seldom would Elvis be so well showcased in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
If Jailhouse Rock isn't Elvis Presley's best movie, it's close enough to the top of the heap to be essential viewing for anyone interested in The King's legacy, and it's one of his few vehicles which really caught his raw, sexy energy and sneering charisma on film. Playing an ex-con rock & roll singer, Elvis' role isn't much of a stretch here, but it also allows him to let his natural charm shine through, and the film's cynical portrait of the inner working of the music business certainly seems to agree with him. Elvis didn't get many chances to play a character with a dark side or a bad attitude (especially after his hitch in the Army), and Jailhouse Rock finds him reveling in Vince Everett's cocky swagger and seen-it-all cool. Richard Thorpe's direction isn't especially inspired, but he keeps the story moving along well enough, and the production number for the title song is one of the few times Presley's live-wire magnetism made its way through the studio's choreography. Jailhouse Rock plays like a good, tough B-movie with some rockin' musical numbers thrown in, and it certainly serves Elvis and his talent far better than the glossier but empty-headed movies that dominated his post-Army career. Keep your ears peeled for the priceless moment where Elvis shares his opinions on modern jazz! ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Dean Jones - Teddy Talbot; Anne Neyland - Laury Jackson; Dorothy Abbott - Woman in Restaurant; Peter Adams - Jack Lease; Robert Bice - Bardeman, TV Studio Manager; George Cisar - Jake the Bartender; Fred Coby - Bartender; John Day - Ken; Francis de Sales - Surgeon; William Forrest - Studio Head; Percy Helton - Sam Brewster; Harry Hines - Hotel Clerk; John Indrisano - Convict; Walter Johnson - Shorty; Donald Kerr - Photographer; Frank Kreig - Drunk; S. John Launer - Judge; Tom McKee - TV Director; Carl Milletaire - Drummond; Gloria Pall - Stripteaser; Robin Raymond - Dotty; Grandon Rhodes - Prof. August Van Alden; Dick Rich - Guard; Hugh Sanders - Warden; Elizabeth Slifer - Cleaning Woman; Glenn Strange - Mr. Simpson; Katherine Warren - Mrs. Van Alden; Dan White - Paymaster; Wilson Wood - Record Engineer; Mike Stoller - Pianist; William Tannen - Record Distributor; Don Burnett - Mickey Alba; The Jordanaires - Musician
Credit
Randall Duell - Art Director, William Horning - Art Director, Kathryn Hereford - Associate Producer, Alex Romero - Choreography, Robert E. Relyea - First Assistant Director, Richard Thorpe - Director, Ralph Winters - Editor, Jeff Alexander - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jerry Lieber - Songwriter, Aaron Schroeder - Songwriter, Roy C. Bennett - Songwriter, Abner Silver - Songwriter, Mike Stroller - Songwriter, Sid Tepper - Songwriter, Ben Weisman - Songwriter, William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Robert J. Bronner - Cinematographer, Pandro S. Berman - Producer, Keogh Gleason - Set Designer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Arnold A. Gillespie - Special Effects, Ned Young - Screen Story, Guy Troper - Screenwriter, Richard Trosper - Screenwriter
Jailhouse Rock is an Americanmotion picture directed by Richard Trofee, released by MGM on October 30, 1957. The film stars Elvis Presley (his third ever film role), Judy Tyler, and Mickey Shaughnessy. Co-star Tyler was killed in an automobile accident a few weeks after the film was completed, and like Loving You before it, Presley was so upset that he refused to ever watch the completed film. In 2004, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Presley plays "Vince Everett," an ex-convict working in the music industry, and a character analogous to Presley's then public image. After going to jail for a bar fight he did not start, Everett meets Hunk Houghton in prison, and the two men form a bond. Houghton, a washed-up country singer, teaches Everett to play an old guitar, and to sing a few songs.
Presley and Tyler
Upon his release, Everett lands work at night clubs, but not singing. He meets Peggy Van Alden, a record company talent scout, who allows Everett to record a song. They bring his go to an executive at a small record label, who then records the exact arrangement with one of his established stars. Everett and Van Alden then start their own label to bring Everett's records to the public, and fame, riches, and a film career ensue.
Everett's prison buddy Houghton shows up, and instead of getting in on the action as anticipated, has to settle for being Everett's gofer. Throughout the film, Everett is the epitome of the spoiled star, surly, uncommunicative, bellicose, and treating all around him with either cruelty or diffidence, especially Van Alden and Houghton. A final fight at the end of the movie with Houghton, meant to give Everett his comeuppance, damages his vocal cords, bringing into question his ability to ever sing again. He learns his lesson in humility, and expresses his true feelings for Van Alden and Houghton.
The pair of shapely female legs seen walking across the stage in the scene where Presley and Judy Tyler meet belong to showgirl Gloria Pall.
The film is most famous for the dance sequence in which Elvis sings the title track while cavorting with other "inmates" through a jail cell block. The sequence is widely acknowledged as the most exciting and best-executed musical scene in any of the 30 Presley narrative movies, and is also credited by some musical historians as being the first prototype for the modern music video. This sequence was also duplicated by Britney Spears during her infamous 2007 MTVVideo Music Awards Performance.
In August 2007 a Deluxe Edition with some special material was released.
This film was the first of only 2 Elvis movies (the other being "Viva Las Vegas") to be released onto every home video format ever distributed in the U.S. (Beta, VHS, CED Disc, Laserdisc, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray DVD)
Jailhouse Rock ranks 495th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. [1]
Rough Ridin' (with John P. McCarthy) •Rarin' to Go •Battling Buddy •Fast and Fearless •Hard Hittin' Hamilton •Rip Roarin' Roberts •Bringin' Home the Bacon •Thundering Romance •Gold and Grit •Full Speed •Fast Fightin' •On the Go •Double Action Daniels •Quicker 'n Lightnin' •Tearin' Loose •The Desert Demon •Saddle Cyclone •Galloping On •A Streak of Luck •The Last Card •The Roaring Rider •Trumpin' Trouble •The Fighting Cheat •Coming an' Going •The Twin Triggers •Deuce High •Easy Going •Rawhide •Speedy Spurs •Double Daring •The Dangerous Dub •Twisted Triggers •The Bonanza Buckaroo •College Days •Josselyn's Wife •The Bandit Buster •The First Night •The Cyclone Cowboy •Between Dangers •The Galloping Gobs •Tearin' Into Trouble •The Ridin' Rowdy •The Meddlin' Stranger •Pals in Peril •Skedaddle Gold •White Pebbles •The Interferin' Gent •The Soda Water Cowboy •Ride 'em High •The Obligin' Buckaroo •Roarin' Broncs •The Desert of the Lost •The Ballyhoo Buster •Desperate Courage •The Cowboy Cavalier •The Valley of Hunted Men •Saddle Mates •Flyin' Buckaroo •The Bachelor Girl •Border Romance
1930s
The Dude Wrangler •Wings of Adventures •The Thoroughbred •Under Montana Skies •The Utah Kid •The Lawless Woman •The Sky Spider •The Lady from Nowhere •Wild Horse •Grief Street •Neck and Neck •Forgotten Women •The Devil Plays •Cross Examination •Murder at Dawn •Probation •Escapade •The Midnight Lady •Forbidden Company •Beauty Parlor •Thrill of Youth •The King Murder •Slightly Married •Women Won't Tell •Secrets of Wu Sin •Forgotten •Love Is Dangerous •I Have Lived •Strange People •Notorious But Nice •A Man of Sentiment •Murder on the Campus •Rainbow Over Broadway •The Quitter •Stolen Sweets •City Park •Green Eyes •Cheating Cheaters •Secret of the Chateau •Strange Wives •Last of the Pagans •The Voice of Bugle Ann •Tarzan Escapes •Dangerous Number •Night Must Fall •Double Wedding •Man-Proof •Love Is a Headache •The First Hundred Years •The Toy Wife •The Crowd Roars •Three Loves Has Nancy •The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn •Tarzan Finds a Son!
