Themes: Love Triangles, Fathers and Sons, Musician's Life
Main Cast: Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart, Dean Jagger
Release Year: 1958
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
Plot
Elvis Presley delivers one of his finest early performances in King Creole. Elvis plays a teenager named Danny Fisher, who is forced to drop out of school to help support his ineffective father (Dean Jagger). Drawn to trouble like a magnet, Danny is saved from a jail term by New Orleans salloonkeeper Charlie Le Grand (Paul Stewart), who gives the boy a job as a singer. It isn't long, however, before local gang boss Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau), a shadowy figure from Danny's criminal past, puts the muscle on the boy, insisting that Danny sing at his establishment. To lure Danny to his side of the fence, Maxie relies upon the seductive charms of his gun moll Ronnie (Carolyn Jones), while Danny's true love Nellie (Dolores Hart) suffers on the sidelines. In addition to the expected musical numbers (which are cleverly integrated into the storyline), the film's highlight is a brief exchange of fisticuffs between Elvis and Walter Matthau. Together with Jailhouse Rock, King Creole is one of the best filmed examples of the untamed, pre-army Elvis Presley. The picture was adapted from Harold Robbins' novel A Stone for Danny Fisher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A more serious-minded Elvis Presley picture than most, King Creole was originally intended to be a non-musical with James Dean in the starring role. Directed by skilled studio veteran Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Mildred Pierce), Elvis displays an acting ability that had only been hinted at in previous roles. Presley always said that Creole was his favorite film; it and the previous year's Jailhouse Rock are most likely his best features. He was drafted into the army soon after the film's release, and, upon returning in 1960, he cut back on performing music to concentrate on his acting career. Throughout the 1960s, he put out two or three movies a year; unfortunately, the pictures remained mostly repetitive, empty serials designed to capitalize on his name and music. While garish, King Creole is nonetheless more of an attempt at a real movie. Like many Elvis movies, this one is produced by the legendary Hal B. Wallis; unlike the others, Creole is based on a well-respected work of fiction, Harold Robbins' A Stone for Danny Fisher. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Hal Pereira - Art Director, J. McMillan Johnson - Art Director, Charles O'Curran - Choreography, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Michael Curtiz - Director, Warren Low - Editor, Walter Scharf - Composer (Music Score), Claude Demetrius - Songwriter, Jerry Lieber - Songwriter, Aaron Schroeder - Songwriter, Mike Stoller - Songwriter, Roy C. Bennett - Songwriter, Abner Silver - Songwriter, Sid Tepper - Songwriter, Sid Wayne - Songwriter, Ben Weisman - Songwriter, Fred Wise - Songwriter, Martin Kalmanoff - Songwriter, Rachel Frank - Songwriter, Al Wood - Songwriter, Kay Twomey - Songwriter, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Russell Harlan - Cinematographer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Frank R. McKelvey - Set Designer, John P. Fulton - Special Effects, Michael Vincente Gazzo - Screenwriter, Harbert Baker - Screenwriter, Harold Robbins - Book Author
Presley plays Danny Fisher, a young, tough musician making his way in New Orleans. Matthau plays Maxie Fields, a kingpin of organized crime in the city, with Jones as Ronnie, a call girl with limited prospects. With its aspects of film noir, its relatively realistic depiction of the mix of poverty and ambition, and in the unsentimental relationships between the three principal characters, King Creole fits in the mold of films from that era like The Big Knife and Sweet Smell of Success. Most critics cite this as Presley's best film, and best acting performance.
The bulk of the songs originated from the stable of writers contracted to Hill and Range, the publishing company jointly owned by Presley and Colonel Tom Parker: Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Claude Demetrius, Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, and Roy C. Bennett. Conspicuous in their relatively limited contribution were Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had come to an impasse with the Colonel during the making of the previous movie, Jailhouse Rock, in which they had practically dominated the musical proceedings. Furious over mere songwriters having such easy access to Presley without going through Parker's "proper channels," the Colonel closed off their avenue to his prize client, especially since the duo had also tried to influence Presley's film direction, pitching him an idea to do a gritty adaption of Nelson Algren's recent novel, A Walk on the Wild Side, with Elia Kazan directing, and Leiber & Stoller providing the music.[1] The Colonel put the kibosh on such notions, although echoes of the concept remained in the film, and the pair still managed to place three songs on the soundtrack, including the title track and "Trouble," arguably the film's best songs. Presley's performance of "Trouble" in the film alludes to Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley; he would return to the song for his tremendously successful television comeback special.
The songs "Hard Headed Woman" and "Don't Ask Me Why" appeared as two sides of a single on July 10, 1958, to coincide with the release of the film. "Hard Headed Woman," the A-side, and "Don't Ask Me Why" both made the pop singles chart, peaking at #1 and #25 respectively.
The album was reisued for compact disc in an expanded edition on April 15, 1997, and again in an audiophile version from Japan on August 25, 2005. For the both reissues, an additional seven tracks were added, including the song "Danny" taken from the same sessions, with six alternates, four previously unreleased.
James Dean was set to play the lead role when the film was originally planned to be a straight drama. He was killed in a car crash before he could accept the role.
The Leiber/Stoller song "Trouble" was recorded by the band Samhain in 1987, and released on the reissue of their 1990 Final Descent album in 2000. Danzig, a band composed of former members of Samhain, also recorded the song for the 1993Thrall: Demonsweatlive EP.
