| Elvis Presley on film and television | |
|---|---|
 Elvis in a publicity photo for the film Jailhouse Rock in 1957 | |
| Films | 31 |
| Documentary films | 7 |
| Television | 10 |
| Home videos | 23 |
Elvis Presley was an American entertainer and Laurel Award winning actor 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]
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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, with Elvis films being credited as the start of the modern music video. [5]
Elvis experienced incredible success as both a singer and an actor in these years, doing what was and remains unheard of with hit films at the box office, hit singles, and hit albums all at the same time. [6] Elvis holds the unprecedented feat of starring in 17 box office top-ten films between 1956 and 1965, with 17 number one singles and 8 number one albums in the same time period. [7] [8] A feat unmatched then and now. Elvis was also landing hit films, singles, and albums all at the same time, in the same calendar year [9]
Over time, Presley became bitter that his hopes for dramatic roles were not coming to fruition, [10] and after missing roles in West Side Story , Thunder Road , The Defiant Ones , and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . [11] But Elvis was able to mix musical films like Girls! Girls! Girls! with action films, like Kid Galahad . Although Elvis hated Charles Bronson, [12] the tough guy actor who was 5th billed in this modern boxing film and a template for Rocky . [13] Bronson was one of the ten most famous actors to ever have the pleasure of working with Elvis. [14]
Unfortunately, many of the big stars of the sixties were jealous of Elvis and this is one of the reasons why he stopped working with other leading actors, such as Steve McQueen. [15] Even The Beatles wanted to appear in an Elvis film, but this wasn't considered a good idea. [16] Elvis continued to be incredibly successful and popular as a singer and actor at this time, with the 1964 hit film Roustabout becoming a favourite of Quentin Tarantino and proving Elvis was still able to compete with new artists of the day when the soundtrack album from this film went to number one on the Billboard 200 during Beatlemania. [17] [18]
Elvis' 1965 film Tickle Me , which was a favorite of his, saved the film studio Allied Artists from bankruptcy [19] due to how much money it made with Elvis as the star. Tickle Me was the third highest-grossing film in the studio's history. [20] Allied Artists then went on to win numerous Academy Awards, although Elvis was never credited or thanked. Elvis was also generous enough to reduce his million-dollar salary to just $750,000 to help the studio. [21] There is a belief that Elvis should be awarded a special honorary Oscar for his contribution to cinema. [22] [23]
Another Quentin Tarantino favorite that inspired Pulp Fiction [24] was Elvis' 1968 film Speedway , which is considered to be among the best NASCAR films ever made. [25] Credited with helping the popularity of NASCAR [26] Speedway was a box office success that featured famous racing stars of the day. Elvis also co-starred with Nancy Sinatra [27] in this box office smash.
Elvis stated that Clambake was his worst film and began to complain about the deteriorating quality of the films and his belief that his manager's objectives were more monetary than anything else. [28] This resulted in a change to his acting career and a stop to the formula films in 1968, after which Presley starred in the comedy western Stay Away, Joe , the modern screwball comedy Live a Little, Love a Little , the dramatic western Charro!, and the social drama Change of Habit . [29]
Charro! has been called the most convincing acting role of Elvis' career [30] and Change of Habit was a major success that Elvis' manager decided against being considered for Academy Awards, famously saying, "don't go buying no tuxedos." [31] [32] Change of Habit is also considered the best final film of any singer turner actor. [33]
At the expiration of all studio contracts, he returned to live entertaining and soon became the biggest star in Las Vegas history and on tour in America. [34] 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. [35] 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. Whilst Tom Parker opted against Elvis: That's the Way It Is being submitted for Oscars due to the academy's bias against Elvis and because they would try to use his name for ratings and prestige. [36]
Presley was the highest paid actor in Hollywood but said that he didn't need money to be successful [37] and that no amount of money was necessary for him to take a good role. His films grossed $284 million [38] and Elvis was paid 50% of those profits, [39] making him the richest actor in Hollywood history. [40] Adjusted for inflation, Elvis films made $2.2 billion. [41] He was also paid $250,000 royalties from each of his 17 soundtrack albums from the movies, giving Elvis $4.2 million. Adjusted for inflation this amounts to $44.3 million from soundtrack album royalties on top of his usual salaries and bonuses. Elvis was in the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll for seven years, making $1 million per film. [42] [43]
Of the many roles Elvis turned down, these included the John Wayne western True Grit. Elvis was asked to play the role that Glen Campbell played, but top billing with John Wayne was contested. [44]
Elvis also wanted to do a screentest for The Godfather and missed out on the leading role in Midnight Cowboy , which was turned down by his manager without Elvis knowing. Elvis was also considered for the leading role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory but was busy performing in Las Vegas. [11]
It was expected for Presley to be paid his usual million-dollar salary to star in A Star Is Born . Although interested in the role, Presley was ultimately not hired as Parker believed Presley would not receive top billing, and attempted to negotiate a higher salary and percentage of the film's gross profits. [45] Elvis regretted not making the film because he knew how good he would have been. But he also knew that this was a vanity project for Streisand and that she would have wanted to look better than Elvis, even though he was the better actor and bigger star. Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker also knew that Elvis wanted to develop himself as an actor. And so, [his manager] Colonel Parker turned down the opportunity, the offer for Elvis to star in ‘A Star is Born’ with Barbra Streisand… He didn’t want to see Elvis being overshadowed by Barbra Streisand. [46] This is considered to be the biggest missed opportunity in cinema history. [47] [48] [49] Elvis did decide to produce, write and star a karate film called The New Gladiators , which was a true passion project for the actor and 8th degree black belt, although this remained unfinished at the time of his death and lost out on its classic status. [50]
Over the years and with a reassessment of his acting career, roles in films like Charro! , Wild in the Country , Change of Habit , and Live a Little, Love a Little have led to Presley receiving high praise as an actor. [51] [52] Many consider him to have been the best and most successful singer-actor in Hollywood history. [53] Elvis also holds the unique distinction of every single one of his films making money at the box office. [54]
In his remarkable career, Elvis activated film and TV spaces like never before, and because of Elvis Presley, there's a direct thread from Love Me Tender and Jailhouse Rock to the Beatles A Hard Day's Night to Prince's Purple Rain and more. [5] Presley's onscreen innovation also extends beyond cinema: 1973's Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite was revolutionary in that it was the first live satellite broadcast to feature a single performer.
It is well known that the film academy was against Elvis, which is why he was never awarded an Oscar, although this has been reassessed and the success Elvis had in Hollywood remains the benchmark for every singer-turned-actor. [55] [56] [57] [58]
