Priscilla Ann Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company that turned Graceland into one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. In her acting career, Presley co-starred with Leslie Nielsen in the three Naked Gun films and played the role of Jenna Wade on the long-running television series Dallas.
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.
Love Me Tender is a 1956 American musical Western film directed by Robert D. Webb, and released by 20th Century Fox on November 15, 1956. The film, named after the song, stars Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and Elvis Presley in his acting debut. As Presley's movie debut, it was the only time in his acting career that he did not receive top billing.
Rio Grande is a 1950 American romantic Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. It is the third installment of Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", following two RKO Pictures releases: Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Wayne plays the lead in all three films, as Captain Kirby York in Fort Apache, then as Captain Nathan Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and finally as a promoted Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke in Rio Grande. Rio Grande's supporting cast features Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jr., Harry Carey Jr., Chill Wills, J. Carrol Naish, Victor McLaglen, Grant Withers, the Western singing group the Sons of the Pioneers and Stan Jones.
Blue Hawaii is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written American Musical. The film opened at number two in box-office receipts for that week and, despite mixed reviews from critics, finished as the 10th top-grossing film of 1961 and 14th for 1962 in the Variety national box office survey, earning $5 million. The film won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category of Top Musical of 1961.
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. It also presents a strong set of ten musical song-and-dance scenes choreographed by David Winters and features his dancers. Viva Las Vegas was a hit at film theaters, as it was #14 on the Variety year end box office list of the top-grossing films of 1964.
Flaming Star is a 1960 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, and Steve Forrest, based on the book Flaming Lance (1958) by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the mixed-blood "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role. The film was directed by Don Siegel and had a working title of Black Star.
King Creole is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel A Stone for Danny Fisher by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart, Dean Jagger, and Vic Morrow, and follows a nineteen-year-old (Presley) who gets mixed up with crooks and involved with two women.
McLintock! is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills, and Yvonne DeCarlo. Loosely based on William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, the project was filmed in Technicolor and Panavision, and produced by Wayne's company, Batjac Productions.
G.I. Blues is a 1960 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley and Juliet Prowse. The movie was filmed at Paramount Pictures studio, with some pre-production scenery shot on location in Germany before Presley's release from the army. The movie won a 2nd place or runner-up prize Laurel Award in the category of Top Musical of 1960.
It Happened at the World's Fair is a 1963 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a crop-dusting pilot. It was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition. The governor of Washington at the time, Albert Rosellini, suggested the setting to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives. The film made $2.25 million at the box office. It marked Kurt Russell's film debut.
Tickle Me is a 1965 American musical comedy western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster.
Harum Scarum is a 1965 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was shot on the original Cecil B. DeMille set from the film The King of Kings, with additional footage shot on location at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Some of the film was based on Rudolph Valentino's 1921 movie The Sheik.
Live a Little, Love a Little is a 1968 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was directed by Norman Taurog, who had directed several previous Presley films. This was to be Taurog's final film, as he went blind shortly after production ended. Presley shares the screen with fellow legendary singing idol Rudy Vallee, whose career dated to the 1920s, but Vallee, in his late 60s, did not sing in the film.
Charro! is a 1969 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, shot on location at Apacheland Movie Ranch and Old Tucson Studios in Arizona. This was Presley's only film in which he did not sing on-screen; the film featured no songs at all other than the main title theme, which was played over the opening credits. It was also the only movie in which Presley wore a beard. The film was novelized by Harry Whittington.
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The first such facilities were all within the 30-mile (48 km) studio zone, often in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and Simi Valley in the U.S. state of California.
Colt .45 is a 1950 American Western film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, and Zachary Scott. Reissued under the title Thundercloud, the film served as the loose basis for the television series Colt .45 starring Wayde Preston, which premiered seven years later. Written by Thomas W. Blackburn, author of the lyrics to The Ballad of Davy Crockett, the film is about a gun salesman and gunfighter who tracks down a killer who stole two new Colt .45 repeating pistols leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him. The revolvers used in the movie were actually first model .44 Caliber Colt revolving belt pistols made in 1849 and reaching final form by 1850. Scott correctly demonstrated how to load them so the producers of the film were most likely aware of the anachronism in the title.
China Doll is a 1958 romantic drama film set in the China Burma India Theater of World War II and starring Victor Mature and Li Li-Hua. It represented a return to films for director Frank Borzage who had taken a 10-year hiatus before tackling this poignant, yet "offbeat" film.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, Mabel Ballin, and Warner Oland. Based on the 1912 novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, the film is about a former Texas Ranger who pursues a corrupt lawyer who abducted his married sister and niece. His search leads him to a remote Arizona ranch and the love of a good woman.
Ernest Miller was an American cinematographer who was nominated for an Academy Award at the 1939 Oscars for Best Cinematography for the film Army Girl, sharing the nomination with Harry J. Wild. He had nearly 350 film and television credits to his name, mostly Westerns, including some of the early episodes of Gunsmoke. Location work on Army Girl was done primarily at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., where Miller cut his teeth in B-Westerns and became one of the most prolific—and one of the best—of the site's shooters during the course of his career. His camera work at Iverson became identifiable for Miller's trademark use of the site's charismatic sandstone rock features as framing devices, as he incorporated the giant boulders into the artistry of the outdoor action shots in ways that few cinematographers could match.
