King Creole (1958)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Harold Robbins (novel)
Herbert Baker (writer) ...

Release Date:

2 July 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Musical

Plot:

Having flunked graduation for a second time and needing cash to support his crabby (and thus unemployed) father...

Plot Keywords:

Nightclub | Delinquent | Crime Boss | High School | Young Love

Cast

Elvis Presley	...	Danny Fisher
Carolyn Jones	...	Ronnie
Walter Matthau	...	Maxie Fields
Dolores Hart	...	Nellie
Dean Jagger	...	Mr. Fisher
Liliane Montevecchi	...	Forty Nina
Vic Morrow	...	Shark
Paul Stewart	...	Charlie LeGrand
Jan Shepard	...	Mimi Fisher
Brian G. Hutton	...	Sal (as Brian Hutton)
Jack Grinnage	...	Dummy
Dick Winslow	...	Eddie Burton
Raymond Bailey	...	Mr. Evans - School Principal
Gavin Gordon	...	Mr. Primont - Druggist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leon Tyler	...	Drug Clerk (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Danny (USA) (working title)
Sing, You Sinners (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for violence and sensuality.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

As of 2009, the stripper's scene - absent since 1958 - has been restored, along with her song "Banana".

Goofs:

Continuity: Throughout most of the scene near the end of the film, in which the injured Danny recovers consciousness in Ronnie's cabin, his slashed arm is seen to be tightly bandaged - presumably Ronnie's first-aid handiwork. However, in one shot, the bandages are hanging loosely from his arm.

Quotes:

Ralph: You're a pretty fancy performer, ain't ya kid?
Danny Fisher: Now you know what I do for an encore.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elvis at the Movies (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Lover Doll

King Creole (1958) ***

Adapted from the book "A Stone for Danny Fisher", Elvis Presley plays a rebellious kid with a wimp of a father (Dean Jagger) who quits school and takes up singing at a night club in New Orleans, only to get mixed up with a group of thugs (headed by Vic Morrow) and their crime boss (Walter Matthau).

Elvis considered this melodrama his best film and I happen to agree. It's nicely photographed in noirish black and white and directed by Michael Curtiz, featuring Elvis' most cultivated performance. It's a good story too, complimented by good actors in their roles. Walter Matthau is ideal as Maxie the heavy, who practically owns the whole town. Carolyn Jones is properly pitiful as his pathetic tramp, and Vic Morrow does well as the lead hoodlum who caters to Matthau. The songs Presley sings fit nicely into the action and are pleasant, though I don't believe any of them were signature biggies for Presley outside of, possibly, "Hard Headed Woman," and "King Creole" itself. It's a real shame that the best hit rocker, "Hard Headed Woman," is really given a raw deal as we only get to hear the end of it within the movie. The best music performance is Elvis' rendition of "Trouble" as he dominates the nightclub stage with authority and toughness while fearlessly singing it at Maxie.