King Creole (1958)

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:

Michael Curtiz thought Elvis Presley would become wonderful actor.

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:

Referenced in "Bob Gratton, ma vie/My Life: La sauce à Linda - 2e partie (#2.9)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Young Dreams

To Watch 'King Creole' is to See the Light

I had an epiphany tonight. 'King Creole' is a better film than 'Jailhouse Rock'. 'Jailhouse' may contain King's best acting but 'King Creole' is his best film. Why? I would say King's acting is only slightly less convincing in 'Creole' but two things make it a better film: the cast and the story. 'King Creole' boasts the finest cast by far of any Presley film. Only Ann-Margret is sexier than Carolyn Jones, Vic Morrow has that ferocious mouth, Dean Jagger is almost perfect as the beaten father and Walter Matthau is deliciously vile. Harold Robbins' novel 'A Stone for Danny Fisher' is gritty and at times hard to read. Although the screenplay (co-written by 'Frankie Five-Angels', Michael V. Gazzo) is quite a bit more tame it is still tough. Think about it: King plays a character who kills a man in an alley with a switchblade. Here he is not 'Jailhouse Rock's amoral Vince Everett. Instead he is, at times, IMmoral. Forget all you think you know about the icon, Elvis Presley, and watch his eyes when, as Danny Fisher, he tells his father 'you go to school. I'm goin' out to make a buck'. If you don't see it, if you don't see IT, you're just not looking.