Actor
‘The only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one.’
Elvis
Hollywood made a nonsense of Elvis, who he was, his talent, and his ambition. He was bigger and better than Hollywood. He trusted people to further his acting ambitions, and he was sold out. Hollywood exploited his iconic status for commercial gain. It’s more complicated than that, but not much. The most telling statistic is that Elvis made a lot of films – twenty nine – but in a very short space of time. His last twenty five films came in just nine years. It was quantity over quality and his acting career was over before it had barely begun.
‘Hollywood had lost sight of the basics. They're a lot of fancy talkers who like to pigeonhole you.’
Elvis
‘I could do an Elvis movie. I got the hair.’
- Shawn Mendes
Do it, then, and see how many turn up to watch.
Film critic Mark Kermode takes Elvis’ acting ambitions seriously and gives a serious appraisal:
‘I always argued that Elvis was arguably, potentially a very good actor. Barbra Streisand wanted him to play opposite her, but Col Parker stopped it. That would have been something to dream about.’
Mark Kermode, English film critic and musician, reviewing the 2018 version of "A star is born" for his blog Kermod Uncut.
‘When I was asked to direct Elvis and after a few conversations with him, I began to sit up and take notice. This is a lovely boy, and he's going to be a wonderful actor. When I told him that he would sing three ballads without one single movement, I didn't get the answer you'd expect. Instead, he merely nodded and said simply, 'You're the boss, Mr. Curtiz.' I found him an amazingly restless, ever-searching young man, pliable, absorbing with a bounce like a rubber ball. In my manner of thinking, he possesses much the same qualities which Gary Cooper and John Wayne showed when they first started in pictures --with one notable exception, namely that they capitalized and still capitalize on an element of awkward-ness, while Elvis is agile and resilient with a smoothness that you'd expect in a veteran. I guarantee that he'll amaze everyone. He shows a formidable talent. What's more, he'll get the respect he so dearly desires.’
Two time Oscar winning Director Michael Curtiz, focusing on Elvis acting capacities in King Creole, which he directed, as published in the Daily notes, on April 9, 1958
Michael Curtiz saw the potential, the potential that failed to be developed.
‘He was an instinctive actor...He was quite bright...he was very intelligent...He was not a punk. He was very elegant, sedate, and refined, and sophisticated.’
- Walter Matthau, who co-starred with Elvis in "King Creole," from a 1987 interview
‘As the lad himself might say, cut my legs off and call me Shorty! Elvis Presley can act...Acting is his assignment in this shrewdly upholstered showcase, and he does it.’
- Howard Thompson, Review of "King Creole," New York Times, 1958
“A Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood.”
- Hal Wallis, Producer of nine of Elvis' films
Sure of making money. That was Wallis’ only concern. Same with Parker. Here are the architects of the demise of Elvis’ film career. Elvis takes the flak for these philistines.
‘I felt there was a man there who truly cared about people. But his life was on a level that my life was not on. I felt like Phillip Dunne [director] fawned all over Elvis. Elvis' attitude was - I saw Elvis looking around that set and summing up people faster than anyone else could have, and I felt that after a short period of time he was disappointed in Phillip Dunne, but he was too polite and well behaved to say anything. He tried very hard to make this film better than his other movies, and you saw him trying and asking questions. And I just believe the sad thing is that [the director] did not have the ability to help Elvis through it. I remember one scene; we were sitting in the truck, and we were supposed to be driving home from a dance or going to a dance, and in the script he was supposed to break into song, turn on the radio and start singing. And to me it was like "yuk," I was very young and I thought, “my sisters are going to tease me, this is so embarrassing and tasteless." You see, I was a snob, too. But - and this was the nicest thing - while we were rehearsing, finally the director walked away, and Elvis looks at me and says, "God, this is so embarrassing. Nobody would ever do this in real life. Why are they making me do this?” He never used his star power - never. Maybe he should have. Maybe he did it on some level, but he sure didn't do it on the set. I felt like he was younger than me, this very humble person who would make statements that he believed in. All I know is that there was a person there with a refined heart and soul, and I say refined on any level you want to look at it. When you meet someone like that, you know they're there. The essence of Elvis was a fine person as I've ever met.’
Actress Millie Perkins, Elvis 'co star in the 1961 film Wild in the Country and who played the role of Gladys Presley in the 1990 TV Miniseries "Elvis".
He was let down by people around him, by people who earned a lot of money out of him. And he was corrupted. That says more about the world than it does about Elvis.
He was a good actor, capable of becoming a very good actor. Director Don Siegel saw his potential:
‘I found him sensitive and very good. He felt he could have done better things. His advisors were very much against doing this kind of straight role and they tried to get him to sing throughout the picture. Obviously, they didn’t want him to get off the winning horse. But when I was able to calm him down, I thought he gave a beautiful performance…’
Don Siegel, commenting on Rollingstone magazine his directing Elvis in Flaming Star.
The Elvis films may have a poor critical reputation. I’ll take them over much more celebrated films any day:
‘The Star Wars movies belong in the same category as Elvis Presley movies: They’re popular yet are all but unwatchable — except that the Presley pictures evince a human touch.’
Armond White's opening paragraph in reviewing "The Last Jedi" for the "National Review’s December 15th edition.
‘Elvis Presley movies – I’m a big Elvis fan – although I don’t think you should feel guilty about pleasures.’
UK comedian Sanjeev Bhaska's answer to a question on what is his biggest guilty pleasure, in an interview with the Mail Online published on July 29, 2018.
‘Elvis Presley summed it up perfectly when filming the musical "Roustabout". The director, John Rich, wasn't particularly impressed with his entourage hanging around and playing practical jokes on one another. When Rich approached him about his traveling companions clowning around and disrupting, he didn't back down from his director. He told Rich, "When these damn movies cease to be fun, I'll stop doing them." Cheers, Elvis. Couldn't have said it better myself.’
Peggy Ryan complaining about the political madness arising out of the 2016 Presidential election in an article entitled "It Finally Happened: Politics Has Ruined Everything Fun", published in The American Thinker on October 3, 2016
If you no longer enjoy it, stop doing it, go and find something else to do.