Ten Favourite Elvis Presley Films

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) changed the music industry forever and because of his contributions has the title of "King of Rock and Roll". In addition to his music career, The King also has a notable Hollywood career where he was featured in a staggering 31 pictures in just over 13 years. During the late 60's he made 3 films/yr, which is more than a lot of trained actors will make in a year. 

In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1957 he made his most notable film Jailhouse Rock (1957) which has one of the best selling soundtracks in the history of Cinema. In 1958 he sadly had to stall his career as he was drafted into the military joining the 3rd Armoured Division in Germany. His mother also sadly passed away that year. 

Elvis returned to the United States in March and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.  His first film back was GI Blues, which had made considerable headway as a soundtrack. His manager Colonel Tom Parker started pushing Elvis far more heavily into Hollywood. Parker pressured Paramount's Hal Wallis into paying the man $175,000 per film and in doing so got other studios to offer Elvis even greater contracts. 

Parker's approach to filmmaking was very "hands-off", accepting pretty much any script that the Studio gave him. In an interview Parker said "What’s Elvis need? A couple of songs, a little story and some nice people with him."  He instructed his lead actor to not question the studio's decisions and thus they made a series of very formulaic films. The typical Elvis picture would be a light comedy, very little plot,  with nice gals and at least 10 musical numbers. 

By the early 60's Elvis abandoned his dream of being a serious actor. He realized he was just a tool in the machine and as film after film went by he seemed to be losing great passion. It was quite noticeable in his many lackluster acting performances. The mid 60's brought about competition with The Beatles and The British Invasion. The late 60's saw Elvis' popularity fade with the rise of New Hollywood and 1967's Summer of Love. 

Elvis' comeback tour of 1968 reached 42% of all American homes and made him a celebrity once more. His passion for the film was dead, and thankfully he had only one more film in his contract to make. Change of Habit (1969) ended his seemingly long film career. Elvis would go on to make tours and concert shows for the remainder of his life. 

The following are my ten favourite Elvis Presley pictures. Although I have not been kind to some (Paradise, Hawaiian Style is atroctious) I must admit there were quite a few films that had me in shock and awe.

10. Bye Bye Birdie (1963)

Not an Elvis picture, but the plot of the film does center on Elvis' departure to the military and how it affects the lives of these characters so I'm keeping it in. Putting it at #10 despite being one of my favourite musicals.due to lack of actual Elvis

9. Love Me Tender (1956)

8. Loving You (1957)

7. GI Blues (1960) 

6. Blue Hawaii (1961)

5. Viva Las Vegas (1964) 

4. The Trouble with Girls (1968)

3. King Creole (1958)

2. Elvis (1968)

1. Jailhouse Rock (1957)