This must be  one of Elvis Presley’s best films – although that might not say much.   Colonel Tom Parker his manager had cleverly moved to get Elvis into films because this was the only way at the time to capitalise on his worldwide  potential.  In those days there was no satellite TV or video tape – not even a colour TV – so this was the only route forward and it proved a very successful one. The early films such as Love Me Tender, Loving You and this one  gave Elvis good roles but it was King Creole  that to me gave him the best storyline and certainly ths strongest cast of co players.

The  Colonel in a master stroke got him Michael Curtiz as  director and a top flight supporting cast consisting of Oscar winners like Dean Jagger as his father and Walter Matthau as the villain of the piece.  The other top rate players were  Carolyn Jones, Vic Morrow, Paul Stewart, and Dolores Hart.

Elvis plays Danny Fisher a troubled youth searching for himself a role that  James Dean excelled with in East of Eden. To spport his family, Elvis has to go to work because his father has been unable to hold down a job ever since the death of his wife.  He gets a break in Walter Matthau’s club with an impromptu audition, but it is rival owner Paul Stewart who hires Elvis. That sets the stage for a lot of the action to come.

Walter Matthau plays  an exceptionally nasty character in King Creole.

Dolores Hart was here in her second film with Elvis having starred with him in Loving You in 1957 . She has been the subject of much speculation over the years about her relationship with Elvis. In one interview during her movie career she was often asked, “What is it like kissing Elvis?” She chuckled a bit at the memory, “I think the limit for a screen kiss back then was something like 15 seconds. That one has lasted 40 years.”

Her last film role was in 1963  and for whatever reason at that time she made up her mind to leave the film industry, and after breaking off her engagement to Don Robinson, the 24-year-old actress became a Roman Catholic nun in Bethlehem Connecticut.

So ended the film career of this very attractive young girl who left the world of glamour and has since led a very different life although probably much more fulfilling.

  She has recently been interviewed about those now far off days.

The title song became one of Elvis’s early best sellers and it is also the name of the club Matthau owns in the New Orleans French Quarter. Presley has some other good numbers in this film as well.

King Creole also was one of the first of Harold Robbins’s novels to be made into a film.

In order to make this film Elvis had to defer  beginning his military service from January to March 1958. 

Crowds wait for a glimpse of Elvis during filming

Filming waswas delayed several times on location by crowds of fans attracted by the apperarance of Elvis on to the location set. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on July 2, 1958, to both critical and commercial success. The critics were unanimous in their praise of Presley’s performance.