Loving You

Early Elvis that, probably due to distribution problems, is his most obscure. A decent if unexceptional film that contains one of his more popular songs "Teddy Bear" as well as the title tune. It tells a simple tale of a country bumpkin looking for a place in the world and incidentally having a great voice and star power to burn. While most Elvis films except for his worse usually have at least one quality performer, Barbara Stanwyck in Roustabout, Gig Young in Kid Galahad, Angela Lansbury in Blue Hawaii etc., this one has one of the better casts with Lizabeth Scott, Wendell Corey and in the first film of her brief pre-convent career Dolores Hart. A pleasant entertainment.

Now here's a story that will take some believing, as an unknown singer shakes his hips (amongst other things) and starts heaving, as he grabs a guitar, that boy will go far, albeit with a manager that has greed and misleading. He starts as a sidekick to a fella named Tex, to the girls in the crowd he has direct effects, they scream and they wail, they adore this young male, this guy's going to sell, many records for decks. But there are those who repose with an eye in the past, they just don't like things that can leave them aghast, expressions of lust, leaves them with disgust, thank goodness today, we don't live in the past!

This was Elvis Presley's second film, and the first to be filmed in gorgeous Technicolor. Elvis plays a delivery boy called Deke Rivers, and when a very persistent press agent (Lizabeth Scott) hears him singing, she convinces him to join her ex-husband's small traveling musical entourage, gradually promoting him into a huge sensation. First playing small town gigs and then advancing onward into bigger city shows, Rivers eventually becomes the lead act of the modest group and a popular star in his own right. This movie feels close in spirit to the true story of Presley's own career beginnings, and he gives a pretty decent performance which includes a terrific down and dirty fight scene. The songs are all well chosen and incorporated into the story this time out, beginning with the title ballad and then the hit song "Teddy Bear". The soundtrack benefits too from some heavier rockers like "Mean Woman Blues", "Got a Lot O' Livin To Do", "Hot Dog", and "Party". Truthfully, I can't usually take much of Lizabeth Scott in general, but she's well cast here as the older and very tactical manager, and there's an interestingly offbeat side relationship between Scott and her ex (Wendell Corey). Not a great film, and I do think it could have worked even better if about 15 minutes were clipped, but this is still good, solid, early vintage Elvis before the same tired movie formula became a little too routine. *** out of ****

"Loving You", the King's second movie, succeeds by using his own raw personality and talent and a version of his real-life rise to fame as a backdrop; the songs, too, are far better than many of the musical films he would churn out in the 1960s. Elvis himself makes use of his young rebel status as Deke Rivers, a driver who joins a country music outfit and causes havoc with his wild rock 'n roll style. His own band appear (Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, Bill Black) and there is even a glimpse of Elvis' mum Gladys in one of the audiences.

In the cast alongside Elvis are Lizabeth Scott as the predatory Glenda, Wendell Corey as her on-off boyfriend and bandleader Tex, and pretty Doleres Hart as the love interest for Deke. The film also benefits from carefully planned Technicolor and some imaginative costumes for Presley to kick start his movie image. Enjoyable and very watchable, and somewhat ahead of its time.

Elvis Presley's second feature capitalized on the King's meteoric rise to superstardom by autobiographically depicting his real-life experiences with some embellishment. Loving You, therefore, provides fans with a sort of auxiliary examination of a working class kid's practically supernatural odyssey from gas station to recording studio -- shedding light on a few of the darker aspects of being famous (such as rabid fans that rob E of his privacy and, even more telling, the tenuous relationship with a manipulative manager who guides his career with iron will). Loving You boasts beautiful color photography, excellent costuming, and a few of the King's outstanding performances -- particularly "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear."