King Creole

That Elvis Presley's film career gradually petered out after years of making trivial,hackneyed,fluffy and empty-headed movies is to be regretted,yet in several early films (JAILHOUSE ROCK,FLAMING STAR),he showed he could give a perfectly decent acting performance alongside good scripts,directors and actors.It is arguable that KING CREOLE was his best overall film,and perhaps his most effective big screen performance. Disillusioned youth Danny Fisher (Presley) lives in New Orleans' French Quarter with his recently widowed father (Dean Jagger) and sister (Jan Shepard).His pharmacist father is finding it tough to cope without his wife and cannot find regular work,while Danny flunks his college studies to work in a nightclub owned by sleazy crook Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau), and begins to take romantic interest in a boozy if pitiable tramp,Ronnie,used by Fields as a mistress (Carolyn Jones).He toys with joining a gang of hoodlums led by Shark (Vic Morrow),and attracts the attentions of a sweet-natured shopgirl,Nellie (Dolores Hart).With his talent for singing,Danny decides not to work in Fields' venues,but of his rival Charlie LeGrand instead,the King Creole,where he is a great success.Fields resents Danny's behaviour and is determined fair ways or foul to force Danny to work for him,but Danny will make his own decisions who he works and falls in love with. Elvis Presley had some good scripts offered in his earlier film career like the above fore-mentioned,and KING CREOLE was possibly the best of them.He not only had a good script and story but a top-class producer (Hal B.Wallis),legendary director (Michael Curtiz),fine actors (Matthau,Jones,Jagger,Morrow,Paul Stewart),accomplished cameraman (Russell Harlan),good production and musical numbers too.Presley is very good as the mean,moody but sympathetic youth veering from delinquency to hard work,recalling the ambiance of a younger Marlon Brando or James Dean.He is well supported by Ms Jones,making her somewhat trashy character into a three-dimensional,tragic near-heroine,Matthau as the crooked nightclub operator,Jagger as his vulnerable father,Morrow as a streetwise thug,and Hart,Shepard and Stewart doing efficiently in minor but interesting roles.Wallis and Curtiz of course worked together on one the all-time greats CASABLANCA (1942),and although KING CREOLE is nowhere in that class,a certain moody,smoky atmosphere like the Bogart/Bergman classic is successfully evoked by Harlan's shadowy,noir-like lighting and angles in scenes set in the French Quarter and clubs,and is immeasurably helped by some high quality songs such as the haunting opener 'Crawfish' (where Elvis sings in a duet),'Trouble','Dixieland Rock','Hard Headed Woman' and of course the peerless title track.Occasionally,there are one or two uncomfortable dramatic moments that Presley struggles with,and the film is somewhat overlong,but KING CREOLE is generally a fine crime drama with musical and noirish elements well handled by the master of versatility Curtiz. Pre-1961,The King made a number of fine films like this,but under the influence of Colonel Tom Parker,he was forced into garishly coloured and obviously contrived entertainments which utilised the same banal plots,dull and repetitive scripts,uninspiring actors and ageing or mediocre directors which caused Presley to call a halt on his film career by the end of the 60's.Had he managed to work with the kind of script,story and crew he collaborated with on KING CREOLE,who knows how better his tarnished reputation on movies would've been;as it is,we can be grateful that KING CREOLE shows us how good Elvis was with such top technical and artistic backing,and how better he may have become as a screen actor.

This is, as you have read a number of times already in these user comments, the best Elvis movie. It is Elvis' best acting performance, and a great story, mindful of "Rebel without a Cause" in some points. Moreover, it is beautifully photographed and directed by the great Mr. Curtiz. And the songs! "King Creole," "Hard Headed Woman," and, my favorite, "Crawfish," which is one of Elvis' best vocals. What else is there?

Danny Fisher (Elvis Presley) was a pretty good kid but not very smart. Three years earlier when his mom died, his pharmacist dad (Dean Jagger) became a borderline bum so Danny had to work mornings before school, and evenings after school to earn money for him and dad and his sister Mimi (Jan Shepard). He was supposed to graduate from high school the prior year, but instead had to repeat his senior year. A hot head, he found it hard to turn the other cheek, and as a result was always in some sort of scrape it seemed. This was Elvis' 4th movie, and made right before he was drafted into the Army at age 22. Although much of the movie has a "staged" feel to it, Elvis does a credible job, and his singing is featured when he gets a job in a New Orleans FrenchQuarter night spot. A somewhat young Walter Matthau, doing a decent Bogart impression, plays the heavy, Maxie Fields, who always bends the rules, often breaking them, to get his way. Carolyn Jones, who later was popular on the TV series "The Addams Family" is good as Ronnie, who belongs to Maxie but longs for Danny. Dolores Hart, who left the movies and became a nun just a few years later, was 19 here playing Nellie, the good girl that falls for Danny too. SPOILERS FOLLOW. Danny's first scrape in this movie comes in the morning before his last day of school, cleaning up at a night spot, two men are bothering Ronnie, so he breaks a bottle for defense, and gets her into a taxi and out of there. At school some guys tease him for kissing her and Danny punches him out. The school decides to fail him again, no graduation! Discouraged he vows to get a job, he's had enough of school. Charlie LeGrand, who owned a night spot called the 'King Creole' and was a rival of Maxie's, heard Danny and offered him a job singing for $85 a week. Meanwhile dad went back to work as a pharmacist, and one rainy night taking the day's money to the bank was mugged by 'Shark' (Vic Morrow) who worked for Maxie. Dad ended up in the hospital for 4 weeks but recovered. Maxie tried to blackmail Danny into working for him but Danny beat him up instead and went on the run. A knife fight in the alley and 'Shark' was dead. Injured, Danny was taken by Ronnie to her hide away near the lake. Maxie finds them, is gunning for them, hits Ronnie, but 'Dummy' whom Danny had treated nicely before runs and tackles Maxie, who shoots himself while falling into the water. Mortally wounded, Ronnie dies in Danny's arms on the wooden walkway. Which leaves Danny and Nellie to each other.

Made early in his career when he was still bursting with promise and not strait-jacketed by an image this is the best film Elvis ever made and probably his best performance. Based on one of Harold Robbins few good novels the film gives him a real character to play and shows that had he been allowed he could have progressed to becoming a fine actor. I'm not trying to knock him, in most of his films he's an enjoyable presence but except for Wild in the Country and this none of them required much in the way of stretching his ability. While he is memorable in the lead there are several other factors that help make this such a strong picture. Chief among them is the presence of the master of any genre Curtiz in the director's chair lending his firm hand to keep the film focused and compelling. Something else that adds to this is the cast. Elvis usually was supported by one sometimes two strong veteran actors or actresses but here the film is loaded to the rafters with talent. Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger, Paul Stewart, Vic Morrow and Dolores Hart all contribute strongly to the texture of the film with best in show honors going to Carolyn Jones as a fragile, damaged woman with a good heart. It's a standard role but she makes something quite lovely out of it.

Presley's acting career may never have been able to fully be utilized but King Creole shows promising possibilities that if given the opportunity, Presley could have acted well. As Danny Fisher, Presley combines good acting talents with excellent songs. His character is both convincing and talented through the entire movie. Danny, his sister and his father have been forced to live in the lower class area of town. By coincidence, Danny's singing talent is discovered. He is given the opportunity to sing in two different night clubs but he may have to choose between his new career and his family. The entire cast provide a fully powerful and sometimes emotional support to Danny. The songs that Danny sings are second to none. This movie should have been nominated for academy awards but if it had we would never have the later Presley vehicles to watch and perhaps Presley's career would have been taken into a different area.

"King Creole" is a must for Elvis fans everywhere. There was a darkness in this movie something like Rebel Without a Cause set in New Orleans. Elvis was even darker than James Dean....in this movie. Violence, brutality, Organized Crime.... sex, and death....surrounded Danny, the main character. Elvis brought some light to this brutal story with his on screen performance....riveting for it's time. A tragic film with depth and superb acting by Elvis. Along the way, he also performs brilliant, knockout musical numbers like "New Orleans," "Trouble," "Dixieland Rock," and the amusing "Lover Doll". Elvis was surrounded by high-caliber star power in his third motion picture, With Walter Matthau, Carolyn Jones, Dean Jagger, and Vic Morrow. Add Michael Curtiz (who directed Humphrey Bogart in a number of films one of which was Casablanca) as director and also the superb Lieber-Stoller soundtrack songs, and you have a winning formula. Apparently, Elvis never really liked Jazz music, but he certainly forgot all about that when he cut the soundtrack to this movie. King Creole has Elvis in a serious dramatic role, AND singing his heart out, both with great success. Don't see it just because it's an "Elvis picture", see it because it's a really fine film.

Elvis Presley plays a failed high schooler and delinquent in New Orleans who goes from busboy to singer in a nightclub run by gangster Walter Matthau. Somewhat disappointing star-vehicle for E.P., adapted by Herbert Baker and Michael Vincente Gazzo from Harold Robbins' book "A Stone for Danny Fisher". The writers' first task was to transplant the action from Chicago to the Big Easy--an inspired move; the location shots are atmospheric and beautifully shot by Russell Harlan, accompanied by a fine music score from Walter Scharf. Elvis gives a solid performance and sings some great tunes, though the script weakens as the picture progresses. Baker and Gazzo try packing too much melodramatic plot into their third act, and the movie pretty much topples over from the weight. The men in the supporting cast (Matthau, Dean Jagger, Paul Stewart and Vic Morrow) tend to outshine the women (Carolyn Jones, doing her best with a hopeless tramp-with-a-heart-of-gold number, and Dolores Hart, a colorless good-girl who tells a hesitant Elvis, "I'll wait for you."). The finale is a real muck-up, but at least director Michael Curtiz gets the film off to a rousing start. **1/2 from ****

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor. Both 'Jailhouse Rock' and 'King Creole' in particular are proof that some of Elvis' early films are pretty good or more and that he could give a good performance when his material allowed it. Can understand totally the indifference at best towards his later films though. 'King Creole' is (along with 'Jailhouse Rock') often considered Elvis' best film, and even more widely his performance is considered his best, Elvis even called 'King Creole' his personal favourite and it is more than easy to see why on all counts. Maybe 'King Creole' is a touch overlong, and the female characters are not as interestingly written as the male ones, somewhat lazy and it's the performances that stop them from being completely vapid. Otherwise there is very little to dislike. Have commented a couple of times on the writing and stories not being strong suits in Elvis' films, but 'King Creole' is a pleasant exception. The writing is surprisingly gritty and suspenseful, with few soap-operatic or corn elements, and the story is darker and meatier than the usual story for an Elvis film, thus one of the most absorbing. As for Presley, his role here shows a dark and vulnerable side and he does it with intensity, charisma, swagger, charm and emotional honesty and no stiffness. Of his performances, which largely varied dependent on his material, it is agreed that this is his best. He has one of his best supporting casts, particularly a terrifyingly reptilian (while also remarkably complex for a mobster heavy) Walther Matthau, a touching Carolyn Jones and perfectly weasel-like Vic Morrow. The songs are absolute knockouts, especially the title song, the sultry "Trouble" and the moving "As Long as I Have You". All performed by The King of Rock and Roll in his glorious and vocally distinctive prime. Michael Curtiz directs assuredly and with finesse, making one of the best-directed Elvis films, while 'King Creole's' film noir photography and atmosphere are strikingly done. In conclusion, very good, tied for Elvis' best film and the best Elvis had to offer. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I can't believe that I have over 4,500 reviews on IMDb thus far and this is my first for an Elvis film. I watched lots of his films as a kid, when they would air them on TV during the school holidays, but haven't seen any since I started reviewing. I remembered King Creole as being one of the best and figured it would be a good place to start over... Directed by seasoned pro Michael Curtiz (Casablanca and White Christmas), King Creole is a gritty affair, unlike Elvis's later, candy-coloured, family-friendly cinematic offerings. Combining hard-edged drama, violence and tragedy with sexually charged musical numbers (just watch those women swoon), and with Presley exuding rebelliousness with every shake of his hip, King Creole is a masterpiece of the misunderstood youth genre, its star giving a perfectly nuanced, iconic performance to rival James Dean at his best. When Danny Fisher (Presley) fails to graduate from high-school for a second time, he graduates from the school of hard knocks instead, at first falling in with a gang of youths led by hoodlum Shark (Vic Morrow), but later becoming mixed up with gangster Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau), who wants him to quit his singing job at Charlie LeGrand's bar King Creole to come and work for him - and Maxie doesn't take no for an answer. Pushed to the limits over an incident involving his father, Danny loses his cool and gives Maxie a well-earned pasting, which leads to him being hunted by Maxie's men all over town; sexy floozy Ronnie (Carolyn Jones) tries to help Danny, but puts herself in the firing line in doing so. It's not often that not one of a cast puts a foot wrong, but everyone here is excellent, with particularly memorable turns from Morrow and Matthau, who are both delightfully loathesome, and from Jones (better known as TV's Morticia Adams) as the tart with a heart. But this is Elvis's show, and the king has never been better: tough, sensitive, hot-headed, well-meaning, reckless, and, of course, cooler than Fonzie in a deep freeze, no more so than when he is belting out the film's numerous songs, all of which are great. 9/10. He's not called 'the king' for nothing.

Adapted from the book "A Stone for Danny Fisher", Elvis Presley plays a rebellious kid with a wimp of a father (Dean Jagger) who quits school and takes up singing at a night club in New Orleans, only to get mixed up with a group of thugs (headed by Vic Morrow) and their crime boss (Walter Matthau). Elvis considered this melodrama his best film and I happen to agree. It's nicely photographed in noirish black and white and directed by Michael Curtiz, featuring Elvis' most cultivated performance. It's a good story too, complimented by good actors in their roles. Walter Matthau is ideal as Maxie the heavy, who practically owns the whole town. Carolyn Jones is properly pitiful as his pathetic tramp, and Vic Morrow does well as the lead hoodlum who caters to Matthau. The songs Presley sings fit nicely into the action and are pleasant, though I don't believe any of them were signature biggies for Presley outside of, possibly, "Hard Headed Woman," and "King Creole" itself. It's a real shame that the best hit rocker, "Hard Headed Woman," is really given a raw deal as we only get to hear the end of it within the movie. The best music performance is Elvis' rendition of "Trouble" as he dominates the nightclub stage with authority and toughness while fearlessly singing it at Maxie. *** out of ****