Jailhouse Rock
Considered one of, if not the best movie made by Elvis Presley in his rather undistinguished acting career (of which he made about 30 films), this 1957 musical also eerily paralleled The Kingâs own meteoric rise to the top as one of the most famous celebrities to ever live. Elvis plays a happy go lucky construction worker who one day gets into a bar fight while defending a womanâs honor and winds up beating the guy to death (since we all know that The King hits harder than any mere mortal man). Convicted of manslaughter, he spends a year in prison where his cellmate (Mickey Shaughnessy) teaches him how to play a guitar and makes a deal that when they are both out, they will go on tour and make a fortune. After his release, Elvis follows up on a haphazard promise from Shaughnessy that an old night club owner friend of his will give him a shot at singing on stage, only to have that fall through before hooking up with a pretty music promoter (Judy Tyler, who tragically died in a car wreck within days of the end of shooting) who decides to work with him as he claws and scratches his way to the top. Elvis was never really a capable actor, but he DOES have enormous presence and plays this particular role with a ton of attitude (as cited in True Romance where Clarence says of him in this film that âhe didnât give a fuck about nothingâ). At times it does go a little too far to the point where Presley seems either drunk or on some kind of medication, but for the most part it works, creating a likable, mostly inoffensive character in a story told with a brisk pace and some decent musical numbers, with of course the legendary title tune being the highlight. Even if the idea of grown men singing to each other in prison is a hopelessly blithe concept, other moments such as Elvis getting worked up over a heckler during his first live performance (and childishly imitating the guyâs peevy laugh) or slapping around a slimy music exec who shamelessly steals his first record to use for his own recording star definitely demonstrates how the King was the epitome of cool during this antiquated era, not to mention the rough, almost animalistic way he kisses his female lead for the first time (and she FIGHTS HIM OFF haha) before telling her âThatâs just the beast in me.â Considering who the star of this movie is, at times it seems laughable to hear him audition for people in the story who proceed to brush him off with a rather blasĂ© attitude about his talents (donât you know thatâs THE KING youâre rejecting, fools?). In the end, Presley handles the dramatic aspects of his part better than in his later acting career, particularly when Shaughnessy is released from prison and shows up at his door looking for a piece of the pie. Overall, an obvious must for Elvis fans, and curio piece of its time for anyone interested in the phenomenon that was the single greatest entertainer in the history of mankindâŠ
7/10