"THE SUN NEVER SET'S ON A LEGEND"
January Of 1957; "Loving You" is filmed. Elvis' character is Deke Rivers. In the movie he is a singer
in which he is just about cheated into showbiz by press agent Miss Glenda played by Lizabeth Scott. In the scene where Elvis is singing his song "Got'A Lot'A
Livin' To Do", his real life mother, Gladys, makes a short appearance in the audience. This is the only 1950's movie that Elvis did that was filmed in color.
May of 1957; "Jailhouse Rock" is filmed. Elvis plays a character by the name of Vince Everett in which
he is an ex-con in a jail cell. Upon his release, he becomes a huge over-night success. While sharing his cell block, he signs a contract with his cell-mate
stating that his cell-mate would recieve a certain amount of percentage of what Vince makes. After Elvis' character gains the success, his old cell-mate get's
out of prison only to realize that there was no room for him by Vince's side.
Early 1958; "King Creole" goes underway. This movie is based on a Harold Robbins novel. Elvis' character,
Danny Fisher, is a young boxer. The whole storyline was re-written to pertain to Elvis' music. He skips school to jam at night clubs but realizes it's not what
it's all cracked up to be.
Late April of 1960; "G.I. Blues" is filmed. This is Elvis' first post-army movie. In fact it was
based on Elvis' experience in the army. Elvis' character is G.I. Tulsa McLean. His character makes a bet that he can spend the night with a night-club
dancer whom was played by Juliet Prowse. Instead, he falls in love with her and calls off the bet.
Mid 1960; "Flaming Star" is filmed. In this film, Elvis concentrated more on acting than singing.
Elvis' character, Pacer, get's caught between sides in the Civil War and unable to patch things up between either.
Early 1961; "Wild In The Country" goes underway. Elvis' character is Glenn Tyler. Glenn is a
stubborn boy whom want's to become a writer but changes his mind. Elvis' character is always getting into trouble and this would be his only way out.
Mid-April of 1961; "Blue Hawaii" is filmed. It was in fact filmed right in Hawaii. Elvis plays
a character named Chad Gates. His character works as a tour guide when he could be working for his families fruit farming business. Just when the movie
takes a wrong turn, the end suddenly turns out alright.
Early 1962; "Follow That Dream" is filmed. Elvis plays Toby Kwimper. This is based on the novel
'Pioneer Go Home' by Richard Powell. This is about a boy who decides to set up a home on an unopened piece of land in Florida but has a few run-in's
with the law.
Early March of 1962; "Kid Galahad" goes underway. This is a remake of the old Warner Brothers
movie from the late 1930's. Elvis' character, Walter Gulick, started being a mechanic but soon finds out he has a talent for boxing.
Late April of 1962; "Girls, Girls, Girls" is filmed. Elvis plays a singing fisherman by the name
of Ross Carpenter. He's working to save up to purchase his own boat. This movie doesn't really have a long plot but there was a lot of Elvis' singing.
September of 1963; "It Happened At The Worlds Fair" was filmed. Elvis plays Mike Edwards, a crop
dusting pilot. He falls in love with nurse Diane Warren and abandons his bachelor life.
Late August of 1963; "Fun In Acapulco" is filmed. Elvis' character, Mike Windgren, is a trapeze artist
who developes a fear of heights. He eventually overcomes his fear with a dive off of a very high platform. Even though the title says Acapulco, it was
filmed in Hollywood.
July of 1963; "Viva Las Vegas" is in filming process. Elvis is a race car driver named Lucky
Jackson. He is Co-starred with Ann Margret. This is a very short plot but the on-screen chemestry between the two stars are unbelievable.
Early 1964; "kissin' Cousins" is filmed. ("Viva Las Vegas" premiered a little bit after "Kissin'
Cousins" but was filmed before.) In this film, Elvis plays two characters; Jody Tatum and Josh Morgan. This film took only 16 days to film. Elvis' character,
Josh, has to convince his distant cousins to lease their mountain to a military base. Elvis did not like this particular film for he didn't enjoy playing
two roles. He mostly didn't like playing the ignorant southern hillbilly, Jody Tatum. Elvis had to wear a blonde wig in which he did not like.
March of 1964; "Roustabout" goes underway. In this film, Elvis' character Charlie Rogers, is
haunted by the fact that he never knew his family. He co-stars with Barbara Stanwyck, the owner of the carnival that Elvis eventually wins over by his
singing talents.
Early 1965; "Girl Happy" is filmed. Elvis' character is Rusty Wells. He is a night club singer.
He takes a vacation to Fort Lauderdale but ends up taking care of his bosses daughter.
March 1965; "Tikle Me" goes underway. Elvis' character, Ronnie Beale, is a rodeo rider and he finds
work at a health farm where he meets a fitness trainer who is secretly searching for a stash of treasure in a nearby ghost town.
Spring of 1965; "Harum Scarum" is filmed. This film is known as "Harum Holiday" in the U.K. Elvis
plays a movie star by the name of Johnny Tyrone. He manages to get involved with assassins, kidnappers and a damsil in distress. The soundtrack to this movie
made it to the top 10.
August of 1965; "Paradise Hawaiian Style" goes underway. In this film, Elvis' character is a
helicopter pilot by the name of Rick Richards. He get's into an accident in which it threatens his life.
Early 1966; "Frankie And Johnny" is filmed. Elvis is an entertainer with a gambling problem. A
fortune teller predicts that when a red-head enters his life, his luck will change.
February of 1966; "Spinout" goes underway. This film is known as "California Holiday" in U.K.
Elvis plays Mike McCoy, a part time race car driver with a band. Just about the whole plot revolves around 3 women in which are dying for his love.
Early 1967; "Easy Come, Easy Go" is filmed. Elvis playing a Navy guy, Ted Jackson, hopes to beat
two villains in a race for treasure.
Mid 1967; "Double Trouble" goes underway. In this film Elvis plays the character
Guy Lambert, a leader of a band whom which are touring Europe. Although filmed in Hollywood, in the movie they swing by London and Belgium. He comes with
an encounter of a wealthy mistress.
Late 1967; "Clambake" is filmed. Elvis stars as Scott Heyward, the son of millionaire.
Around the same time in 1967; "Speedway" Elvis' character, Steve Grayson, is a stock car driver
who's manager was investigated by the IRS. He co-stars Nancy Sinatra, the IRS agent assigned to the case.
January of 1968; "Stay Away Joe" is filmed. In this film, we see our King break away from the
beach party scenes pictured in his previous films. Elvis plays Joe Lightcloud, a Navajo Indian whom helps his father in raising cattle.
March of 1968; "Live A Little, Love A Little" is filmed. What a lot of people don't know is that
the Great Dane that appears in the film is Elvis' real dog named "Brutus" but in the film, his name is "Albert". In this film, Elvis plays a photographer
named Greg Nolan. He meets Bernice, loses his job and apartment, gets a new apartment that's so expensiv he needs to get two jobs to pay for it. Then he
realizes that he doesn't have enough time to work both jobs. In this film, we finally see Elvis with side-burns again.
June 27, 28, 29, & 30 of 1968; "The 68' Comeback Special" is aired. This is not an actual movie.
It is a television special that aired on NBC as a return from the movies back to performing. Elvis was growing scared of his music and records. He felt that
with the introduction of the "Beatles", there would be no more "Elvis". Elvis realized that he was wrong. The fans adored him if not more than when he went
into the movies, but just as much. His return to live performing gained more success than ever. It showed a more natural Elvis in all his glory in an all
leather outfit reaching from his boots to his collar. He performed songs as far back as "Blue Suede Shoes", to "Guitar Man". Thus began the return of
Elvis Presley.
Early 1969; "Charro" goes underway. This is the first non-musical role for Elvis since "Flaming
Star". Elvis plays Jesse Wade. He is a reformed gunslinger mad for being framed for murder. He goes and seeks revenge.
Around the same time in 1969; "The Trouble With Girls" is filmed. Elvis' character, Walter Hale,
is an owner of a travelling carnival show. When visiting a small Iowa town, there is murder and Elvis' character goes to investigate to save the show.
Mid 1969; "Change Of Habit" is filmed. This will be Elvis' last acting role. Elvis' character is
a New York doctor by the name of John Carpenter. He falls for a social worker played by none other than co-star Mary Tyler-Moore.
July-Semptember of 1970; "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" is recorded. This is Elvis' first documentary
of himself, being himself. It's a comeback of Elvis' return to live performing in Las Vegas. Elvis wanted to do a movie based on what it's like to prepare for
a big show. The planning involved, the rehearsing, the costumes, etc. The film includes actual footage of rehearsals, live performances, and actual behind
the scenes of Elvis at work. This film was probably the biggest success film in all of Elvis' career.
March-April of 1972; "Elvis On Tour" is filmed. Elvis did a 15-city tour starting in Buffalo,
New York and ended in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This tour was to highlight the "typical Elvis" in a tour experience. It shows Elvis nervous backstage before
the show, Elvis in the recording studio rehearsing, the actual concert, the audience's reaction, etc. After only 3 days in the theatres, it grabs a Golden
Globe Award for Best Documentary. It shows an Elvis at his best.
January 14, 1973; "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii" is filmed. This film was a very famous live, filmed
concert for Elvis. It was filmed Via satelite from the Honolulu International Center Arena In Hawaii. It was seen by over 1.5 billion people. This film
shows Elvis being greeted by his fans, a spectacular performance, and Elvis in all his glory. the album, "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii", shot to #1. This was
Elvis' last album to do so.
1981; "This Is Elvis" was created. A semi-documentary came out in 1981 labeled "This Is Elvis".
This movie, produced/directed by Andrew Solt and Malcolm Leo, was created to show the life and times of Elvis Presley. It combines actors and actual footage
of the king and the people that knew him. In the movie, they directors want you to believe that Elvis is telling telling the story from his own words. The
whole story behind this entertainer is narrorated by an actor playing elvis. You could say he's "telling it from the grave", sort of speak. The film shows
a lot of un-seen footage of Elvis as he was not only in the 50's, 60's, and 70's; but in the 30's and 40's when him and is family moved to Memphis as well.
There are a lot more documentaries on this great entertainer but "This Is Elvis" is one of the most popular one's for it does feature actual footage of the
King himself.