King Creole

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King Creole
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael D. Moore (2nd unit)
Produced by Hal B. Wallis
Written by Harold Robbins (novel)
Herbert Baker & Michael V. Gazzo (screenwriters)
Starring Elvis Presley
Carolyn Jones
Walter Matthau
Music by Walter Scharf
Cinematography Russell Harlan
Editing by Warren Low
Distributed by Paramount
Release date(s) July 2, 1958
Running time 116 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

King Creole is an American motion picture directed by Michael Curtiz, released by Paramount Pictures on July 2, 1958. The film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, and Walter Matthau. It is Presley's fourth movie (the third and last filmed in black & white), and adapted from the 1952 novel by Harold Robbins, A Stone for Danny Fisher.

Contents

[edit] Primary Cast

[edit] Synopsis

Certainly the film boasts the best assemblage of talent for any Presley motion picture. Helmed by Michael Curtiz, a noted director during the golden era of the Hollywood studio system, whose famous productions include The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938, Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942, and in the same year, Casablanca, ranked by the American Film Institute as the second greatest American film ever made. Hal Wallis was the number-two man at the studio that employed Curtiz during that time, Warner Bros., with over three decades of experience in hundreds of films. The cast comprised an impressive array of supporting actors, including Academy Award winner Dean Jagger, along with the emerging A-List stars in Walter Matthau and Carolyn Jones.

Presley plays Danny Fisher, a young, tough musician making his way in New Orleans. Matthau plays Maxie Fields, a kingpin of organized crime in the city, with Jones as Ronnie, a call girl with limited prospects. With its aspects of film noir, its relatively realistic depiction of the mix of poverty and ambition, and in the unsentimental relationships between the three principal characters, King Creole fits in the mold of films from that era like The Big Knife and Sweet Smell of Success. Most critics cite this as Presley's best film, and best acting performance.

[edit] Soundtrack

King Creole
Soundtrack by Elvis Presley
Released September 19, 1958
Recorded January-February 1958
Genre Rock
Length 33:53
Label RCA LPM 1884
Producer Walter Scharf, Phil Khagan
Professional reviews
Elvis Presley chronology
Elvis' Golden Records
(1958)		 King Creole
(1958)		 For LP Fans Only
(1959)

King Creole is the sixth album by Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Records, LPM 1884, in September 1958, recorded in three days at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It contains songs written and recorded expressly for the film, and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It followed the film release by over ten weeks.

The bulk of the songs originated from the stable of writers contracted to Hill and Range, the publishing company jointly owned by Presley and Colonel Tom Parker: Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Claude Demetrius, Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, and Roy C. Bennett. Conspicuous in their relatively limited contribution were Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had come to an impasse with the Colonel during the making of the previous movie, Jailhouse Rock, in which they had practically dominated the musical proceedings. Furious over mere songwriters having such easy access to Presley without going through Parker's "proper channels," the Colonel closed off their avenue to his prize client, especially since the duo had also tried to influence Presley's film direction, pitching him an idea to do a gritty adaption of Nelson Algren's recent novel, A Walk on the Wild Side, with Elia Kazan directing, and Leiber & Stoller providing the music.[1] The Colonel put the kibosh on such notions, although echoes of the concept remained in the film, and the pair still managed to place three songs on the soundtrack, including the title track and "Trouble," arguably the film's best songs. Presley's performance of "Trouble" in the film alludes to Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley; he would return to the song for his tremendously successful television comeback special.

The songs "Hard Headed Woman" and "Don't Ask Me Why" appeared as two sides of a single on July 10, 1958, to coincide with the release of the film. "Hard Headed Woman," the A-side, and "Don't Ask Me Why" both made the pop singles chart, peaking at #1 and #25 respectively.

The album was reisued for compact disc in an expanded edition on April 15, 1997, and again in an audiophile version from Japan on August 25, 2005. For the both reissues, an additional seven tracks were added, including the song "Danny" taken from the same sessions, with six alternates, four previously unreleased.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side One

Track Recorded Song Title Writer(s) Time
1. 1/23/58 King Creole Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 2:16
2. 1/16/58 As Long As I Have You Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 1:50
3. 1/15/58 Hard Headed Woman Claude DeMetruis 1:53
4. 1/15/58 Trouble Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 2:16
5. 1/16/58 Dixieland Rock Claude Demetrius and Fred Wise 1:46

[edit] Side Two

Track Recorded Song Title Writer(s) Time
1. 1/16/58 Don't Ask Me Why Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 2:06
2. 1/16/58 Lover Doll Wayne Silver and Abner Silver 2:09
3. 1/15/58 Crawfish Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 1:38
4. 1/23/58 Young Dreams Aaron Schroeder and Martin Kalmanoff 2:23
5. 1/23/58 Steadfast, Loyal And True Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 1:15
6. 1/15/58 New Orleans Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett 1:58

[edit] 1997 and 2005 Reissue Bonus Tracks

Positions for albums taken from the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.

Track Recorded Original LP/EP Issue Catalogue Release Date Chart Peak Song Title Writer(s) Time
1. 1/15/58 previously unreleased King Creole (alternate version) Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 2:04
2. 1/23/58 previously unreleased As Long As I Have You (movie version alternate) Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 1:24
3. 1/58 Elvis: A Legendary Performer Vol. 3 CP1 3082 12/78 #113 Danny Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 1:51
4. 1/16/58 previously unreleased Lover Doll (undubbed) Wayne Silver and Abner Silver 2:09
5. 1/16/58 previously unreleased Steadfast, Loyal And True (movie version) Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 1:15
6. 1/16/58 Essential Elvis Vol. 3 RCA 2229-2-R 1/91 As Long As I Have You (movie version) Fred Wise and Ben Weisman 1:24
7. 1/23/58 Essential Elvis Vol. 3 RCA 2229-2-R 1/91 King Creole (alternate take) Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 2:04

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Guralnick, Peter. The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters, 1992, box set insert booklet, p. 46-48.

[edit] References

  • Jorgenson, Ernst (1998). Elvis Presley: A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-18572-3

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Movie Reviews

[edit] DVD Reviews


v • d • e
The films of Michael Curtiz
1910s
The Last Bohemian • Today and Tomorrow • Captive Souls • My Husband's Getting Married • The Exile • The Borrowed Babies The Princess in a Nightrobe • Prisoner of the Night • Bánk Bán • Golddigger • One Who Is Loved By Two • Seven of Spades • The Strength of the Fatherland • The Karthauzer The Black Rainbow • The Wolf • The Medic • Mr. Doctor • Master Zoard • The Red Samson • The Last Dawn • Spring in Winter • Tartar Invasion Secret of St. Job Forest • Nobody's Son • The Charlatan • A Penny's History • The Fishing Bell • Earth's Man • The Colonel • Peace's Road Jean the Tenant • The Merry Widow • Magic Waltz • A Skorpió I. • The Devil • Lulu • Lu, the Coquette • Júdás • The Ugly Boy • Alraune (with Edmund Fritz) • 99 • The Sunflower Woman • Liliom • The Lady with the Black Gloves
1920s
Boccaccio • The Star of Damascus • The Scourge of God • Miss Tutti Frutti • Good and Evil • Mrs. Dane's Confession • Labyrinth of Horror Sodom and Gomorrah • Young Medardus • Avalanche • Nameless • A Deadly Game • General Babka Harun al Raschid • Moon of Israel • Red Heels • Cab No. 13 • The Golden Butterfly • The Third Degree • A Million Bid • The Desired Woman Good Time Charley • Tenderloin • Noah's Ark • Glad Rag Doll • Madonna of Avenue A • The Gamblers • Hearts in Exile
1930s
Mammy • Under a Texas Moon • The Matrimonial Bed • Bright Lights • A Soldier's Plaything • River's End • Demon of the Sea God's Gift to Women • The Mad Genius • The Woman from Monte Carlo • The Strange Love of Molly Louvain • Doctor X • The Cabin in the Cotton • 20,000 Years in Sing Sing • Mystery of the Wax Museum • The Keyhole • Private Detective 62 • Goodbye Again • The Kennel Murder Case • Female • Mandalay • Jimmy the Gent • The Key • British Agent • The Case of the Curious Bride • Black Fury • Front Page Woman • Little Big Shot • Captain Blood • The Walking Dead • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Stolen Holiday • Mountain Justice • Kid Galahad • The Perfect Specimen • Gold Is Where You Find It • The Adventures of Robin Hood (with William Keighley) • Four's a Crowd • Four Daughters • Angels with Dirty Faces • Dodge City • Daughters Courageous • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex • Four Wives
1940s
1950s
Young Man with a Horn • Bright Leaf • The Breaking Point • Force of Arms • Jim Thorpe -- All-American • I'll See You in My Dreams The Story of Will Rogers • The Jazz Singer Trouble Along the Way • The Boy from Oklahoma • The Egyptian • White Christmas • We're No Angels The Scarlet Hour • The Vagabond King • The Best Things in Life Are Free • The Helen Morgan Story • The Proud Rebel • King Creole • The Hangman • The Man in the Net
1960s
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • A Breath of Scandal • Francis of Assisi • The Comancheros
Short films
Productions
Bright Lights (1935)