On L List of Movie Reviews

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Love Me Tender (1956)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 11/25

11/25: Love Me Tender is Elvis Presley's first film.

More of a tragedy than a musical, it's not bad. The story is solid although the first eighteen minutes is dull. By the time Elvis Presley and Debra Paget show up, the movie begins to take off. Black and white agrees with them. If you observe the actress more closely, it becomes obvious that Priscilla Presley emulated her appearance in real life. On the other hand, Richard Egan carries the show and is thus a natural leader.

There are well-placed songs for Elvis Presley. Of course, he looks anachronistic for the Civil War period, but who cares? As long as he gets to look good and do some of the singing along with his pelvis twists, nobody should mind. The most important song is "Love Me Tender" as it was the first ever to surpass the one million mark in sales before the record was released.

All in all, becoming an actor was a lifelong ambition for Elvis Presley, and he finally got to realize it in Love Me Tender.

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