With my trip to Memphis just 10 days away, visions of Elvis are hip-shaking in my head. This kingly obsession has my brain feeling like a mush of peanut butter and banana.
Each time I prepare for a pilgrimage to Graceland I compose a packing checklist. This isn’t just composed of socks, Elvis tees and my favorite hunka-hunka burning love boxer shorts. Being a functioning pop culture junkie, I must keep a solid selection of media within my grasp. This means loading up my go-to Elvis items: Elvis-related books for bedtime reading, an iPod filled to the gills with Presley mp3s, and my favorite go-to Elvis DVDs.
So I decided to document the packing process by defending the contents of my suitcase. I’ll pick a particular item and explain why it merits a spot on the checklist.
First up is the “King Creole” DVD, the American Express card of my Elvis movie collection. I don’t leave home without it.
Critics and Elvis movie buffs have long hailed “King Creole” as Presley’s best picture, and for good reason. It marked Elvis’ fourth time in front of the camera and the opportunity to work with legendary director Michael Curtiz, the cat who helmed “Casablanca.”
Like Bogart in “Casablanca,” Elvis oozes with cool the moment he slides onscreen. The opening sequence set amid the wrought iron balconies of Bourbon Street finds the King as Danny Fisher, a rebellious teen with a golden voice. Flashing a smile that practically burns through the celluloid, Elvis sings “Crawfish” with a little help from vocalist Kitty White. At that point he has the viewer bagged and tagged like a net full of the crustaceans he’s crooning about.
The supporting cast is no less powerful. Elvis channels his inner James Dean alongside Carolyn Jones in a sultry pre-Morticia Addams role as a piece of gangster arm candy looking for redemption. Vic Morrow is at his slimy best as the hoodlum Shark, and Walther Matthau and his square jaw chew up the scenery as Maxie Fields, an evil crook hell bent on control.
The soundtrack comes chockfull of Elvis delights, including the title track, “Hard Headed Woman,” a blistering version of “Trouble” and the aforementioned “Crawfish” among the highlights.
Beside being a solid piece of cinema, “King Creole” stands as hard evidence of the true acting talent Presley possessed. Given the right material, he had the performance chops to knock it out of the park. “King Creole” does just that. In fact the King knocks the DVD right into my suitcase.
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