One of "The King"'s more solid efforts, thanks to a fairly good story and the steady direction of pro Curtiz. Elvis does the best acting of his career here as misunderstood youth Danny Fisher -- too bad they had to make him keep singing all the time, breaking up the flow of the story irreparably. To the movie's credit, the music of New Orleans is integrated into the film's fabric from its opening moments -- I just think maybe they should've had Elvis sing 2 or 3 songs (in "Flaming Star", Elvis sings one song and does not break up the atmosphere of the period film, which is quite effective). The 5 or 6 songs he does sing end up inevitably slowing down the story too much. Matthau is suprisingly convincing as a lethal mob boss determined to control Fisher's budding career (shades of the Colonel?), and Jones is fantastic as the femme fatale with a heart of gold who Elvis falls for. Morrow is sharp as Matthau's crony who will do anything to please his boss (though his performances in these stock types were already growing a bit stale by 1958), and Jagger is perfect as the ineffectual father -- a part he would undoubtedly have played in the film if this had been made, as planned, with James Dean, and his chemistry with Dean would have been even more impressive than it is here with Elvis. Every character has at least 3 sides -- one viscious, one scared, and the third hopeful or ambitious.
Elvis noir par excellence!
Elvis noir par excellence!