It also shows what might have been, if the people who guided his career would have made different choices. King Creole was directed by Michael Curtiz, who also did Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, and White Christmas. The cast included Walter Matthau, Carolyn Jones, Dean Jagger, and Vic Morrow. With a top notch director at the helm, and surrounded by talented actors, Elvis shines like never before. 

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Elvis plays Danny Fisher, a kid who gets kicked out of high school on the day he should have graduated. He’s been working as a bus boy since his mom died and his dad lost his job, and that day he dropped by the club to work for a while and gets into trouble when some of his boss Maxie’s friends start getting rough with the Hot Dangerous Woman* Ronnie that Maxie set them up with. Once again, he’s just trying to help a lady getting attacked by creeps in a bar. At least this time he didn’t manslaughter anyone.

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From there, he falls in with some thugs, falls out with the same thugs, sings for Maxie on a dare, gets hired by a rival club owner as a singer, meets Hot Safe Woman Nellie, gets sets up by the thugs who now work for Maxie, accidentally takes part in an attack on his dad, tries to help Ronnie get away from Maxie, gets blackmailed by Maxie himself, beats the crap out of Maxie, beats the crap out of the thugs, gets stabbed, doesn’t die, and goes into hiding before being tracked down by Maxie and Dummy. Oh, yeah, Dummy. He’s the mute thug. I can’t believe I almost forgot Dummy.

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It’s a bit convoluted and melodramatic at times, but it’s all held together by some of the best music of any Elvis movie. There really isn’t a bad song in the bunch, and the production numbers with the band at the club he works at are all really great. I particularly love the song New Orleans. It’s one of my favorite all time Elvis songs, hands down. But Trouble, King Creole, and Crawfish are right up there too.

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ACTING: 10 Elvises - If he tops this I’ll be surprised. He does have 27 more chances!

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: 10 Elvises

BEST SONG: New Orleans

STUNTS: Bar fight with smashed bottles, alley fight with knife, mugging with mistaken identity, office fight with chair and threat of gunplay, alley fight with stabbings (2), shooting with death of Hot Dangerous (But Reformed) Woman  (SPOILER!)

CRINGE FACTOR: Although there are finally people of color in this movie, it’s pretty minimal for New Orleans. There is also a love affair between Danny’s sister and the owner of the club he sings at, which leads to this exchange: Club owner: “What does a 40 year old guy say to a 20 year old girl he’s interested in?”  Sister: “Say you’re 38.” 

KISSIN’: A decent (and sometimes indecent) amount.

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*In a previous review I presented an Elvis Movie Formula that used the terms “Hot Mean Woman” and Hot Nice Woman.” I now realize that it’s not necessarily that they are Mean or Nice, but rather they are Dangerous or Safe.