Absolutely the worst movie.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I am almost 73 years old, in grade school when Elvis first hit the music scene in the mid 1950's. After hearing "Don't Be Cruel" I was an instant fan of his music. I saw "Love Me Tender" in the local theater when it came out but never saw another Elvis movie in the theater. And (hard to believe) today was the first time I ever watched "King Creole". And I was impressed! This movie had a good cast, and a good story line based on the Harold Robbin's novel "A Stone For Danny Fischer", which I read in the '60's. Unlike the musical that made Elvis a ton of money this one featured Elvis doing some serious acting. More serious than I imagined he was capable of, especially after recently watching "Loving You" and "Jailhouse Rock". I've seen some of Elvis' romantic musicals in the past and was never impressed with his acting ability. "King Creole" brought out the best in him (imo), even with the music that no doubt attracted most of the paying audiences when it came out. No, Elvis will never be confused to Frank Sinatra (who was very capable of doing serious roles) but his performance in "King Creole" did impress me.

King Creole is directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted to screenplay by Herbert Baker and Michael V. Gazzo from the novel A Stone for Danny Fisher written by Harold Robbins. It stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart, Dean Jagger, Vic Morrow, Paul Stewart and Jan Shepard. Music is scored by Walter Scharf and cinematography by Russell Harlan. Plot finds Presley as Danny Fisher, a high school student struggling at school who falls in with the wrong crowd just as family matters of the heart start to take a hold.He said anybody that disagreed with you got a punch in the mouth. Is that what I brought you up to do, to fight?The last film Presley made before going off to do his service in the army, King Creole is his best film. It's one of only a small handful that showed the star actually had some acting ability, here he gets a top director to work under and a very tidy cast put along side him for him to respond too. Presley immediately warmed to Curtiz (Casablanca/Mildred Pierce), wilfully doing as he was told by the wily old director, rewarding the film fan with a performance of some merit. Presley would often say it was his personal favourite of his own films, and it's not hard to see why. Though packed with musical numbers, many of them belters as well, the film always stays dramatic, in fact the tunes form part of the narrative, they are not frothy interludes slotted in purely for fan appeasement.Everything he touches turns to drink.It's not unreasonable to expect King Creole to be a fun movie, the kind where Elvis flies a plane, speeds around on power boats, or saves the word during a treasure hunt, because the poster art and DVD covers lend you to think that. Honestly, one shows the King with guitar wrapped around him, hips bent and a huge smile on his face, the other has the same Elvis pose but along side him is a smiling beauty bedecked in a banana patterned dress! I mean really, would you think this film is shot in moody black and white, features murders, theft, family upheaval, drunks, knife fights, wasted life and all round dirty tricks? That the King is snarly, aggressive and channelling Jim Stark from Rebel Without a Cause? Because all these things reside within this potent and most agreeable Elvis picture.Now you know. That's how you get into it.With the drama relocated from the New York of the novel to Bourbon Street New Orleans, and Danny Fisher changed from a boxer to a singer, atmosphere needed to be tight to the emotionally battered story. And it is, very much so, with Harlan (Ramrod/Riot in Cell Block 11) doing a great job of making The Big Easy come off as The Big Seedy. This is a world of back alleys where hoodlum youths dwell and of wet tinged streets barely lit by gas lamps, many of the night scenes shot here are worthy of film noir status, with a rain sodden mugging sequence truly top of the line. Conversely Curtiz also paints a bustling Orleans picture, with song clubs and street sellers proving to be the heartbeat of the city. It's a twin viewpoint of Orleans that matches other duality themes that drive the narrative forward, because Danny is caught between two girls and two night club owners.Cast are very good across the board, with Matthau menacing, Morrow weasel like, Jagger and Jones sad and pitiful, Stewart elegantly honest and Hart doing a neat line in confused love. Stand out tunes include the title song, "Hard Headed Woman", "Trouble", "Steadfast Loyal and True", "Lover Doll" and the quite beautiful "As Long As I Have You". It's not perfect, serious crime goes unpunished, the main motive driving on Matthau's club boss is rather weak and the two love interest girls are written lazily as love sick puppies. Yet this is still a cracker of a movie, where Presley bristles with magnetism and emotional conflict and Curtiz and Harlan rack up the requisite amount of impressive atmospheric visuals. 8/10

New Orleans singer Elvis Presley (as Danny Fisher) gets into a scuffle on his last day of high school, and is deemed unfit for graduation. Rather than try to pass the 12th grade for the third time, Mr. Presley decides to drop out. With his mother dead and father unemployed, Presley must concentrate on earning a buck. Presley gets involved with hoodlum Vic Morrow (as Shark), who is impressed with his dirty street-fighting skills. Next, Presley becomes the featured singer at his nightclub; but, gangster rival Walter Matthau (as Maxie Fields) wants him to sing at another joint. "King Creole", "Hard Headed Woman", and "Trouble" led RCA's single and EP albums to #1 million-selling status. "Crawfish" (sung with Kitty White) is another great track.Presley pursues two women: innocent "Five and Ten" cent store clerk Dolores Hart (as Nellie) and luscious Carolyn Jones (as Ronnie). A failed songstress serving as Mr. Matthau's moll, Ms. Jones later became "Morticia " on "The Addams Family". Harold Robbins' novel "A Stone for Danny Fisher" translates into high-strung melodramatics for the rock 'n' roll superstar; he is automatically ELVIS when he takes the stage, but otherwise contributes one of his best overall "acting" characterizations. An excellent director (Michael Curtiz), photographer (Russell Harlan), and supporting cast help. There were couple of attempts to build on Presley's worth as a dramatic actor, but the studios never really exceeded the effort you'll see here.****** King Creole (7/2/58) Michael Curtiz ~ Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Vic Morrow

About a year and a half ago I bout the DVD for about 2 Euros and I don't remember just how often I've seen this film ever since! It simply makes you an addict, and that's because it's not an Elvis film but a serious film with Elvis in the lead role. It has the King and his music, but it has so much more - the New Orleans set, the great cast (you'll simply have to love Carolyn Jones! And you'll simply love to hate Vic Morrow - nearly as great as in "The Blackboard Jungle" - and Walter Matthau as the mob boss!). The whole atmosphere is dark and gritty thanks to Michael Curtiz' noir direction. And finally the plot - an adaptation of Harold Robbins' novel "A Stone for Danny Fisher" - is dramatic and exciting! There are more films whith great performances by Elvis - "Jailhouse Rock", "Flaming Star" or "Viva Las Vegas" - but this one really is the cream of the crop! My favorite line - a comment on the Elvis character - is Vic Morrow's: "Good boy! Fights real dirty!"