Loving You (1957)

_**Elvis’ first starring role where he plays a rising 50’s rock star**_ A delivery man with musical talent (Presley) is discovered by a publicist (Lizabeth Scott) at a small town festival and joins a traveling band where he increasingly “steals the thunder” of the main guy (Wendell Corey). “Loving You” (1957) was Elvis’ second of 31 movies, but it was his debut in the starring role and his first film to establish the ‘Elvis formula.’ Most of the rest of his movies would use this cinematic recipe with Presley’s character being in different occupations, which of course changed the setting and dynamics. For instance, in “Wild in the Country” (1961) he’s a troubled rural youth on probation, in “Blue Hawaii” (1961) he’s a tour guide, in “Kid Galahad” (1962) he’s a boxer, in “Viva Las Vegas” (1964) he’s a race car driver and in “Roustabout” (1964) he’s a carnival worker. This one was the blueprint for all of those and works well because it’s basically a retelling of Elvis’ own rags-to-riches story and so he’s comfortable playing a rising music star with the challenges thereof. Everything works except the melodramatic last act, which somewhat lost my interest. Plus the girlfriend (Dolores Hart) is deemphasized and so her relationship with the Presley character isn’t compelling. On the positive side, when he’s frolicking on the farm with her and feeding a horse a sugar cube and singing, there’s a wholesomeness and innocence to treasure. Plus Elvis never looked better, being young and lean. The film runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and the Ivar Theatre. GRADE: B-