Whether you believe Elvis Presley died in 1977 or that he's alive and comes out of hiding from time to time like a rock 'n' roll Big Foot, the King's birthday is still Jan. 8. The hip swiveler would have been 86 Friday, and what better way to celebrate than to round up five of his best movies.
Choosing five is no easy task. Elvis made 31 movies from 1956 to 1969, and many are terrible (looking at you, "Charro!").
His roles often seem interchangeable — characters with one-syllable names like Deke or Vince who adhere to the ethos of the red-blooded, hetero American male: They work for themselves on their terms; they don't take money from anybody, even family, so they can prove their worth; they brawl; they chase women.
Occupations vary — they usually race cars or boats — but all of them sing, of course, whether it's their main gig or a side hustle (or over the opening credits in "Charro!," the only time Elvis sings in the abysmal 1969 western). All of these movies can be rented, purchased or streamed for free on Amazon, Google Play and other platforms.
'Jailhouse Rock'
No surprise that Elvis is at his best when he plays a singer, especially when the role follows the trajectory of his real-life career. Three of the four movies made before his stint in the Army — "Loving You" (1956), "Jailhouse Rock" (1957) and "King Creole" (1958) — fall into that category, and the second of these is his finest film.
"Jailhouse Rock" captures Elvis' appeal in pristine black-and-white: hints of danger and sex, unbridled moves, disregard for the establishment, vulnerability and a heckuva singing voice. He plays Vince Everett, an ex-con who ends up taking the music world by storm while alienating those who helped him along the way. Elvis will never again look as good as he does here, all popped collars, shirts with rolled sleeves and that cable-knit sweater he wears poolside when singing "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care." And who can forget this memorable line, after a kiss is rebuffed as "cheap tactics": "It ain't tactics, honey. It's just the beast in me."
'King Creole'
A close second in the Elvis pantheon, this shares "Jailhouse Rock's" black-and-white aesthetic. Here he is a troubled high school dropout named Danny (the movie is based on the Harold Robbins novel "A Stone for Danny Fisher") living on the edge of the New Orleans mob world. He finds his star rising after he sings for a kingpin's moll (Carolyn Jones, aka Morticia of TV's "Addams Family"). Elvis is supported by a stellar cast that also includes Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger, Vic Morrow and Dolores Hart, who also co-starred in "Loving You" (and went on to become a nun!).
It's a moody film elevated by the shadowy, claustrophobic atmosphere created by director Michael Curtiz, who helmed "Casablanca," "Mildred Pierce" and a host of other classics, with Jagger adding a layer of pathos as Danny's disapproving, can't-keep-a-pharmacy-job father. Songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Elvis mainstays who also contributed to "Jailhouse Rock," represent with "Trouble" ("I was born standing up/ And talkin' back") and the title song.
