Wednesday, August 19, 2009

JUST LISTEN: ELVIS PRESLEY WEEK (PT. 4)


Jailhouse Rock was Elvis's third film and also starred Judy Tyler and Mickey Shaughnessy. Elvis plays Vince Everett, a convict serving a one-year jail sentence for manslaughter. His cellmate, a former country singer, introduces him to music and how to play the guitar. Vince discovers he loves music and even decides to become a singer once he's released. After his release, he lands some gigs in night clubs but not as a singer. However, Vince is disillusioned by the music business and forms his own record label, becoming an overnight sensation. But fame comes with a heavy price changing Vince into a callous, uncaring and spoiled star. Vince humbled, sees the error of his ways and expresses his true feelings for Van Alden.

Besides the title track, Jailhouse Rock contained several hit songs for Elvis with "Treat Me Nice" and "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care".

Elvis never saw the finished movie. Co-star Judy Tyler and her husband were killed in an automobile accident a few weeks after the film was completed. Elvis was so upset, he refused to ever watch the completed film. He broke down and cried when he heard the news of her death. "I remember the last night I saw them. They were leaving on a trip. All of us boys really loved that girl. She meant a lot to all of us. I don't believe I can stand to see the movie we made together now."

Jailhouse Rock was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."





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