Elvis Presley filmography

Elvis Presley became a film star in 1956, and would go on to appear in a total of 33 feature films. Despite a strong, promising start to his acting career with films like Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, and King Creole, Presley's later films were made cheaply and quickly to keep costs as low as possible, whilst at the same time keeping profits high. Although critically panned throughout the 1960s, Presley's films were mostly well received by his fans, and led to Hal Wallis describing them as "the only sure thing in Hollywood". The singer would go on to star alongside several well-established actors, including Walter Matthau, Carolyn Jones, Angela Lansbury, Barbara Stanwyck, Jack Albertson, Gig Young, and Mary Tyler Moore. An eleven-year-old Kurt Russell made his screen debut in It Happened at the World's Fair (1963).

Presley left Hollywood and returned to live performing in 1969, and following the success of his sell out tours and Las Vegas shows, he allowed cameras to film him in concert and backstage in the early 1970s. One of these films, Elvis on Tour, won the 1973 Golden Globe award for Best Documentary film.

Hollywood

Screen tests

Presley first became interested in acting in his youth; despite later declarations that he had no acting experience, fellow Humes High School students recall that he was often cast as the lead in the Shakespeare plays they studied in English class. He admired actors such as James Dean and Marlon Brando, and reportedly paid close...
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