King Creole seemed like an odd choice for inclusion in the Paramount Presents collection to me at first, but after watching the film I can see how wrong I was. Even if you aren't an Elvis fan, King Creole will be sure to entertain.
“Elvis Presley brings a new beat to Bourbon Street in KING CREOLE; presented here newly remastered from a 4k film transfer. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, White Christmas), Elvis plays a troubled youth whose singing sets the French Quarter rockin’. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it looks like he’ll shake off his past and head for the top. But a mobster (Walter Matthau) and his man-trap moll (Carolyn Jones) could snare him into a life of crime.”
King Creole opens with Danny (Elvis Presley) waking up early to the songs of Bourbon Street as peddlers sell their food. He has breakfast with his sister Mimi (Jan Shepard) who is excited about Danny’s graduation celebration which will make their father (Dean Jagger) proud of Danny, who has been out of work since the death of his wife, forcing his children to work to pay the bills. Danny heads to work before school to sweep up at a club on Bourbon Street, owned by Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau), where he gets in a scuffle with some thugs who threaten Maxie’s girl Ronnie (Carolyn Jones). As Danny protects Ronnie and is dropped off just in time for school, he gets into another altercation with some fellow students who witness him getting out of the car with Ronnie. Even though his grades are average, and the fact he calls the teacher ‘honey’ in the principal’s office, the teacher decides to fail Danny for the second time, another graduation slipped through his fingers. Fed up with his father’s unwillingness to take care of his family and the pressures being placed on him, he doesn’t know quite where else to turn. After some chance encounters he gets the opportunity to leave Maxie Field’s bar as a busboy and headline at the King Creole, but Maxie doesn’t like to lose, and will do anything to get him back.
Elvis Presley made 31 films during his career as an actor, and I hadn’t seen a single one until now. Elvis’ dreams of hoping to achieve the same type of dramatic performances as James Dean, didn’t quite live up to those expectations, but in King Creole he comes pretty damn close. His character of Danny has the weight of the world on his shoulders at a very young age, while trying to take care of his father and sister financially while going to school and holding down jobs at the same time. It isn’t fair and he knows it. He pressures of school and now being failed for the second time have put him over the edge. While other people call him a hoodlum or punk, he just wants to get by and doesn’t let anyone walk all over him, like they do his father. With the death of his mother a few short years earlier, and having to leave his childhood home, it’s like his life has been ripped away and the only thing he can do to make the pain go away is to sing.
King Creole isn’t so much a musical, but a dramatic film with several musical stage performances. The beginning of the film starts off with a semi-musical number in the streets as the vendors sing to sell their wares, with Elvis singing back on the balcony overhead, all singing about food. Even though this is Louisiana and food are a staple of the town, I was very worried this first impression was going to be what the majority of the film was going to be like, as I wasn’t too impressed. However, the story eventually began to pull me in more and more, with Elvis’ character passionate, quick to anger, and misunderstood. It’s his rocky relationship with his father that provides a lot of the heart of the film. Frustrated with his actions, he often criticizes his father for his inactions and submissive behavior. It’s often hard to watch, because you can’t blame the man for being devastated over the loss of the love of his life and not knowing how to deal with it. However, the relationship does offer its ups and downs and for me at least, was the best part of the film.
King Creole really feels like an East of Eden or Rebel Without a Cause type film, just with musical numbers attached. There is no doubt that Elvis has an amazing voice, he was the King of Rock and Roll, and the film should be catered to highlight those aspects. However, if they would have cut one or two musical numbers it would have helped the pacing of the film tremendously.
Elvis does a good job as Danny, providing a range of emotion to his troubled character that needs to be there to properly convey the struggle going on inside of him. That being said, there is a reason his acting career never took off. As good as he is at acting like a punk, I don’t feel like there is much else he could do. His range for this character overall is pretty good, but limited by his abilities. The supporting cast does a great job as well, with Walter Matthau especially providing a sinister antagonist that won’t let anyone out from under his thumb.
Video
King Creole is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 featuring a newly remastered 4k film transfer. The film looks incredible, providing a crisp, detailed Black and White image that looks as though it was filmed yesterday and not in 1958. The film is very film-noir-like, giving it a unique look that I wouldn’t have thought would be the case with an Elvis Presley film. The care and detail taken for this release is admirable, and offers quite a remarkable presentation for the first time on Blu-Ray.
Audio
The audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD. This track sounds great, with the majority of the sound coming through as dialogue from the center channel, but those musical sequences that are littered throughout the film take full advantage of the 5.1 mix and sound great, from Elvis’ voice to his guitar he plays, all robust and full.
Special Features
The Paramount Presents collection features a nice slipcover that you can open to reveal the theatrical poster for the film, and the number 2 on the spine signifying the second in the series. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of supplemental materials on the disc, but the transfer and packaging do make up for that fact.
On this disc you’ll see:
- Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin discusses King Creole
- Play the “Songs” Directly by Selecting the Scenes
King Creole was the one in the first wave of releases from the Paramount Presents that I wasn’t particularly excited for, but was proven wrong after the story was able to pull me in. Thanks to the acting of all involved and the superb direction by Michael Curtiz, King Creole deserves its spot in this series.
