The movies were sometimes good to Elvis Presley and sometimes they were not. In fact, The King was not a fan of some of them.
Why did he not like some of those flicks? We get some insights thanks to this article from the British publication Express. You might recall that Presley did have some serious movies early in his career like Love Me Tender, for which he provided the theme song. Then there were other movies like Viva Las Vegas with Ann-Margret. Then, of course, there were movies like Spinout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, and Harum Scarum.
The singer was interviewed back in 1969 as he was making his return to the stage. In this conversation, Presley opens up about his movie career and those films.
Elvis Presley Admits That He Wanted To Play More Serious Parts
“We’ve now completed all the deals I made when I came out of the Army in 1960,” Presley said. “And from now on, I’m going to play more serious parts and make fewer films.
“I wouldn’t be being honest with you if I said I wasn’t ashamed of some of the movies, and the songs I’ve had to sing in them,” he said. “I would like to say they were good, but I can’t.”
Elvis Presley was no fan of shooting movies, either. He also talked about having to do both performing and recording soundtracks. The star also opened up about how much he didn’t like shooting movies.
Singer Said In 1969 Interview That He Was ‘Unhappy’ With That Part of Career
“I’ve been extremely unhappy with that side of my career for some time,” Presley said. “But how can you find 12 good songs for every film when you’re making three films a year? I knew a lot of them were bad songs and they used to bother the heck out of me. But I had to do them. They fitted the situation.”
Now, back in 1969, Elvis Presley made a return to the stage in a residency slot at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. This would be filmed and recorded for a movie based on that show.
“I’ve always wanted to perform on the stage again for the last nine years,” Presley said. “And it’s been building up inside of me since 1965 until the strain became intolerable.” Thinking about signing again got him all “hyped up.”
“I don’t think I could have left it much longer.” It was clear from the fans’ responses at that time they were happy to see him back where he came to life, on stage before a crowd.
Elvis Presley died in 1977 at his home in Memphis, Tenn. But his music and movies bring joy to his fans.
