That was an excellent one.

ridiculous rating

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

'Loving You' was The King Elvis Presley's second movie (his first in colour) and is a decent fare, if a little dated for 2015, as you'd understandably expect. The film mirrors what was going on in Elvis' real career at that time. A rapid rise to fame, adoring female fans (their agitated boyfriends)and the songs in the film are really good, as are the cast. Interestingly, the lead female Delores Hart, quit the business a few years after this was made to become a nun, which she still is today. She also appeared opposite Elvis in 1958's 'King Creole'. All in all, although not one of MY personal favourite Elvis movies, 'Loving You' is regarded by most as one of The King's three stand out films, and you can see why.

This is a semi-autobiographical & documentary like account of the early Elvis phenomenon & what all the excitement was about when Elvis exploded onto the scene in 1956. It's all here with the controversial hip shaking gyrations. This movie is a showcase of the early Elvis persona on stage rather than his acting. He's not given much to work with since he's essentially playing himself so he doesn't need to do much acting. Aside from the fight scene he mainly shines as a singing entertainer.Out of the 4 pre-army movies this is my least favorite because his acting is not very good & is overshadowed by the music & the other actors. Lizabeth Scott is the one that really carries the film, her character is very strong & commanding & the driving force that moves the story forward. It's not that Elvis can't act there's just no room to act when he's playing himself.Elvis's acting was much better in his first movie "Love Me Tender" because he was a supporting player to Richard Egan & Debra Paget & he was stepping into a role. Elvis really started to shine as an actor in his next movie "Jailhouse Rock" & of course "King Creole". This early on Elvis' acting career still looked promising.

Elvis Presley commanded top billing in his second movie, freshman director Hal Kanter's "Loving You," but it is Lizbeth Scott who commands the attention. Cast as an ambitious Svengali-like publicist, Scott boasts wattage to burn and outshines Presley. The Herbert Baker & Hal Kanter screenplay, based on a story by Mary Agnes Thompson, amounts to a semi-autobiographical account of the ascension of Presley's nobody singer to stardom. In fact, "Loving You" could be compared with "A Star Is Born" because Presley's star ascends while Wendell Corey's washed-up singer Tex Warner sinks into the sunset. Hard luck toppled Tex from stardom and nobody in the industry has any use for him. Nevertheless, unlike "A Star is Born," "Loving Up" contains enough drama to maintain tension throughout its 101 minutes without immersing its audience in tragedy. Corey and Scott generate credible chemistry as an older couple while Presley gravitates between Scott and newcomer Dolores Hart. For the record, in addition to the eponymous title tune, Elvis performs "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" and "Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do" to "(Let's Have A) Party," "Mean Woman Blues," and "Hot Dog."The Baker & Kanter screenplay has more substance than you might imagine and the dialogue is far from embarrassing. Presley plays beer delivery driver Deke Rivers, an orphaned truck driver who tools around in his black hot rod making deliveries, and his latest delivery is to a snake-oil salesman on the campaign trail for the upcoming gubernatorial election. Big Jim Tallman (Ralph Dumke of "Violent Saturday") has hired Tex Warner (Wendell Corey of "Cyborg 2087") and his cowboy swing band to attract and entertain citizens so that he will have a crowd to regale with his promises. Tallman also has Glenda Markle (Lizabeth Scott of "Dead Reckoning") on the payroll as his publicist, but Glenda—like Tex—hasn't seen a paycheck in several weeks. When Deke rolls up in his roadster, his buddy touts his singing talent and Glenda hustles Deke onto the platform to warble a few tunes. Tex notices that the guys in the crowd are not impressed, but Glenda spots the reaction of the gals and knows that she has gotten a gold mine.Glenda makes Deke an offer to sing with Tex's band for twice the cash that he earns hauling beer. All he has to do is show up in the morning to head out with them. Tex and Glenda are dumping Big Jim because he cannot pay them. Meanwhile, Deke has already had a taste of show business and it wasn't pleasant. The cheapskate promoter skipped town without paying him off and stole his guitar so Deke doesn't jump at Glenda's proposition. Nonetheless, Glenda isn't going to take no for an answer and goes so far as to complain to Deke's employer. She complains that Deke made his beer delivery late and the boss fires Deke. At the same time, Tex questions Glenda's judgment but bows to it because she is the brains behind their publicity. Predictably, the women go wild for Deke. One stands up in the audience and yells at him. Later, another girl hides in his dressing room and demands a kiss before she will leave. As they are kissing, Glenda and two newspaper people snap a photo of them that winds up in the press. Melodramatic madness sets in around the last half hour because Tex thinks Glenda has dumped him for Deke. Deke is scheduled to perform in the small Texas town of Freegate, but the oldsters convince the city fathers to cancel the concert. This reflects the tension that existed between older people who didn't like rock'n roll and the youngsters who embraced with a passion. Glenda takes on city hall and persuades the nearsighted politicians to do an about face when she informs them that television cameras will descend on their small town and show the world what a great place it is to live. Suspense mounts when Deke decides in a fit of anger to leave so Glenda takes off after him while the harried television producer parcels out time to interview Deke's fans. Eventually, Glenda catches up with Deke and manages to change his mind. The concert is a smash and Deke is set for life, but trouble has been brewing because Tex thinks that Deke is moving in on Glenda. Meanwhile, Deke doesn't realize that their new agent, Carl Meade (James Gleason of "Arsenic and Old Lace"), has sacked everybody because Deke is the only one pulling in the dough. Among those fired is Susan Jessup (Dolores Hart) and Deke has developed an affection for Susan because he can talk to her about things other than business. Deke drives her home to her parents and discovers during a quiet moment what has happened. Surprisingly, Hal Kanter didn't helm that many movies. "Loving You" is a good Elvis Presley epic and the action is well thought out. The troubled life of Deke Rivers is interesting, especially his origins when he fled from an orphanage and stumbled into a grave yard when he appropriated his name from a tombstone. Presley never received the credit that he deserved as an actor and he gives a sincere, well-rounded performance that provides him with moments of happiness, anger, and nonchalance. The honky-tonk fight between Deke and Wayne (Kenneth Becker) is staged well and looks rather brutal as they pummel each other with repeated blows. "Loving You" qualifies as a good Presley potboiler.

In honor of The King of Rock 'n' Roll's untimely death nearly 30 years ago, I've decided to check out some of his movies like this second one he made called Loving You. In this one, he plays Deke Rivers who was just making some deliveries when a woman (Lizabeth Scott) inquires if there's a singer around. Guess who gets picked! Along the way, Deke meets her bandleader ex-husband (Wendell Corey) and the female vocalist (Dolores Hart). The movie follows the road tours that lead to some big breaks despite some troubles with some teenage girls and their jealous boyfriends looking for a fight. Elvis shows great charisma throughout and has smoldering chemistry with Ms. Scott and a charmingly sincere one with Ms. Hart. It threatens to get corny at the end with a happy ending for all but it plays very believably for the more innocent time that it was filmed in. Certainly Loving You is more preferable to some of the more sillier movies he made in the 60s. Great songs like the title one and "Teddy Bear" abound. Look for Presley's parents, Gladys and Vernon, in the finale.