Love Me Tender (1956 film)
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| Love Me Tender | |
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| Directed by | Robert D. Webb Stanley Hough (Ass't) |
| Produced by | David Weisbart |
| Written by | Maurice Geraghty (story) Robert Buckner (screenplay) |
| Starring | Elvis Presley Debra Paget Richard Egan |
| Music by | Lionel Newman |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover |
| Editing by | Hugh S. Fowler |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 15, 1956 |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Love Me Tender is an American motion picture directed by Robert D. Webb, released by 20th Century Fox on November 15, 1956. The film stars Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and Elvis Presley. It is Presley's movie debut, in the Western genre with musical numbers, filmed in black and white.
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[edit] Synopsis
In the film, Presley plays Clint Reno, one of the Reno brothers who stayed home while his brother went to fight in the American Civil War for the Confederate Army. The family is mistakenly informed that one of the brothers, Vance, has been killed on the battlefield. When his brother Vance comes back from the war, he finds that his old girlfriend, Cathy, has married Clint. Although Vance accepts this wholeheartedly ("We always wanted Cathy in the family"), the family has to struggle to reach stability with this issue. As a Confederate soldier, Vance is involved in a train robbery, in which he steals Federal Government money. A conflict of interest ensues when Vance tries to return the money against the wishes of some of his fellow Confederates.
The film reaches its tragic conclusion with a gunfight between the two Reno brothers, ending with Clint's murder.
[edit] Primary cast:
- Elvis Presley: Clint Reno
- Richard Egan: Vance Reno
- Debra Paget: Cathy Reno
- Robert Middleton: Mr. Siringo
- William Campbell: Brett Reno
- Neville Brand: Mike Gavin
- Mildred Dunnock: Martha Reno
[edit] Soundtrack
Instead of a full long-playing album soundtrack, for Love Me Tender the four songs appearing in the film were released as an extended-play, seven-inch 45 RPM record on RCA Records, Love Me Tender, catalogue EPA 4006, during November of 1956. It peaked at #9 on Top Pop Albums chart, as well as making it to #35 on the singles chart. The four EP soundtrack songs were recorded in a single at Fox's Stage One in Hollywood, at three sessions in August, September, and October of 1956. The title song, "Love Me Tender," had already been released as a single on September 28, 1956, and went to #1 on the singles chart. The music was based on the Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," with new lyrics by Ken Darby. Darby, in fact, wrote all of the soundtrack songs, but credited them to his wife, Vera Matson, while the Colonel cut his publishing company, Hill and Range, in on the royalties by further crediting the writing to Presley as well. This was somewhat common practice in the 1950s.
A reprise of "Love Me Tender" was also recorded and is heard at the end of the film; this short track was not released until after Presley's death. The sessions for these songs were the only time in the decade that Presley recorded with musicians outside his regular coterie.
[edit] Personnel
- Elvis Presley - vocals
- Vito Mumolo - guitar
- Luther Rountree - banjo
- Dom Frontieri - accordion
- Carl Fortina - accordion
- Mike "Myer" Rubin - bass
- Richard Cornell - drums
- Rad Robinson - backing vocals
- Jon Dodson - backing vocals
- Charles Prescott - backing vocals
[edit] Track listing
| Track | Recorded | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8/24/56 | Love Me Tender | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:41 |
| 2. | 8-10/56 | Let Me | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:08 |
| 3. | 8-10/56 | Poor Boy | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:13 |
| 4. | 8/24/56 | We're Gonna Move | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:30 |
[edit] Trivia
- This film was in the top 10 grossing films of 1956 grossing to #8
- This film was originally titled The Reno Brothers, but because Elvis' "Love Me Tender" was a big hit at the time, the film was retitled as such.
- A somewhat more realistic film telling the story of the Reno Brothers, Rage at Dawn starring Randolph Scott, had been released by RKO Radio Pictures only the year before.
Elvis' mother, Gladys, was so upset that her son had died in the movie, that Elvis told Colonal Parker, that he never wanted to be killed in any more movies. And he never was.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Movie reviews
- Review by Janet Branagan at Apollo Movie Guide.
[edit] DVD reviews
- Review by Brett Cullum at DVD Verdict, March 30th, 2006.
- Review by Mark Zimmer at digitallyOBSESSED!, August 18, 2002.
