A Filmmaker's Guide to the Best Performances: Elvis Presley

On the 8th of January, 1935, Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He wasn't rich, not even close to rich - probably not even close to average earning. Be that as it may, he was found - they made the records and he became known simply as "The King". Unfortunately, in 1977 - Elvis Presley succumbed to his overworking schedule and accidentally died from taking some horrid pills. But, from when he was making the records to this day and beyond - there are still people who listen to Elvis Presley, old and young.

I'll just tell you a bit about what he means to me. My family are pretty obsessed with Elvis Presley. I've written a great amount about him in my time and I have been listening to him ever since I was tiny with him playing on various CDs etc. Check out my top essential songs by Elvis Presley if you're looking more towards his music, just click here: https://vocal.media/beat/my-essential-songs-elvis-presley

On this article, we'll be concentrating on Elvis Presley's expansive film career. Like the other musicians such as Frank Sinatra and others - Elvis Presley made his move into Hollywood movies quite early on in his music career purely because he was such a big star that everyone wanted to see him all the time. The songs featured in these films would go on to become some of Elvis's biggest selling tracks with songs like "Jailhouse Rock" from the film of the same name being one of those unforgettable classics which everyone knows the sound of and the words to.

I have watched every single film Elvis Presley has been in with Blue Hawaii being my most recent one. I can honestly say that the musical performances are the highlights of the films and that the storylines are actually pretty good if you're looking for a film to unwind to, laugh about and have a good time watching. Feel-good films were the specialities of Elvis as he was the main man in show-business at his time. He was in films, he was on TV, he was on interview shows and in concert, he was on radio and even to this day - his likeness is featured in adverts and documentaries about his life still play and draw audiences on TV. "The Searcher" (2018) being the most recent of them all with a brilliance to it that you won't understand until you see it. Check out my review on "The Searcher" (2018) here: https://vocal.media/geeks/a-filmmaker-s-review-elvis-presley-the-searcher-2018

From documentary to documentary, film to film, TV performance to TV performance, Elvis Presley has endured being under the microscope in many, many ways and now - he's going under it again as we rank his film performances from worst to best. Yes, we're doing every single one so make sure you're holding on to something. Let's countdown the greatest film performances by Elvis Presley throughout his entire career!

Remember this is purely opinion based so I'm okay if you don't agree with me and don't worry - I haven't missed any out I'm sure of it! Elvis had such an incredible film career that was praised by the critics as well as the audiences and, did you know that before his death Elvis had planned to take a year out of singing, come back after a break and take up acting as a career until he retired? Well, that's what he planned to do, but unfortunately he died in the same year he made that plan.

Here are the King's films, ranked in order from worst to best, my personal favourites are marked with a (*)...

Ranking All 31 Elvis Presley Feature Films!

31. Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)

30. Tickle Me (1965)

29. Follow that Dream (1962)

28. Fun in Acapulco (1963)

27. That's the Way it is (1970)

26. It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)*

25. Wild in the Country (1961)

24. Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)

23. Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)

22. Clambake (1967)

21. Charro (1969)

20. Kissin' Cousins (1964)

19. Spinout (1966)

18. Elvis on Tour (1972)*

17. Girl Happy (1965)

16. Harum Scarum (1965)*

15. Stay Away, Joe (1968)

14. Trouble with Girls (1969)

13. Speedaway (1968)

12. Double Trouble (1967)*

11. Change of Habit (1970)*

10. Roustabout (1964)*

9. Blue Hawaii (1961) *

8. Frankie and Johnny (1966)*

7. Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)*

6. Viva Las Vegas (1964)*

5. Flaming Star (1960)*

4. Kid Galahad (1962)*

3. King Creole (1958)*

2. Love Me Tender (1956)*

1. Jailhouse Rock (1957)*