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Love
Me Tender (1956)
Reviewed
by Nikarius |
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Rating:
For
Elvis fans!
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| Director |
Robert
D Webb |
| Stars |
Elvis
Presley
Richard Egan
Debra Paget
Robert Middleton
William Campbell
Neville Brand
James Drury |
| Length |
104
minutes |
| Country |
USA |
| Genres |
Western |
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Love
Me Tender is set towards the end of the American civil war,
and is a story of moral and ethical dilemmas. That might sound
a little surprising for an Elvis movie, but the story here isn’t
there to provide a platform for him to sing. In fact, he doesn’t
even make an appearance until a quarter of the film has passed.
The story itself centres around the theft of a Confederate payroll
by three brothers. The Reno brothers – Vance, Brett and Ray
– are part of a Confederate posse, and upon hearing that the
war is over, decide to return to their family home with the
spoils of war. Vance plans to marry his sweetheart Cathy, but
it soon becomes clear that things are different. For a start,
the family was told that the three brothers had died. And to
further complicate matters, the little brother, Clint(Elvis)
has married Cathy. This scenario has all the ingredients for
a classic drama, and doesn’t disappoint.
Elvis’s character Clint loves his brother Vance, but he also
loves his brother’s girl. But the returning Vance is not all
that Clint expected, and his adoration soon turns to disenchantment
and then murderous anger. Elvis was a great singer, and he really
makes a good job of the character, even though it seems somewhat
odd to see him act. What makes it really bizarre are his songs
and dance moves transposed to a 19th Century western setting.
In Love Me Tender, Elvis sings four of his songs – Love Me Tender,
We’re Gonna Move, Poor Boy and Let Me. Looking at the film,
the songs serve to get in the way of the story. You have to
be a true Elvis fan to overlook the way the story grinds to
a halt to accommodate an ‘Elvis Moment’, this make the whole
experience somewhat disjointed – almost as if you’ve changed
channels from a western to a music video. It’s a shame because
the story is very entertaining, and as I’ve said, Elvis puts
in a very good performance as Clint – in fact it makes you wonder
what kind of film career he’d have had if he chose roles away
from the formulaic straight-jacket ones of his other movies.
Love Me Tender is perhaps the best of the Elvis movies because
it has gripping drama mixed with the right number of songs not
to distract too much from the story. This movie is worth adding
to your collection if you’re an Elvis fan, and even if you’re
not, it’s certainly worth a look for nostalgic value. Swing
those hips baby!
DVD Extras
The DVD contains quaint trailers for Flaming Star, Wild in the
Country and Love Me Tender.
Other Elvis reviews:
Wild in the Country
Flaming Star |
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