While Elvis Presley’s later films generally fell into a formulaic, lazy rut, this early effort marks a high point in his cinematic career. Directed by the esteemed Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and based on a book by Harold Robbins, the film stars the impossibly fresh-faced, 23-year-old Elvis when he was still building his legacy. The film is stuffed with his electrifying performances of lesser-known but superb blues-tinged songs, and the New Orleans locations shine with radiant noir-inspired black-and-white cinematography by Russell Harlan (To Kill a Mockingbird). In short, this isn’t a typical lightweight Elvis movie, representing a serious effort by all parties to craft a legitimate work of art.
Buy King CreoleElvis plays Danny Fisher, a troubled high school senior trapped in economic doldrums as he works odd jobs to support his unemployed father, a former pharmacist devastated by the death of his wife. While bussing tables after hours at a Bourbon Street club, he encounters a femme fatale (Carolyn Jones) being harassed by a couple of drunk gamblers, with his quick intervention bringing him to the attention of shady nightlife kingpin Maxie Fields (Walter Matthau, old even at 38). Through a series of cascading events, he ends up gainfully employed as a rising singer at a rival club called King Creole, starts a romance with a good girl (Dolores Hart), but has difficulty escaping the siren call of Maxie’s seedy side of New Orleans offering fast thrills with the moll and quick cash via various criminal schemes.
The 4K/Blu-ray combo pack is sourced from a brand new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, and it is spectacularly well done. The 4K disc presents the film in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with HDR/Dolby Vision, while the Blu’s HD master is also superb, with stunning interplay between crisp black and white hues, minimal grain, and total absence of flaws, aside from a couple of unintentional soft focus scenes as originally shot. Both discs offer sound in 5.1 surround and 2.0 lossless, also polished to perfection. The results are cinematic magic, with this pristine footage of Elvis in his prime offering a powerful monument to his immeasurable talent. The package also includes a new commentary track by a film historian, a brief archival appreciation from 2020 by Leonard Maltin, and the restored theatrical trailer.
The trailer below is what the film used to look like, it doesn’t come anywhere close to the mastery of the new restoration.
