Love Me Tender (film)

Love Me Tender is a 1956 American blackandwhite CinemaScope motion picture directed by Robert D. Webb, and released by 20th Century Fox on November 15, 1956. The film, named after the song, stars Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and finally Elvis Presley in his acting debut. It is in the Western genre with musical numbers. As Presleys movie debut, it was the only time in his acting career that he did not receive top billing. Love Me Tender was originally to be titled The Reno Brothers, but when advanced sales of Presleys Love Me Tender single passed one milliona first for a singlethe film title was changed to match. This was the only time that Presley played a historical figure.

Before his success as a singer Presley had shown interest in becoming an actor. He had worked as a cinema usher in his youth and would often watch his screen idols James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Tony Curtis during shifts, studying their acting and learning lines from their movies. When he first met his future manager, Colonel Tom Parker, he expressed an interest in the movies and his desire to be an actor.In interviews during his rise to fame, Presley would often talk about his hopes of attending somewhere like the Actors Studio. He also insisted that he would not like to sing in any of his movies because he wished to be taken seriously as a film star. However, Parker had a plan to crosspromote Presleys films with his music and this led to soundtracks being as important, if not more important, as the scripts. Because of this, not only is Elvis regarded as a musician, he is regarded as an actor as well. ........

Source: Wikipedia