Loving You (1957) Dolores Hart and Elvis

In Loving You, noir legend Lizabeth Scott plays a promoter who discovers a hot new talent "Deke Rivers" (Elvis!) and offers him a job in her band of rockabillies - "The Rough Ramblers" - which inclues a pretty young vocalist played by Dolores Hart in her film debut.

Lizabeth, as Elvis' manager, delivers a strong performance in the film. Her character reminded me a little of Patricia Neal's in A Face in the Crowd, also from 1957 and also about show business. Lizabeth schemes in any way she can to keep Deke in the band, and her moments with him are cute and flirtsy, peppered with witty one-liners. Wendell Corey (Lizabeth's costar in Desert Fury) plays the band leader who is a little jealous of his new band mate. He suggests that Deke change his name to "Tab" or "Rock" or something catchy that the young kids are going for.

The band travels from small town to small town, carnival to carnival, and Elvis has all the young kids "rockin and rollin'". Just like in real life, some of the older folks aren't receptive to his style of music, and they're called "squares" by some young kids.  The film in many ways mirrors Elvis' real life experiences: being discovered and promoted, making headlines, etc.

In addition to all the great musical  numbers, I thought some of the best parts of the film are the scenes with Elvis and Dolores Hart. In one sequence, she takes him to meet her family on their farm.

I think this is one of the best Elvis films, and one of the best Elvis soundtracks ever, including the title track by Lieber and Stoller, Party, Got A Lot O' Living To Do, Teddy Bear, and Lonesome Cowboy, which is a great song and was the original title of the film. It is a high quality production: great costumes, sets, and cinematography. Directed by Hal Kanter.