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. 

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

This is a critically acclaimed and inspiring film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize play by Alfred Uhry. It is the story of a temperamental Southern widow (Jessica Tandy) and the relationship she has with her black chauffeur, Hoke (Morgan Freeman). At first you don't know what to make of Ms Daisy, but as the film progresses, you get to know her through how she relates with Hoke, her only true friend.

The DVD has a commentary by screenwriter Uhry, who shares his recollections about the making of this film and how his own experiences with his grandmother shaped the story. The Dan Aykroyd character (as Daisy's son) is loosely based on him. What I found interesting about both the son and Hoke is how patient they are with Daisy throughout the film.

Hans Zimmer's score is rather underrated, I feel; its a lovely piece of music (haunting at times) and really adds to the whole story. Jessica Tandy was born to play this role. I remember watching the Oscar ceremony that year, and seeing Gregory Peck hand her the trophy for Best Actress. It was a great moment; Tandy had been a film and stage star for many decades. One of the most moving scenes is toward the end of the film, when Daisy is watching Martin Luther King Jr. speak live in person. In that scene, you could feel how his words are making an impact on her.

The art directors and set decorators deserved the Oscar nomination for their detailed work. Just look how they recreated the era:



Once again, director Bruce Beresford allows the scenery to be one of the major co-stars.





1948: A theater shows "Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!" starring June Haver and Natalie Wood.

Fess Parker (1924-2010)

Motion picture and television actor Fess Parker has passed away at the age of 85.



After WWII (and serving in the Marines) he studied history and drama and eventually made his way into films, with small roles in Island in the Sky (1953), The Bounty Hunter (1954), and Battle Cry (1955).

His big break came after he appeared in the Sci-Fi classic Them! (1954). Rumor has it that Walt Disney was impressed with his performance and cast him as the character of Davy Crockett for a new tv adventure set in 1800s America. The series and main character of coonskin-cap-wearing outdoorsman Crockett became an American pop cultural craze in 1955.

There were only a total of five episodes, which were scheduled over the course of a year; a new episode appeared on the "Disneyland" TV series (AKA "Walt Disney Presents") every few months or so during 1955.

The first three episodes were edited together for a feature-length film which was released during the summer of '55.

Parker made other films for Disney including the classic Old Yeller.



His other films of the 1960s include Alias Jesse James (1959), The Jayhawkers (1959), and Hell is for Heroes (1962). On television, he had another huge hit with "Daniel Boone" which was on the air for 6 years.

After retiring from film and tv he devoted time to operating a winery in California. (I didn't know this - sounds nice!) He was married for over 50 years and had two children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Below: 6-foot, 5 inch Fess Parker standing next to his much shorter co-stars (Arnold Stang and Peter Lorre) from an episode of the TV series "Playhouse 90" from 1958.



Below: At a Disneyland ceremony in 2004, Mr. Parker receives a window on Main Street. (source: the "Disney parks blog") At the theme park, receiving a "window" somewhere in the park is the equivalent of being honored with a "star" on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. I just learned about all this from Laura's blog. Next time I go back to Disneyland I'll have to take a closer look at these; I was there last year but I didn't notice the windows.



Tributes from other blogs:


MousePlanet: Last year's article "Crockett Memories from Fess Parker"

Viewliner, LTD: Tour of Americana: Tribute

DISNEY HISTORY BLOG: Tribute

The Flaming Nose: Tribute

The Cartoon Cave: Tribute and Caricature

Bill Crider Pop Culture Magazine: Tribute

Random Shelf: Tribute

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: Tribute

FilmFiles: Tribute

Shroud of Thoughts: Tribute | The Davey Crockett fad

The Tainted Archive: Tribute

Gold Country Girls: Tribute

The Roads of Autumn Dust: Tribute | Fess Parker in "Them!"

The Inner Toob: Davy Crockett gallery | Coonskin Cap Craze | Davy Crockett TV Show | Davy Crockett and the Alamo | Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone | Daniel Boone Gallery | "Daniel Boone" song, sung by Fess Parker | Daniel Boone TV show