Elvis's second movie and his first in color was the 1957 Paramount film "Loving
You".
In 1956, producer Hal Wallis bought the film rights to a story written by
Margaret Agnes Thompson. It had appeared in the June 1956 issue of "Good
Housekeeping" magazine and was a story set in Oklahoma about a young singer
called Lonesome Harris and his journey to stardom. Wallis thought it would be a
perfect vehicle for Elvis.
The working title was "Lonesome Cowboy". It then became "Running Wild".
Finally, "Loving You", the name of a song Leiber and Stoller wrote for Elvis for
the movie, became the title.
Hal Wallis assigned Hal Kanter as the screenwriter and director for the movie.
At the time, Kanter, a native of Savannah, Georgia, was 37 years old. He had
written for variety shows, graduating to screenplays and specializing in
comedies. He wrote for Bob Hope as well as the comedy team of Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis. For the movie "Loving You", Wallis wanted Kanter to visit with
Elvis and to get to know him off the movie set and as a live performer. So, on
December 12, 1956 he flew to Memphis to meet the young star. On the first day,
Elvis showed him around his Audubon Drive home, where Kanter enjoyed a meal of
fried chicken with the Presley family. After a tour of Memphis on the 14th,
they drove to Shreveport, Louisiana, stopping in Pine Bluff, Arkansas for
dinner with entertainer friends of Elvis's, Jim Ed Brown and Maxine Brown. Once
in Louisiana, Kanter saw firsthand an audience's hysterical reaction to Elvis.
He also noted a set of twins in the audience clapping to the music, one twin
clapping her right hand to her sister's left. He made a mental note to include
this small nuance in his script for "Loving You". Over the years, Hal Kanter
received six Emmy Award nominations, winning the last two for his writing on the
annual Academy Awards telecast. He also wrote the script for Elvis Presley's
1961 hit film "Blue Hawaii", which garnered him a "Best Written American
Musical" nomination from the Writers Guild of America.
In "Loving You" the twins used for the hand-clap scene were Trude and Maida
Severen. This was Trude's only film, but Maida continued acting, having roles in
such movies as "Marjorie Morningstar", "Imitation of Life", and "Airport 1975".
Her television work included a recurring role on "General Hospital" and guest
roles on "The Addams Family", "Gidget", "Bewitched", "Sanford & Son", and
"Starsky & Hutch".
The executive producer for "Loving You" was Paul Nathan, who had worked on films
such as "The Rainmaker" and "Gunfight At The O.K. Corral". Nathan worked as
associate producer on eight other Elvis films: "King Creole", "GI Blues", "Blue
Hawaii", "Girls! Girls! Girls!", "Fun In Acapulco", "Roustabout",
"Paradise,Hawaiian Style", and "Easy Come, Easy Go".
Hal Pereira was the art director. His set designs can be seen in over 250
productions, including the Elvis films mentioned above. He received twenty-three
Academy Award nominations for his work in such films, including "Sabrina", "The
Ten Commandments", "Funny Face", "Vertigo", and "Breakfast at Tiffany's". He
won the Academy Award for his work in "The Rose Tattoo".
Musical director for "Loving You" was Walter Scharf. He also worked on Elvis's
1958 film "King Creole" and the 1981 documentary "This Is Elvis". Scharf
received a Golden Globe award for the song "Ben" from the movie of the same
name. Among his career achievements were ten Academy Award nominations.
Elvis enjoyed working with choreographer Charles O'Curran, who was married to
popular singer Patti Page at the time. O'Curran hung out with Elvis and his
band off the set, often inviting them to his home. He staged musical numbers
for five more Elvis films: "King Creole", "GI Blues", "Blue Hawaii", "Girls!
Girls! Girls!" and "Fun In Acapulco".
"Loving You" is one of the nine Elvis films that legendary movie costume
designer Edith Head participated in.
Wally Westmore had charge of makeup for "Loving You", as he did for all of
Elvis's Paramount films.
lvis left Memphis by train for Hollywood on January 10, 1957. After recording
sessions he reported on the 14th to the Paramount makeup and wardrobe
departments for his new role as singer Deke Rivers. Edith Head, as noted in
Part 1, was the lead designer for this film. Probably the most notable costume
in the film is the famous red and white cowboy suit worn when Deke sings "Teddy
Bear". Makeup was overseen by Wally Westmore.
It was on January 14, 1957 that Elvis first had his natural light brown hair
dyed black. He had decided it would look good on film, as did the dark hair of
Tony Curtis, one of the actors he admired. He let his hair go back to its
natural color while serving in the U.S. Army, 1958-60. But for that and a brief
time in the early 1960s, Elvis kept his hair dyed black for the rest of his
life.
Lizabeth Scott played Deke Rivers' manager, Glenda Markle, who was a essentially
a female version of Elvis's real-life career manager, Colonel Parker, the
supreme promoter. Ms. Scott, a sultry blonde with a husky voice, was discovered
by Hal Wallis in 1945 and was often compared with actress Lauren Bacall. She
appeared in many films between 1945 and 1957, most of them for her mentor Mr.
Wallis and Paramount. Among her film credits are: "You Came Along", "The
Strange Love of Martha Ivers", "Dead Reckoning", "Desert Fury", and "I Walk
Alone". Except for a role in 1972's "Pulp", "Loving You" was her last film.
Ms. Scott is generally regarded as one of the queens of the "film noir" genre of
movies. Among her honors is a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wendell Corey played Walter (Tex) Warner, the leader of the band that Deke
joins. Mr. Corey, son of a minister, was born in Massachusetts in 1914. He
was a stage actor in the 1930's and 40's until he signed with Hal Wallis in
1946. "Loving You" reunited him with Lizabeth Scott, with whom he had worked in
"Desert Fury" and "I Walk Alone". During his career, Corey served stints as
president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and president of
the Screen Actors Guild. He served on the Santa Monica California City Council
in 1965. He was defeated in 1966 in his run for the House of Representatives.
Elvis once named a pet cat Wendell in his honor.
Dolores Hart played Deke Rivers' love interest Susan Jessup. Ms. Hart was born
Dolores Hicks in Chicago in 1938. Coincidentally, her uncle was Mario Lanza, a
singer Elvis admired. Hart worked with Elvis a second time when she co-starred
with him in "King Creole" in 1958. Among her other credits are the films "Where
the Boys Are", "Francis of Assisi", "Sail A Crooked Ship", and "Come Fly With
Me". She decided to become a nun and, in the 1960s, walked away from a
successful and promising acting career before it had peaked. She is now Mother
Dolores, but is still a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences.
Jana Lund has the distinction of being the first actress to share an on-screen
kiss with Elvis. Her character Daisy Bricker stole that kiss when she snuck
into Deke Rivers' dressing room on a dare. (Dolore Hart, later in the same
film, shares the first on-screen kiss initiated by an Elvis character.) Ms.
Lund's character is also the catalyst for the big fight scene between her
boyfriend Wayne and Deke. Lund also had roles in the films "High School
Hellcats", "Hot Car Girl", and "Married Too Young".
The character of Wayne, who loses the fight in the diner, was played by Kenneth
Becker. Mr. Becker can also be seen in the Elvis films "G. I. Blues", "Girls!
Girls! Girls!" and "Roustabout". Mr. Becker also had a number of guest roles on
TV western series such as "Gunsmoke", "Bronco", "Bonanza", and "Wanted Dead or
Alive".
Paul Smith played Skeeter, the band mate who loans Deke his guitar. In the film
Deke always breaks the strings on Skeeter's guitar until Deke's growing
importance with the group prompts bandleader Tex to buy Deke a guitar of his
own. (That bit in the script was an inside joke that writer Hal Kanter picked
up on as Elvis actually did often break his guitar strings.) Among Paul Smith's
film credits are "Cowboy Blues", "The Westward Trail", "Battle At Apache Pass",
"All That Heaven Allows", and "Funny Face".
Booking agent Carl Meade was played by James Gleason, who was born into a New
York theater family in 1882. After serving in the Spanish-American War, he
joined the stock theater company that his parents were running in Oakland. He
and his wife toured in road shows until he enlisted during World War I. When he
returned to the stage after the war, he tried his hand at writing and producing
and then focused on being a character actor. Mr. Gleason appeared in over 125
movies. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1942 as Best Supporting Actor
for the 1941 movie "Here Comes Mr. Jordan".
Ralph Dumke, another well-known character actor, played Jim Tallman. He had a
recurring role as Mr. McAfee in "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" on
television. His movie credits include "All The King's Men", "Daddy Long Legs",
"Artists and Models", "The Solid Gold Cadillac", "The Buster Keaton Story",
"Wake Me When It's Over", and Elmer Gantry".
Charles Lang was the cinematographer for "Loving You". In 1961 he also film
the lush scenery seen in Elvis's movie "Blue Hawaii". Mr. Lang received 18
Academy Award nominations for his work in such films, including "Butterflies Are
Free", "How The West Was Won", "Some Like it Hot" and "Sabrina". He won for the
movie "Farewell to Arms".
Joan Bradshaw had an uncredited bit part in "Loving You" and several other
movies in 1957. She went on to become a producer on such films as "Mrs.
Doubtfire", "Cast Away", and "Road To Perdition".
Carole Dunne played as a teenage extra in "Loving You" and is today an award
winning hair stylist for film and television.
As in many Elvis movies, the cast of "Loving You" included a number of veteran
character actors, including Joe Gray, Irene Tedrow, William Forrest, Madge Blake
and Skip Young.
Joe Gray, a former boxer, was a fight coordinator and a longtime film double for
Dean Martin. Among his credits are the Elvis movies "Loving You", "GI Blues"
"and "Kid Galahad". Other credits include "Rio Bravo", "Ocean's Eleven",
"Breakfast At Tiffiany's", "Robin And the Seven Hoods", and "Bye Bye Birdie".
Irene Tedrow played Mrs. Jessup. Among her hundreds of roles in film and
television, two earned her Emmy Award nominations - one for the TV show "James
at 15" and another for the TV mini-series "Eleanor and Franklin".
William Forrest played Mr. Jessup. He too had hundreds of roles, including one
in the Elvis film "Jailhouse Rock".
Madge Blak played a hired crowed agitator in "Loving You". She is perhaps best
recognized for her TV roles as Aunt Harriett Cooper on "Batman" and as Larry
Mondello's mother in "Leave It To Beaver".
You also might recognize Skip Young, who played Teddy, a friend and co-worker of
Deke Rivers (Elvis) in the opening scenes of "Loving You". Mr. Young was a
regular on the TV series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" in which he
played a buddy of Rick Nelson's.
Yvonne Lime played Sally in this "Loving You". She also briefly dated Elvis and
visited him in Memphis for Easter in April 1957. At the time Elvis and his
family were renovating Graceland and had not yet moved in. Elvis brought her out
to see his new home. Ms. Lime previously had a longtime role as Dotty on the TV
series "Father Knows Best". She continued to act after "Loving You" until her
marriage to TV producer Don Federson, when she turned her energies to children's
charities. She and fellow actress Sara
O'Meara founded International Orphans Inc., building orphanages in Japan and
Vietnam, as well as starting Childhelp USA for abused and neglected children in
the U.S.
Elvis's parents Vernon and Gladys and their friends Carl and Willy Nichols came
to Hollywood for a month of vacation and to see where their son worked. They
spent time sightseeing and both ladies bought pet poodles. Mrs. Nichols named
her poodle Pierre and Mrs. Presley named hers Duke after John Wayne. Scotty
Moore and his wife Bobbie took the Presleys to see the filming of the Tennessee
Ernie Ford weekly TV show. They were introduced from the audience and went back
stage to meet Mr. Ford. Elvis and his date Joan Blackman took them to see the
movie "The Ten Commandments". (Blackman was Elvis's leading lady in "Blue
Hawaii" a few years later in 1961 and then again in 1962's "Kid Galahad".)
Vernon and Gladys also visited Elvis on the set of "Loving You". It was on a
visit to the studio that Hal Kanter got the idea to include them as extras in
the Grand Theatre audience. They can be seen sitting on the aisle with Mr. and
Mrs. Nichols next to them. The Presleys clapped with the music and applauded
proudly for their son. It is said that after his mother's death the following
year, Elvis couldn't bring himself to watch "Loving You".