ON THIS DAY IN 1956, ELVIS PRESLEY MADE HIS ACTING DEBUT IN “LOVE ME TENDER”

The film, based on the true story of the four Reno brothers, a group of brothers existing in civil war America, with Presley playing the youngest, Clint.

Elvis had reportedly always expressed an interest in acting, in fact on his first meeting with future manager Colonel Tom Parker, he expressed this desire to be an actor. Parker’s plans for Presley’s acting career always included a musical component for the purpose of cross-promotion, sometimes at the cost of a good script.

Presley however was hardworking, arriving on the first day with all of his lines memorised, as well as most of the other actor’s, and had recorded his parts and music in little more than a month. Presley performed “love Me Tender” for the first time in early September and two weeks later, RCA confirmed the single had gone gold before it’s release, an industry first.

The film closed it’s first week at #2, only behind a posthumous James Dean release, and while many critics had lukewarm responses, a number of others viewed the film favourably. At cinema openings, teenage girls screamed, making it difficult to follow the story and leading Elvis to tell his friend Cliff Gleaves that he found this type of reaction to be embarrassing, and prevented him from being viewed as a serious actor.