Loving You
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Hal Kanter
Elvis Presley
Lizabeth Scott
Wendell Corey
James Gleason
Ralph Dumke
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the small Texas town of Delville, crooked politician Jim Tallman holds a political rally, hoping to drum up support for his faltering gubernatorial campaign. With no money coming in from Tallman's few supporters, press agent Glenda Markle informs her beau, band leader Walter "Tex" Warner, that they will not be receiving their paychecks that week. Tex, however, is more interested in complaining about his old boss, Howard Hawkins, who has become a big success using Tex's old arrangements, than worrying about money. Glenda tells Tex that he needs to find a gimmick in order to make it back to the top, and the gimmick suddenly appears in the form of a local boy named Deke Rivers. Though the older audience members, as well as Tex, dislike Deke's rhythmic singing style, Glenda quickly recognizes the effect the young man has on the teenagers in attendance. When she is unable to convince Deke to give up his delivery job for a singing career, Glenda gets the young man fired, forcing him to go on the road with Tex. Glenda then becomes the manager of Tex Warner and His Rough Ridin' Ramblers, and books the band in various small towns across Texas. As they become more and more successful, Deke is made an official member of the band, with a grateful Tex even buying the singer his own guitar. Protecting her own interest, however, Glenda signs Deke to a management contract that is separate from her oral agreement with Tex. Later, in order to drum up publicity, Glenda stages a fight between some teenagers and matronly women over Deke. Her plan works, and the band is soon booked in the Grand Theater in Amarillo, though Tex is told he must now give equal billing to Deke. The night before opening at the Grand, Deke gets into a fight with Wayne, a local bully, and soon teenagers are lined up around the theater to see the combative crooner. Among the most avid of Deke's new fans is Daisy Bricker, Wayne's ex-girl friend, who sneaks into the shy singer's dressing room. When Deke rebuffs her unwanted advances, Daisy calls him a coward, so he kisses her just as Glenda enters with a newspaper reporter and photographer. In order to drum up even more advance publicity for Deke's upcoming one-man concert in the Dallas suburb of Freegate, Glenda has Tex borrow against his life insurance so she can purchase a new convertible for the singer, which she tells Deke and the press was purchased anonymously by a wealthy widow who sees Deke as the son she never had. After Glenda goes away on a publicity trip, Tex learns about her secret contract with Deke, which accords her half of everything the singer makes. With three days off before the Freegate show, Tex convinces Deke to drive Susan Jessup, the band's innocent young female singer, to her family's farm in Farmingdale for a short visit. There, Susan informs Deke that the band has been fired, as promoter Carl Meade is only interested in booking him. An upset Deke tells Susan that he has been alone all his life and asks that she return to Freegate with him. Glenda then arrives with the new convertible and whisks Deke away before he can declare his love to Susan. On the trip to Freegate, Deke tells Glenda that he grew up in an orphanage in Woodbine. When the home caught on fire, he ran away and changed his name from Jimmy Tompkins to Deke Rivers after seeing the name on a gravestone. Finally, Deke tells Glenda that he does not feel alone in the world anymore, having made real friends in her, Tex, Susan and the band. Meanwhile, a women's morality committee forces the mayor of Freegate to cancel Deke's show. Seeing a chance for national exposure due to the controversy, Glenda arrange a coast-to-coast special with television executive Harry Taylor, but Tex informs her that Deke wants to give up show business and return to the Jessup farm. Glenda convinces Deke to stay by pretending to be in love with him. Before the telecast, Deke is shocked to learn that Glenda and Tex were once married, and though they are divorced, it is clear that the two are still very much in love. Finally realizing that Glenda's only interest in him has been financial, the wounded Deke drives off in his old hot-rod just as the television special is about to begin. After Deke crashes his car into a hillside, Glenda appears at the accident site and confesses all. She then tears up their contract and tells Deke it is time for him to stop running away from things. Deke then returns to Freegate and performs on the telecast, singing his feelings of love to Susan. The two young people are reunited, as are Tex and Glenda, and Deke asks Tex and Glenda to stay on as his new managers.
Director
Hal Kanter
Cast
Elvis Presley
Lizabeth Scott
Wendell Corey
James Gleason
Ralph Dumke
Paul Smith
Ken Becker
Jana Lund
Dolores Hart
The Jordanaires
Vernon Rich
David Cameron
Grace Hayle
Dick Ryan
Steve Pendleton
Sydney Chatton
Jack Latham
William Forrest
Irene Tedrow
Hal K. Dawson
Joe Forte
Yvonne Lime
Donna Jo Gribble
Victoria King
Leo Gastillo
Carole Dulaine
Elaine Dupont
Michael Hadge
Jerry Hunter
Michael A. Monahan
Jeanette Taylor
Karen Scott
Steffi Sidney
Myrna Fahey
Florine Carlan
Nancy Kilgas
Joan Bradshaw
Melinda Byron
Heather Hopper
Carla Merey
Joy Reynolds
Joy A. Stoner
Brenda Lomas
Audrey Lowell
Linda Rivera
Julius M. Tannen
Buck Young
Skip Young
Mike Mahoney
Dave White
Drew Cahill
Gwen Caldwell
Les Clark
William P. Black
D. J. Fontana
Winfield Scott Moore
Beach Dickerson
James Horan
Kathie Anderson
Timothy Butler
Gail Lund
Harry Cheshire
Sue England
Cecile Rogers
Helen Hatch
Madge C. Blake
Almira Sessions
Maida Severn
Trude Severn
Elsie Baker
Crew
John A. Anderson
Herbert Baker
Roy C. Bennett
Buddy Coleman
Sam Comer
Claude Demetrius
Farciot Edouart
John P. Fulton
Charles Grenzbach
Hugo Grenzbach
Joseph H. Hazen
Edith Head
Hal Kanter
Charles Lang Jr.
Jerry Lieber
Bernie Lowe
Nellie Manley
Kal Mann
Eddie Morse
Ray Moyer
Richard Mueller
Paul Nathan
Charles Norton
Albert Nozaki
Charles O'curran
Col. Tom Parker
Hal Pereira
Jessie Mae Robinson
James Rosenberger
Walter Scharf
Aaron Schroeder
Howard Smith
Mike Stoller
Sid Tepper
The Jordanaires
Ben Weisman
Wally Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Elvis' parents Vernon & Gladys Presley were cast as audience members in the movie. After Gladys died, Elvis never watched Loving You again, saying it hurt too much to see his mother on screen.
In this movie, Jana Lund gave Elvis his very first screen kiss.
Notes
- The working titles of this film were The Lonesome Cowboy, Running Wild, Stranger in Town and Something for the Girls. Hollywood Reporter news items mistakenly list Walter Lang as the film's cinematographer, a position actually held by Charles Lang, Jr. According to the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the following songs were submitted for use in Loving You, but were not present in the viewed print: "We're Gonna Live It Up," words and music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; "Candy Kisses," words and music by George Morgan; "Fireworks," words and music by Aaron Schroeder and Ben Weisman; and "Detour," words and music by Paul Westmoreland.
This film marked Elvis Presley's second screen appearance and his first starring role. He made his film debut months earlier in M-G-M's Love Me Tender . Loving You was the first of ten films that Presley made for Paramount. According to modern sources, Presley signed a three-film, non-exclusive contract with producer Hal Wallis. Loving You also marked the feature film debut of actress Dolores Hart, who also co-starred with Presley in King Creole. After appearing in several additional films, Hart retired from the screen in 1963 and became a Benedictine Nun. Modern sources include Elvis's parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley, in the cast. Some biographers claim that, following his mother's death, Presley refused to watch Loving You again.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer August 1957
Elvis' second feature-film.
VistaVision
Released in United States Summer August 1957
