Compare the films Elvis made before he went in the Army with those he made afterward. In "Love Me Tender," "Loving You," "Jailhouse Rock" and "King Creole," Elvis was a whole lot closer to =Elvis= as he'd been in the era of the "Louisianna Hayride," "Stage Show," "The Milton Berle Show," "Your Hit Parade" and "The Steve Allen Show."
The famous cell block dance skit may have been choreographed, but it's still closer to the Elvis of "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog" -- and thus, to the Elvis that "changed the world" in '56 -- than to anything he did in front of a camera until the "comeback special" in 1968.
I've heard a few people assert that Col. Tom went along with Elvis going in the Army to "clean him up" and "make him more controllable and palatable to the establishment." Anyone who's read James Dickerson's book on the relationship between The King and The Colonel may well agree.
But in whatever event, "Jailhouse Rock" provides compelling evidence that the Elvis of 1968-1975 or so was no "invention." That Elvis was the logical development of the Elvis of 1955-1958... the one you can look at with your own eyes right here.
The famous cell block dance skit may have been choreographed, but it's still closer to the Elvis of "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog" -- and thus, to the Elvis that "changed the world" in '56 -- than to anything he did in front of a camera until the "comeback special" in 1968.
I've heard a few people assert that Col. Tom went along with Elvis going in the Army to "clean him up" and "make him more controllable and palatable to the establishment." Anyone who's read James Dickerson's book on the relationship between The King and The Colonel may well agree.
But in whatever event, "Jailhouse Rock" provides compelling evidence that the Elvis of 1968-1975 or so was no "invention." That Elvis was the logical development of the Elvis of 1955-1958... the one you can look at with your own eyes right here.