Love Me Tender (1956)

Director:

Robert D. Webb

Writers:

Maurice Geraghty (story)
Robert Buckner (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance | Western

Tagline:

HEAR ELVIS SING . . . "Love Me Tender" "We're Gonna Move" "Poor Boy" "Let Me"

Plot:

Elvis plays Clint Reno, one of the Reno brothers who stayed home while he brother went to fight in the Civil War for the Confederate army...

Plot Keywords:

Debut | Elvis Presley | Elvis | Murder | Brother Brother Relationship

Cast

Richard Egan	...	Vance Reno
Debra Paget	...	Cathy Reno
Elvis Presley	...	Clint Reno
Robert Middleton	...	Mr. Siringo
William Campbell	...	Brett Reno
Neville Brand	...	Mike Gavin
Mildred Dunnock	...	Martha Reno
Bruce Bennett	...	Maj. Kincaid
James Drury	...	Ray Reno
Russ Conway	...	Ed Galt
Ken Clark	...	Mr. Kelso
Barry Coe	...	Mr. Davis
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Hack

Also Known As:

The Reno Brothers (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Extra scenes and lines were added for Elvis's character, which was originally supposed to be a minor role before he got the part.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene where Cathy Reno is at the window crying, a car can be seen in the background.

Quotes:

Cathy Reno: [Clint has just been shot after defending Vance... Cathy "Kit" Reno rushes to his side and takes him into her arms] Just lie still.
Clint Reno: [gasping for breath] Kit... where's Vance? I gotta talk to him.
Vance Reno: I'm here, Clint.
Clint Reno: [crying] Vance, I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't mean it...
Vance Reno: [softly] I know you didn't, Clint. You don't have to tell me. Everything's gonna be all right.
Clint Reno: [looks at Kit, then at Vance] Everything's gonna be all right
[last lines... gasps, then dies... Kit weeps]
Clint Reno: .

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Experience Preferred... But Not Essential (1982) (TV)

Soundtrack:

LET ME

Excellent Elvis!

I didn't expect this movie to rise above a campy Western with lots of Elvis thrown in, but I was WRONG! The story is SOLID: Confederate raiders rob Union payroll by overpowering and posing as the Yankee guard. Unbeknownst to them, the Civil War ended the day before and when they come to deliver the cash to a beleaguered Reb HQ, they find out the truth. They keep the cash (natch!), divided squarely, and head for their homes. What follows is alternately surprising, rousing, touching, and even heroic. The love angles and heartbreaks are true without being either overbearing or oversentimental; the chase scenes are mercifully-short; sub-text characters are given enough delineation to evoke interest and sympathy without burdening the main plot. No threads are left dangling, and suspension of disbelief is at a minimum, except (of course) Elvis' swaying hips in 1865 Dixie! The ending was purposedly refinish to accommodating insulted Elvis fans, but it doesn't matter, even if Elvis' hair is a different color than in the film.

Perhaps the least interesting part of the film (for me) was Elvis' singing, although his swiveling never fails to amaze.