Love Me Tender (1956)

Director:

Robert D. Webb

Writers:

Robert Buckner (screenplay)
Maurice Geraghty (story)

Release Date:

15 November 1956 (USA)

Genre:

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 his brother went to fight in the Civil War for the Confederate army...

Plot Keywords:

Army | Civil War | Soldier | Robbery | Train

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:
Robert Adler	...	Train Engineer (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns	...	Jethro (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Train Passenger (uncredited)
Steve Darrell	...	Train Conductor #2 (uncredited)
Joe Di Reda	...	Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Tom Greenway	...	Union Captain / Paymaster (uncredited)
Frank Griffin	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Dorothy Hack	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
L.Q. Jones	...	Pardee Fleming (uncredited)
Jay Jostyn	...	Maj. Harris (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Train Passenger (uncredited)
Edward Mundy	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Bob Rose	...	Station Agent (uncredited)
Dick Sargent	...	Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Jerry Sheldon	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
James Stone	...	Storekeeper (uncredited)
Jack Tornek	...	Union Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert D. Webb

Writing credits
Robert Buckner		(screenplay)
Maurice Geraghty		(story)

Produced by
David Weisbart	....	producer

Original Music by
Lionel Newman

Cinematography by
Leo Tover		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh S. Fowler

Art Direction by
Maurice Ransford
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Fay Babcock
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Mary Wills

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Helen Turpin	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stanley Hough	....	assistant director

Art Department
Don B. Greenwood	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alfred Bruzlin	....	sound
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Martha Crawford	....	stunt double: Debra Paget (uncredited)
John Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank J. Calabria	....	additional photographer: New York (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	executive wardrobe designer (as Charles LeMaire)
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Gregory Creaser	....	digital restoration colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Ken Darby	....	vocal supervisor
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator
Hugo Friedhofer	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Hank Garland	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)
Earle Hagen	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Leigh Harline	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Tom Parker	....	technical advisor (as Colonel Tom Parker)
Ben Wright	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1978) (Finland) (TV)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Centfox (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1957) (Austria) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (7 film set)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (7 film set)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (????) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bausch & Lomb  CinemaScope lenses

Also Known As:

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:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/12

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 Presley's character, which was originally supposed to be a minor role before he got the part.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Elvis takes his hands off his guitar during "We're Gonna Move", but the sound of the guitar can still be heard.

Quotes:

Vance Reno:Listen, Brett, we didn't steal this money. We took it in battle, fair and square. It's what they call "spoils of war", like capturing a horse or anything else. We didn't know the war was over, and neither did the Federals. So it's still prize money.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elvis by the Presleys (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

POOR BOY

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.