Elvis (1979/I) (TV)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer:

Anthony Lawrence (written by)

Release Date:

11 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

The King Lives On!

Plot:

Biographical movie about the famous rock singer Elvis Presley. |

Plot Keywords:

Elvis Presley | Mother Son Relationship | Price Of Fame | Recording | Concert

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Elvis Presley
Shelley Winters	...	Gladys Presley
Bing Russell	...	Vernon Presley
Robert Gray	...	Red West
Season Hubley	...	Priscilla Presley
Pat Hingle	...	Colonel Tom Parker
Melody Anderson	...	Bonnie
Ed Begley Jr.	...	D J Fontana
James Canning	...	Scotty Moore
Charles Cyphers	...	Sam Phillips
Peter Hobbs	...	Jim Denny
Les Lannom	...	Sonny West
Elliott Street	...	Bill Black
Randy Gray	...	Elvis as a boy
Will Jordan	...	Ed Sullivan
Joe Mantegna	...	Joe Esposito
Galen Thompson	...	Hank Snow
Ellen Travolta	...	Marion Keisker
Charlie Hodge	...	Himself
Christian Berrigan
Robert Christopher
Mark Denis
Mario Gallo
Del Hinkley
Theodore Lehmann		(as Ted Lehman)
Jack McCulloch
Larry Pennell
Ken Smolka
David Hunt Stafford
Dennis Stewart
Dick Young
Meg Wyllie	...	Grandma
Nora Boland	...	Teacher
Felicia Fenske	...	Lisa Marie
Larry Geller	...	Himself
Jim Greenleaf	...	2nd Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ronnie McDowell	...	Elvis Presley (singing voice)
William Angus Erwin	...	(uncredited)
Luther Fear	...	Chauffer (uncredited)
Helen Kelly	...	Elvis Fan (uncredited)
Jack Philpot	...	Piano player (uncredited)
Ed Ruffalo	...	(uncredited)
Jimmy Williams	...	Cpl. in Hofbrau (uncredited)
Abi Young	...	Natalie Wood (uncredited)

Directed by
John Carpenter

Writing credits
Anthony Lawrence		(written by)

Produced by
Tony Bishop	....	supervising producer
Dick Clark	....	executive producer
Anthony Lawrence	....	producer
James Ritz	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Joe Renzetti		(original score composed by)

Cinematography by
Donald M. Morgan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Christopher Holmes
Ron Moler

Casting by
Joyce Selznick

Art Direction by
Tracy Bousman
James William Newport		(as James Newport)

Set Decoration by
Bill Harp

Costume Design by
Suzanne Grace
Richard Mahoney

Makeup Department
Ruby Ford	....	hair stylist
Marvin G. Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Marvin Westmore)

Production Management
Francis La Maina	....	executive in charge of production (as Francis C. La Maina)
George Sweney	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Craig Beaudine	....	second assistant director
Larry J. Franco	....	first assistant director (as Larry Franco)
Glen Sanford	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Richard L. Cowitt	....	assistant property master (as Rick Cowitt)
Russell Goble	....	property master (as Russ Goble)
William Kemper Wright	....	leadman (as William Wright)

Sound Department
Phil Bishop	....	boom operator
Willie D. Burton	....	sound mixer (as Willie Burton)
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator (as Marvin Lewis)

Stunts
Aaron Norris	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Conley	....	best boy grip (as Tom Conley)
Robert Fiore	....	electrical best boy
Roger Gebhard	....	assistant camera
Jan Kiesser	....	camera operator
Richard A. Mention III	....	assistant camera (as Rick Mention)
Calvin Sterry	....	key grip (as Cal Sterry)
Bill Tenny	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Sharon Benson	....	extras casting coordinator
Edye Ramsey	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tony Faso	....	costume supervisor
Suzanne Grace	....	costumer: women
Richard Mahoney	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Robert Israel	....	assistant editor (as Robert D. Israel)
Rodger Parker	....	associate editor
Tom Walls	....	supervising editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor
Frank Capp	....	music coordinator
Felton Jarvis	....	music producer: Elvis vocals
Ronnie McDowell	....	vocals: 'Elvis'
James Ritz	....	music producer: Elvis vocals
Ted Roberts	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Linda Cipperley	....	transportation
Donald P. Desmond	....	transportation captain (as Don Desmond)

Other crew
David Bracci	....	production assistant
Dody Dorn	....	production assistant
Larry Geller	....	technical advisor
Dick Grob	....	additional consultant
Mick Haggerty	....	titles
Charlie Hodge	....	technical advisor
The Jordanaires	....	additional consultant (as The Jordinaires)
Cheri Palmer Kluba	....	assistant to producer
Lynn Kuwahara	....	location manager
Marty Lacker	....	additional consultant
Cliff Linedecker	....	technical advisor
Bobby Ogden	....	supervisor
Sam Phillips	....	additional consultant
Lauren Joy Sand	....	researcher (as Lauren Sand)
Billy Smith	....	additional consultant
Janet Lee Smith	....	production coordinator
Fran Sweney	....	auditor
C.D. Taylor	....	titles
Jim Van Wyck	....	production assistant (as Jimmy Van Wyck)
Kathy Westmoreland	....	additional consultant
Carol Westphall	....	script supervisor (as Carole Westphall)
Charlie Westphall	....	continuity
Becky Yancy	....	technical advisor
Linn Zuckerman	....	craft service

Production Companies

• Dick Clark Productions (producer) (as dick clark motion pictures, inc.)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Scotia (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Aspect Ratio  editorial services provided by
• Cinema Research  opticals by (as Cinema Research Corp.)
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  creative sound by
• Panavision  lenses and Panaflex® Camera by (as Panavision®)

Also Known As:

"Elvis the Movie" - USA (informal title)

Runtime:

150 min | UK:163 min (1988 video release) | West Germany:105 min (theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | UK:U | Netherlands:AL

Company:

Dick Clark Productions

Trivia:

The first time that John Carpenter and Kurt Russell worked together which would start both a great partnership and friendship between the two which would lead them to work together on Escape from New York (1981) and so on.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Elvis's first gold record presented in 1956 features the 1968 RCA logo.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Return to 'Escape from New York' (2003) (V)

The Ultimate Film Bio

Kurt Russell IS Elvis, plain and simple. His dedication to this role resulted in what I think, is the best movie bio ever. If you're an Elvis fan, see it if you can.

The made-for-television film was made two years after Elvis' death.

One piece of advice, there are two versions - one at 180 minutes and one at 117 minutes. The only one to watch is the longer one. The shorter one has more than one hour of footage edited out. It just does not work because the scenes in it are often dependent on the scenes that were cut.

This masterpiece takes you from Elvis childhood through his emergence as entertainment's greatest star. Shelley Winters and Bing Russell (Kurt's real dad) are excellent as Elvis' parents. And Pat Hingle delivers a very competent Col. Tom Parker.

Long live the King!