Love Me Tender (1956)

At the end of the Civil War, a Confederate team is ordered to rob a Union payroll train but the war ends leaving these men with their Union loot, until the Feds come looking for it.

Director:

Robert D. Webb

Writers:

Robert Buckner (screenplay), Maurice Geraghty (story)

Stars:

Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Elvis Presley

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

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. When his brother Vance comes back from the war, he finds that his old girlfriend Cathy has married Clint. The family has to struggle to reach stability with this issue. Vance is involved in a train robbery, while a Confederate soldier, of Federal Government money. There is a conflict of interest, when Vance tries to return the money, against the wishes of some of his fellow Confederates.

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Plot Keywords:

train | civil war | soldier | army | robbery | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Reno Brothers

Filming Locations:

Bell Moving Picture Ranch, Santa Susana Mountains, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,500,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 9.5 seconds

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Goofs

During the robbery of the payroll train, up the track in the direction of the train's travel, there are modern CTC block signals of the Southern Pacific Railroad which were installed in the 1930s (beyond the siding switch). Centralized Traffic Control for railroads did not exist in 1865, nor did the heavier rail on the right of way shown in the film (at least 100 pounds).

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Quotes

Martha Reno: Clint thinks the sun rises and sets in you.
Vance Reno: I know, Ma. That's just why I'm going.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: April 10, 1865

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Connections

Referenced in Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall: Episode #9.19 (1957)

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Soundtracks

We're Gonna Move
by Elvis Presley and Ken Darby (as Vera Matson)
Performed by Elvis Presley (uncredited)

User Reviews

A Solid Western Drama Brings Elvis to the Screen......

"Love Me Tender" was filmed as "The Reno Brothers" and was a solid western drama concerning a train robbery by Confederates before word got around that the war was over. At issue is the cash from a Union payroll. The film was well written and the acting was universally solid. This was Richard Egan's and Debra Paget's movie; with Elvis Presley in a supporting role as Egan's hot headed kid brother.

Therein lies the only fault with this picture. The lines of moviegoers stretched around Loew's huge and beautiful (3485 seat) Capitol Theater were wanting more of Elvis -- the nation's biggest star -- than the 4 songs in this movie. The assignment for Elvis was to play Egan's younger and immature kid brother, so (guess what?) Elvis comes across as young and immature. In 1956 he was faulted for bad acting, which was a bum rap.

Any Civil War movie benefits from being told from the Confederate side, as we were the good guys and the best fighters. With 2 to 1 odds in numbers, we took down 2 blue-bellies for every johnny-reb that fought. Sixty-five percent of the Civil War casualties were Union. But anyway "Love Me Tender" isn't so much a Civil War movie as a post Civil War movie. Just don't get me started about Yankees, that's all.