#flaming staar (1960)

[earthbaby-angelboy]

hello all you beautiful people!

a little unknown fact about me: i love reading! i mainly read reference material and nonfiction, but i don't mind the occasional fiction! i have plenty of friends on here who like reading (after all, you're on my page!) and who love elvis, so i figured i'd make a compendium of books that were adapted into elvis' movies.

it will be organized by the movie / the year it came out, and the story / its author. i'll also include a little description of each.

-love me tender (1956) & the story of the reno gang: this movie was not based on a story, but actual historical events! the reno gang were a group of brothers who went around the midwest robbing trains. clinton reno was a real person, the youngest of the five brothers (his nickname was "honest", as he never got involved with any criminal activity pertaining to his brothers.)

-loving you (1957) & a call from mitch miller by mary agnes thompson: the movie was based on a short story by mary agnes thompson that was featured in the june 1956 edition of good housekeeping.

-king creole (1958) & a stone for danny fisher by harold robbins: king creole was the first of el's movies to be based on an entire book! the role was originally meant for james dean, and was set in the backstreets of new york city.

-flaming star (1960) & flaming lance by clair huffaker: this was one of two movies where the original author was involved in creating the screenplay.

-wild in the country (1961) & the lost country by j.r. salamanca: although some creative liberties were taken (el's character went from an artist to a writer and hope lange's character became a psychiatrist rather than a teacher), it still followed the same plot as the original novel. it was also the first to feature elvis on a published paperback.

-follow that dream (1962) & pioneer, go home! by richard p. powell: the novel is based on a family from new jersey (WOOT WOOT), and although technically based on the book, the movie takes many creative liberties to the point of it being almost completely opposite the original source material.

-stay away, joe (1968) & stay away, joe by dan cushman: this is what el considered his first "serious" role. although involving some incredibly racist stereotypes, it is rooted in some truth about elvis' lineage: his great-great-great grandmother was a cherokee woman named morning white dove, and some attribute his high cheekbones and striking features to his distant native ancestry.

-live a little, love a little (1968) & kiss my firm but pliant lips by dan greenburg: the movie, like follow that dream, was so loosely based on the book that it was almost completely opposite the original source material.

-charro! (1969) & charro! by harry whittington: this is the only "officially endorsed" book based on an elvis movie.

-the trouble with girls (1969) & chautauqua by day keene: this is my absolute favorite movie of all time, and ironically, there is no information about the book's plot. based on what i've gathered from other sources, it follows an almost identical plot to the movie. unfortunately, the author died 9 months prior to the movie's release.

-change of habit (1969) & title-not-available by richard morris and john joseph: according to wikipedia, change of habit was based on a story written by richard morris and john joseph. i've scoured the internet under both of those names, and found nothing! oh well.

i hope you all had as much fun reading this as i did writing this, and be sure to shoot me a message if you read any of these!

(...or if you find a reasonably priced copy of chautauqua.)

-all my love, calla xx @kiankiwi @arianatheangel-girl @mooodyblue