Elvis attends Junco Studios on East Sixty-Ninth Street,New York on October 29th 1956 for a new ending to be shot for the movie 'Love Me Tender'.It was concluded that after preview screenings,a superimposed Elvis Presley over the dying Clint Reno singing the main title theme would be more acceptable.
Elvis is still wearing his shoes from the previous nights Ed Sullivian performance as the shot was only started from a loose mid-shot.
Life picture archive
Elvis with director Robert Webb and cameraman Leo Tover who had travelled from Hollywood to shoot this brief sequence.
Elvis seen on the same day,October 29th 1956.
Any more photos from this day would be most welcome
with thanks Davide
Last edited by davide on Sat Oct 10, 2009 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks for all the contributions ( unseen by me)
Apparently an alternative ending to "Love Me Tender" in which Elvis lives, was filmed but not used. The late James Drury who played one of the older Reno brothers - Ray Reno , remarked when asked about the scene being filmed with Clint Reno (Elvis) and living at the end of the movie " I believe that's true,but they did have him die in the end,and it would have really been a mistake not to have him die given the epiphany and catharsis at the end of the film.You know he got his just deserts."
This footage is archived at the University of North Texas digital library, and shows Elvis fans waiting in line outside the Worth Theatre in Fort Worth to see "Love Me Tender" during the Thanksgiving break in 1956.
WBAP-TV was the station doing the filming, which was on 11-22-1956 (Thu), not a week later.
Member Greystoke posted the find on FECC back in 2018, and I added some additional research.
Greystoke on Sun Sep 16, 2018 2:01 am wrote:
I came across this footage and audio on the University of North Texas digital library, showing throngs of eager Elvis fans waiting in line outside the Worth Theatre in Fort Worth to see Love Me Tender over Thanksgiving, 1956. This is a newsreel clip from WBAP-TV and do turn your audio up, as the final moments show footage shot inside the theatre with the audience screaming as they see Elvis on the big screen for the first time.
Also featured on the page is the script from the newsreel, which is headed, “Elvis Presley, actor”, and states that some 200 fans were waiting in line, the first, Marcia Murdock and her five friends, getting there at 4.45 a.m., five hours before the doors opened.
Love Me Tender, of course, was a tremendous success, with Elvis (and a huge marketing campaign) encouraging a built-in audience to cinemas, which would surely have been the case no matter what the film or role was. The result was one of the most anticipated and widely covered acting debuts of anyone before or since, resulting in major box office returns for one of 1956’s most successful films.
Elvis was obviously a rank amateur, although he was eager all the same, but less than a year after gaining national and international fame, the young singer from Memphis was now in Hollywood. Which was, of course, a natural transition in many ways, with singers having turned to acting since the success Al Jolson found in The Jazz Singer. And Elvis loved the movies. Wanted to be an actor. And must have been thrilled to see his name on marquees around the country. His fans certainly were.
Although the 1956 drama was Elvis' debut, I found his energy and earnestness pleasing. This was a dream coming true, and he worked his butt off to make a good impression on every single person involved at 20th Century Fox. Never again would we see this genuine sweetness on screen, save some moments from 1962's "Follow That Dream."
Thank you for the WBAP-TV clip and script. Just 7 years after this story, a whole different bit of history would be written in that city, and nearby.
The UNT website makes a dating mistake, though, in that Thanksgiving Day fell on 11-22-1956 (Thu), so that's when the footage was shot. I doubt the news station would have held the story for a full week, so we should assume it was broadcast that evening.
Here's the script, which is amusing to read almost 62 years later:
WBAP-TV (Fort Worth) script for "Elvis Presley, Actor" - Thursday, November 22, 1956
All those happy girls and boys are now about 75 years old, if still with us. How time flies.
. Dr. John Carpenter, M.D. Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!