When “Love Me Tender” premiered in 1956, screaming fans made it impossible to hear Elvis’s dialogue. But beneath the surface of this musical Western lies a treasure trove of little-known facts about the King’s first film role. Did you know Elvis wasn’t even first choice for the part? Established actors Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter turned it down before producers reworked the script specifically for the rising music star.
The film’s title track holds its own surprising backstory. Adapted from the Civil War ballad “Aura Lee,” the song became so popular that RCA Records received over a million orders before its release – unprecedented at the time. Elvis would perform it for decades to come, but few realize it nearly wasn’t in the movie at all. Original plans didn’t include musical numbers until Elvis’s manager insisted.
Watch closely and you’ll spot several amusing historical inaccuracies – from visible zippers (invented decades after the Civil War) to a 1950s car accidentally caught on camera. But the most touching detail involves Elvis’s mother Gladys. So upset by her son’s character dying in the original cut, she convinced producers to add a final musical sequence – resulting in that now-famous continuity error with Elvis’s suddenly darker hair.
