If Elvis was a
revolutionary, then he was an accidental one, a talent who
arrived on the scene at the right place at the right times.
With all the sex appeal and all the sexy moves Elvis became
the sex icon of the 20th century. And though his music
symbolized the coming together of black and white cultures
into the mainstream in a way that had never happened before,
that seemed to hold little interest for him. What Elvis
Aaron Presley really wanted from the start was to go to
Hollywood. Elvis wanted to become a movie star like his
heroes, James Dean & Marlon Brando. And just like them to be the
rebel up on the screen.
It was almost as if the music that shook the world was incidental,
Brando and Dean were his role models.
When he finally got to Hollywood and met director of Rebel Without A
Cause, Nicholas Ray, Elvis got down on his knee and started reciting
whole pages from the script. Obviously Elvis had seen Rebel at least a dozen times and
memorized every line that Dean spoke. Even went out and bought
himself a black Harley Davidson just like his hero. However, Elvis was never given the chance to rival Brando and Dean as a
movie actor, but he did learn from them one critical lesson: never
smile. Elvis was convinced that that serious, sultry and sexy look was
the key to their success. Now even Robert Mitchum (another favorite
actors of Elvis) used that down cast appearance at times. He was sure he could manage the same kind of sultry and sexy persona
of his Hollywood movie stars. As a teenager, in the privacy of his
bedroom Elvis spent hours in front of the mirror working on the look and
used it to maximum effect own screen and stage appearance.
The perfect example of this can be seen in the movie Jailhouse
Rock when Elvis impulsively grabs his new manager (Judy Tyler)
and kisses her. When she objects he claims "It's just the beast in
me... " A sexually charged moment in the movie as he walks away
with a sneer. If you care to notice, all professional photo shoots of
the 50's rarely show Elvis with a smile on his face.
Elvis Sexy Pose |
Never Smile like his
Heroes |
James Dean Harley Davidson |
Marlon Brando Harley Davidson |
April
1, 1956 Elvis made his first screen test, performing a scene from The
Rainmaker. Ironically, April Fool's Day could now be seen as a
prelude to his whole movie career. However,
the difference between Dean, Brando, and Elvis was that although a
sinner on-stage, he was a saint off-stage. Whereas, Dean and Brando
remained sullen, self-obsessed and at times completely
anti-social. It was not until Hollywood tamed the rebel and sterilized the beast in
Elvis that we are subjected to the well-rehearsed smile. A smile we the
audience soon realised was there out of character and false. So we stop
going to watch it. Hollywood
re-created Elvis into the all American movie star! Much to the
determent of Elvis the actor. The
smile and sideburns were revisited in the 70's. This time Elvis fans
welcomed the perfect but sincere smile between throwing kisses and
scarves, followed by the now famous phrase: thankyouverymuch
A
survey conducted by Muller has revealed that classic American stars like
Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are sexier than today's Hollywood
icons. Elvis was voted sexier than Brad Pitt. According to the poll
asked 1,000 Britons which American stars they would most like to spend
the night with. Fifties screen legend Marilyn Monroe came top of the
list of women, followed by actress Doris Day while Angelina Jolie came
third. Elvis came top of the men's list, followed by John Wayne &
Frank Sinatra. Tom Cruise and Brad
Pitt came eight and tenth. "It's clearly evident from the poll
that the British public hankers after the sophistication & glamour
of American classics, which outshine the glitz of modern day
Hollywood." Muller brand manager Angela Paine was quoted as saying.
|
Top
10 women (voted for by men)
-
Marilyn
Monroe
-
Doris
Day
-
Angelina
Jolie
-
Madonna
-
Halle
Berry
-
Jennifer
Lopez
-
Renee
Zellweger
-
Cameron
Diaz
-
Natalie
Portman
-
Gwyneth
Paltrow
|
Top
10 men (voted for by women)
-
Elvis
Presley
-
John
Wayne
-
Frank
Sinatra
-
James
Dean
-
Humphrey
Bogart
-
Robert
DeNiro
-
Clarke
Gable
-
Tom
Cruise
-
Kirk
Douglas
-
Brad
Pitt
|
|
