The debut screen of Presley’s marked the tender love me. Fox Show Sullivan decided to retitled “Tender Me Love” after Presley sang the ballad on the Ed Sullivan Show. Prior to the opening of the film, it was decided to release the song as a single, as RCA-Victor was impressed with Presley’s rendition of that song. However, four songs were worked into the script by the RCA-Victor team, as they were so impressed with Presley’s rendition of that song. Once internationally popular as the idol of rock and roll, Elvis Presley was cast as the younger brother. According to the publicity notes from Twentieth Century Fox, the film was initially conceived as a post-Civil War story without songs. According to the publicity notes from Twentieth Century Fox, the production files at the AMPAS Library contained notes on this film. The working title of this film was “The Reno Brothers.”
The film has not been confirmed to have released yet, but according to a Hollywood Reporter news article from September 1952 and another one from November 1956, Tom McDonough and John Epper made their appearance in it. Originally, Robert L. Jacks, the producer, intended to make the picture, as stated in a Hollywood Reporter news article. It is notable that just two weeks after its national release, the film had already recouped its cost, indicating its popularity. Despite this, the majority of film reviewers were critical of Presley’s acting abilities, although most reviewers praised Presley’s performance in the film.
Film Details
Also referred to as.
The Reno Siblings.
Genre..
Release Date..
Nov 1956.
Premiere Information..
New York debut: November 15th, 1956.
Production Company..
Is a renowned film production company in Hollywood. Output: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation is a well-known film production company in Hollywood.
Distribution Company..
Is a renowned film production company in Hollywood. Output: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation is a well-known film production company in Hollywood.
Country..
United States.
Technical Specs
Duration..
1h 29m.
Sound..
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color..
Monochrome.
Theatrical Aspect Proportion.
2.35 to 1.
Film Length..
8,051ft (10 spools).
Quotes
Trivia
The title was modified to “The Reno Brothers” in order to promote the title track performed by Elvis.
Among all of the movies featuring Elvis Presley, this is the only one where he did not receive top billing, following ‘Egan, Richard’ and Debra Paget, he was listed as the third lead.
By the time of the subsequent shooting, Elvis had changed the color of his hair to black while in the film his hair color was more similar to blonde. This fresh footage resulted in a continuity mistake as Elvis had filmed the scene of him singing “Love Me Tender” at the conclusion after test audiences responded negatively to his character’s destiny.
According to the casting crew, Elvis’ real-life backing musicians Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D.J. Fontana were unable to play the roles of the band in the movie as they didn’t resemble country musicians.
Elvis Presley, who was under contract with Hal Wallis, loaned it to Fox. Before Presley’s role, Fox offered contracts to actors ‘Robert Wagner’ and ‘Jeffrey Hunter’.
For the sake of receiving royalties, Presley is credited as the co-writer of four songs in the film, but it had nothing to do with them actually writing anything.
Director
Videos
Articles
Starmaker, proposed, Wallis was aware of how to create and nurture a film celebrity. Being the title of his life story, he understood that the vocalist could convey that charm to the large screen. He acknowledged Elvis’s allure as a entertainer, and he couldn’t help but observe the impact Elvis had on the studio audience. Wallis discovered this newsworthy vocalist with the peculiar name “thrilling,” as stated in his life story. Veteran Hollywood producer Hal Wallis coincidentally encountered Elvis Presley performing on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s TV variety series Stage Show in April 1956.
This strategy guaranteed a long-term path to stardom, as an independent producer, Wallis signed contracts with several prominent entertainers, including the unique newcomer, Elvis and Charlton Heston, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis as part of his ability to match material that would showcase their talents. In 1944, he formed his own production company, later releasing films through Universal and Paramount. During the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s, the star system was the primary means of marketing and promoting movies, and Wallis had been under contract with Warner Bros., Producing some of the studio’s films including Casablanca (1942), Sergeant York (1941), Kings Row (1942), and Now Voyager (1942).
In a series of tragic mistakes and bad decisions, tension over the marriage results in the haunting of the train robbery involvement of the brothers, while a jealous Clint passes judgment. When he learns that his little brother has taken his place at the altar, he decides to leave for California. The brothers, with Vance, decide to rob a Yankee train to discover the truth about the war. The film opens with the battle in which Vance has been killed. After receiving word from his family, Vance decides to marry his sweetheart, Cathy, and return home with his share of the money.
During the production of many films, Elvis went on to make over 30 feature films, attracting many of them to become interested in him. Although primarily because his mother had bigger plans for his daughter, she didn’t return his romantic feelings. However, Elvis got along well with Paget on set and became attracted to her. Elvis tried his best to win her affections and developed a crush on the young starlet. Richard Star, an established actor, mentored Elvis, who was a novice actor working hard to create a credible character. Pairing him with established actors helped Elvis learn the ropes of acting and masked his inexperience onscreen.
In many ways, Elvis’s first film, “Love Me Tender” (1956), was an anomaly in his career because it was not a vehicle tailored to his image and talents. Instead, it was a supporting role in a period picture where he played the character Clint Reno. Other young actors, including Robert Wagner, had been considered for the role of Clint, but it was ultimately given to Elvis. Surprisingly, the songs, which were mostly rockabilly renditions of period-style songs, actually detracted from the narrative and disrupted the drama of the story. Despite this, concessions were made to enhance Elvis’s appeal to his fans, including his participation in four songs, one of which was an Elvis-style hip-shaking rendition. These concessions were not typical characteristics of future Presley movies, and the film did not end up being a vehicle for his career. In fact, it was the only time in his career that he died in a film.
The Reno Brothers to Love Me Tender. The single sold one million copies in advance, reaching the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart after Elvis performed the romantic song on The Ed Sullivan Show in the autumn of 1956. The romantic song was released with slightly altered lyrics as a standalone record. Songwriter Ken Darby modified the Civil War song “Aura Lee” into “Love Me Tender,” incorporating new lyrics while keeping the original melody. Among the four songs included in the movie, the romantic ballad “Love Me Tender” was most appropriate for the plot.
Singing his most recent hit, Elvis Presley can be observed in a eerie close-up singing “Love Me Tender” overlaid on a shot of his family slowly walking away from his grave in the concluding moments. In a compromise ending, Elvis’s ghostly close-up singing “Love Me Tender” is superimposed on a shot of his family walking away from his grave. This version was not accepted, however, the studio filmed an alternative ending where Clint is spared in order to counteract a negative public response. Elvis’s supporters were upset by reports that their idol was going to be eliminated in his first movie. As their faces are filled with pain and sorrow over Clint’s loss, the scene fades to black. The final scene supposedly showcases Mother Reno (Mildred Dunnock) solemnly ringing the dinner bell while her three sons toil in the fields. Fan magazines spread the rumor that Elvis’s character was scheduled to perish during the film’s climax while it was being produced.
The face hanging there is just a limp, white drop-seat with a little mouth, like Lord Byron in the museum wax. Is it a corpse? Is it a goldfish from Walt Disney? It has the same sort of beautiful, big, soft eyes and long, curly lashes. Is it looking damp and smooth? Is it a sausage? Some reviews made little sense as comments, skewering Elvis Presley’s Pelvis with the intent to be hateful. However, the performance reviews of the talented cast were uneven, with ragged edges. Elvis’s film performance may have been a bit raw, but those who seemed to be waiting for it to fail generated loathing among the movie reviewers. It also created excitement among fans and magazines sold, including Paramount Theater in New York, which included a 40-foot likeness of Elvis atop a 40-foot Reno sign for pre-release promotion. The press mainstream had criticized and scrutinized Elvis Presley’s first foray into movie stardom, as well as his professional accomplishments and personal deeds.
According to Hollywood Reporter, executives at the studio were upset over the reviews, so they cried all the way to the bank when Tender Me Love recouped its production costs within two weeks of its national release.
Producer: David Weisbart.
Director: Robert D. Webb.
Screenplay: Robert Buckner, adapted from a tale by Maurice Geraghty.
Film-making: Leo Tover.
Editor: Hugh S. Fowler.
Art Directors: Lyle R. Wheeler and Maurice Ransford.
Costume Design: Charles LeMaire alongside Mary Wills.
Music: Lionel Newman.
Vocal Oversight: Ken Darby.
Technical Consultant: Colonel Tom Parker.
Vance Reno, portrayed by Richard Egan, Cathy Reno, played by Debra Paget, Clint Reno, embodied by Elvis Presley, Mr. Siringo, portrayed by Robert Middleton, Brett Reno, played by William Campbell, Mike Gavin, portrayed by Neville Brand, Martha Reno, played by Mildred Dunnock, Ray Reno, embodied by James Drury, Major Kincaid, portrayed by Bruce Bennett, and Pardee Fleming, played by L.Q. Jones, were all cast in the film.
BW-89m.
Written by Susan Doll.
Love Me Tender
Veteran Hollywood producer Hal Wallis stumbled across Elvis Presley performing on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s television variety series Stage Show in April 1956. Wallis found this headline-making singer with the odd name “electrifying,” according to his autobiography, and he couldn’t help but notice the effect Elvis had on the studio audience. He recognized Elvis’s charisma as a performer, and he knew the singer could transfer that appeal to the big screen. As the title of his autobiography, Starmaker, suggested, Wallis knew how to establish and cultivate a movie star. Wallis had been under contract to Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s, when the star system was the primary means of promoting and marketing movies. Wallis produced some of the studio’s best films, including Casablanca (1942), Sergeant York (1941), King’s Row (1942), and Now, Voyager (1942). In 1944, he formed his own production company, releasing his films through Paramount and later Universal. As an independent producer, he signed several prominent entertainers to personal contracts, including the team of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine, Charlton Heston, and Elvis. His talents as a producer included his ability to match a performer to material that would showcase the newcomer’s unique qualities. To Wallis, this strategy was a guaranteed path to long-term stardom. After Wallis signed Elvis to a contract, he realized he needed time to develop the right material for America’s newest sensation–material that would serve as a vehicle tailored to Presley’s image and talents. In the meantime, he loaned Elvis to Twentieth Century Fox to costar in a Civil War western originally titled The Reno Brothers. Anxious to become an actor, Elvis eagerly accepted the role of young Clint Reno, giving him secondary billing for the only time in his acting career. More melodrama than western, the story revolves around a love triangle between Clint, older brother Vance (Richard Egan), and Cathy (Debra Paget).While his three older brothers went off to fight the war, Clint stayed home to take care of their widowed mother and to work the Reno homestead. He married Cathy, Vance’s sweetheart, after the family received word that Vance had been killed in battle. The film opens with Vance, Brett, and Ray Reno robbing a Yankee train with their fellow Confederates only to discover that the war is over. The brothers return home with their share of the money. Vance plans to marry Cathy, but when he learns that his little brother has taken his place at the altar, he decides to leave for California. The brothers’ involvement in the train robbery comes back to haunt them, while tension over the marriage results in a series of bad decisions and tragic mistakes in judgment by a jealous Clint.During the production of many films, Elvis went on to make over 30 feature films, attracting many of them to become interested in him. Although primarily because his mother had bigger plans for his daughter, she didn’t return his romantic feelings. However, Elvis got along well with Paget on set and became attracted to her. Elvis tried his best to win her affections and developed a crush on the young starlet. Richard Star, an established actor, mentored Elvis, who was a novice actor working hard to create a credible character. Pairing him with established actors helped Elvis learn the ropes of acting and masked his inexperience onscreen. In many ways, Elvis’s first film is an anomaly in his career, because it was not a vehicle tailored to his talents and image. Other young actors had been considered for the role of Clint Reno, including Robert Wagner. Not only was Love Me Tender (1956) not a Presley vehicle, but the singer was cast in a supporting role, the film was a period picture, and his character died at the end. These characteristics would not be typical for future Presley movies. Still, concessions were made because of Elvis’s participation, including the addition of four songs to appeal to his fans and to exploit his appearance. Not surprisingly, Elvis’s rockabilly singing style was at odds with the period in which the story is set, and most of the songs actually detract from the drama. When Clint cuts loose on the front porch of the Renos’ 19th-century farmhouse with a hip-shaking rendition of “We’re Gonna Move,” it disrupts the narrative instead of enhancing it. Of the four songs added to the film, the ballad “Love Me Tender” was best suited to the storyline. Songwriter Ken Darby reworked the Civil War song “Aura Lee” as “Love Me Tender,” adding new lyrics but retaining the melody. The ballad was released with slightly different lyrics as a single record. After Elvis sang the ballad on The Ed Sullivan Show in the fall of 1956, the single sold a million copies in advance, reaching the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart. Its success prompted the studio to change the title of the movie from The Reno Brothers to Love Me Tender.Singing his most recent hit, Elvis Presley can be observed in a eerie close-up singing “Love Me Tender” overlaid on a shot of his family slowly walking away from his grave in the concluding moments. In a compromise ending, Elvis’s ghostly close-up singing “Love Me Tender” is superimposed on a shot of his family walking away from his grave. This version was not accepted, however, the studio filmed an alternative ending where Clint is spared in order to counteract a negative public response. Elvis’s supporters were upset by reports that their idol was going to be eliminated in his first movie. As their faces are filled with pain and sorrow over Clint’s loss, the scene fades to black. The final scene supposedly showcases Mother Reno (Mildred Dunnock) solemnly ringing the dinner bell while her three sons toil in the fields. Fan magazines spread the rumor that Elvis’s character was scheduled to perish during the film’s climax while it was being produced. The mainstream press had scrutinized and criticized Presley’s personal deeds and professional accomplishments for most of 1956, and his first foray into movie stardom proved to be no different. The pre-release promotion, which included publicity over a 40-foot likeness of Elvis as Clint Reno erected atop New York’s Paramount Theater, sold magazines and created excitement among fans. It also generated loathing among movie reviewers, who seemed to be lying in wait for the film. Elvis’s performance may have been a bit raw and uneven, but the talented cast cushioned the ragged edges. However, reviews of his performance were downright hateful. Some were so intent on skewering Elvis the Pelvis that their comments made little sense as film reviews. The critic for Time magazine offered one of the most ridiculous movie reviews on record: “Is it a sausage? It is certainly smooth and damp looking. . .Is it a Walt Disney goldfish? It has the same sort of big, soft beautiful eyes and long, curly lashes. . .Is it a corpse? The face just hangs there limp and white with its little drop-seat mouth, rather like Lord Byron in the wax museum.” If studio executives were upset over the reviews, then they cried all the way to the bank. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Love Me Tender recouped its production costs within two weeks of its national release, setting a record.Producer: David Weisbart. Director: Robert D. Webb. Screenplay: Robert Buckner, adapted from a tale by Maurice Geraghty. Film-making: Leo Tover. Editor: Hugh S. Fowler. Art Directors: Lyle R. Wheeler and Maurice Ransford. Costume Design: Charles LeMaire alongside Mary Wills. Music: Lionel Newman. Vocal Oversight: Ken Darby. Technical Consultant: Colonel Tom Parker. Vance Reno, portrayed by Richard Egan, Cathy Reno, played by Debra Paget, Clint Reno, embodied by Elvis Presley, Mr. Siringo, portrayed by Robert Middleton, Brett Reno, played by William Campbell, Mike Gavin, portrayed by Neville Brand, Martha Reno, played by Mildred Dunnock, Ray Reno, embodied by James Drury, Major Kincaid, portrayed by Bruce Bennett, and Pardee Fleming, played by L.Q. Jones, were all cast in the film. BW-89m.Written by Susan Doll.
Film Details
Also referred to as.
The Reno Siblings.
Genre..
Release Date..
Nov 1956.
Premiere Information..
New York debut: November 15th, 1956.
Production Company..
Is a renowned film production company in Hollywood. Output: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation is a well-known film production company in Hollywood.
Distribution Company..
Is a renowned film production company in Hollywood. Output: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation is a well-known film production company in Hollywood.
Country..
United States.
Technical Specs
Duration..
1h 29m.
Sound..
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color..
Monochrome.
Theatrical Aspect Proportion.
2.35 to 1.
Film Length..
8,051ft (10 spools).
Synopsis
Brett and Ray, Vance, Cathy, and Martha grieve at Clint’s gravesite. Clint perishes in Cathy’s embrace after being shot by Clint. Clint charges at Gavin and the others, shooting his gun, but is gunned down by Gavin. Siringo and his men arrive just as Clint breathes his last breath. Vance attempts to reason with Clint at the cave, but Clint shoots him. Gavin convinces Clint that Cathy is riding to meet Vance, so Clint throws her to the ground in a fit of envy. Ray and Brett discover Cathy in the cave and escort her to Clint, but he refuses to believe her explanation. Cathy insists on being taken to Clint when she hears that he believes she has betrayed him. Ray and Brett head for the cave, recalling their old hiding spot, and find Cathy there. Vance conceals Cathy in a cave and goes to the mill to negotiate with Siringo. Clint meets with Siringo and then rejoins Gavin and the others. Vance rides back to the farm to retrieve the brothers’ portion of the money. Jethro informs Cathy that Vance is hiding in his cabin, so she rushes to warn him. Vance asks Jethro to retrieve the money from the barn while soldiers watch the farm. Vance digs in the barn and Cathy locates him. Clint is incited to violence by Gavin when he informs him that Cathy and Vance have eloped. Clint and his brothers, along with Gavin and his gang, pursue Vance and Cathy. Clint throws Cathy to the ground, refusing to believe her explanation. Ray and Brett escort Cathy home after Clint insists they do so. Vance hides Cathy in a cave and goes to the mill to negotiate with Siringo. Clint meets with Siringo and then reunites with Gavin and the others. Vance informs Gavin and the others about Siringo’s proposal, but they refuse to relinquish their portion of the money. Vance draws his gun and demands the money back. Siringo and the marshal are convinced that the brothers were unaware of the escape plan. The major orders them to be shot on sight, but Siringo and the marshal believe they are innocent. Gavin and his gang board the train and liberate the brothers at gunpoint. Siringo presents the twenty dollar bill Vance paid the shopkeeper as proof. Vance confesses that he only possesses the brothers’ share, but Siringo insists they must return all the money. Clint joins Gavin and the others in an attempt to free the brothers. The marshal apprehends them and transports them to Tyler to face trial. Vance informs his mother that he is departing for California due to his love for Cathy. Cathy implores Vance to forget the past and accept her marriage to Clint. The brothers decide to bury the money in the barn. One week elapses, and Vance tries to reassure Clint that he never loved Cathy. The brothers are welcomed by their mother, Cathy, and Clint at the farm. Vance learns that Cathy wedded Clint, assuming Vance had perished in the war. Jethro informs Vance that everyone believed he died in the war. Vance stops at a general store to purchase a wedding suit and a gift for Cathy. Vance, Ray, and Brett journey home to their family farm in Texas. Vance and his brothers ride to deliver the money to Gen. Randall but discover that Gen. Lee has surrendered. They decide to divide the cash among themselves. Unaware that the Confederacy has disbanded, the rebels led by Vance Reno attack and seize the Union soldiers’ uniforms. The Union soldiers await the arrival of the payroll train when news arrives that the war has concluded.
Crew
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in the United States in November 1956 during the fall season.
The first film appearance of Elvis Presley.
CinemaScope.
Released in the United States in November 1956 during the fall season.