Jailhouse Rock (film)

Jailhouse Rock (film)

Jailhouse Rock is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, and Mickey Shaughnessy. Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and based on a story by Nedrick Young, the film is about a young man sentenced to prison for manslaughter who is mentored in music by his prison cellmate who realizes his musical abilities. After his release from jail, while looking for a job as a club singer, the young man meets a musical promoter who helps him launch his career. As he develops his musical abilities and becomes a star, his self-centered personality begins to affect his relationships.

The wife of producer Pandro S. Berman convinced him to create a film with Presley in the leading role. The film was originally not listed with the upcoming productions posted by MGM on Variety, because it was based on an original story by Ned Young, a blacklisted writer. Occupied with the production of The Brothers Karamazov, Berman decided to delegate the casting to Benny Thau, head of the studio and Abe Lastfogel, president of the William Morris Agency. He hired Richard Thorpe, who was known for shooting the productions in a short time, because he did not do retakes. The production of Jailhouse Rock began on May 13, 1957, and concluded on June 17 of that year. The dance sequence to the film's title song is often cited as "Presley's greatest moment on screen".

The songs that integrated the film's soundtrack were commissioned to Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, before pre-production. In April, Leiber and Stoller were called for a meeting in New York City to show the progress of the repertoire. The writers, who had not produced any material, toured the city. They were confronted in their hotel room by Jean Aberbach, director of Hill & Range music publishing, who locked them in their hotel room by blocking the door with a sofa, until they wrote the material. Presley recorded the soundtrack at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on April 30 and May 3, with an additional session at the MGM Soundstage on May 9. During post-production, the songs were dubbed into the film, to the recorded scenes, where Presley only mimed the lyrics.

Jailhouse Rock premiered on October 17, 1957 in Memphis and was released nationwide on November 8, 1957. It peaked at number 3 on the Variety box office chart, and reached number 14 in the year's box office totals, grossing $4 million. By 1969, the film's box office gross in the United States and Canada was similar to that of The Wizard of Oz. Jailhouse Rock earned mixed reviews, with most of the negative reception directed towards Presley's persona. In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.