Apparently James Dean was first in the running for this role that, several years later, would be played by Elvis Presley. It was to have been a gritty urban drama based on the best selling 1952 novel by Harold Robbins ‘A Stone for Danny Fisher’. Following Dean’s death and the casting of Elvis, it was revamped in order that it better suit the musical talents of the new lead.
This was one of the Elvis Presley features we picked up from Grand National, the contract had consisted of the western ‘Last Train from Gun Hill’ and six Elvis Presley films : ‘G.I. Blues’, ‘Blue Hawaii’, ‘Paradise Hawaiian Style’, ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’, ‘Fun in Acapulco’ and ‘King Creole’, all originally released by Paramount Pictures and all produced by Hal Wallis Productions.
The contract was unusual for the time, as one of the clauses stated that all titles must be released without cuts or edits! This meant that King Creole running at 116 minutes had to be mounted on 7 x 400′ spools and cost around £60.00, a pretty penny at the time. It was the final film of the contract to receive a release (although ‘Fun in Acapulco’ was never released) and this may have been because of the cost.
Once more the label was designed and printed by Ellis print of Penkridge.
Label courtesy of Peter Brooke at ‘SPROCKETS
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