SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES 035: JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957)

In a time when the family image needed to appear picture perfect, Elvis infused rebellion into his music and channeled it directly to the teenagers who, after struggling under the repressive thumb of a picture perfection they never wanted, were desperate to espouse and enact. What was it about this man that brought such a craze and drove teenagers away from what was expected of them? Bob Dylan himself said that "when I first heard Elvis' voice, I just knew nobody was going to be my boss." Indeed, in either a tribute or a prophecy, Dylan continued, "hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." 

Elvis was the start of something that was never seen before: fervent, vital, rebellious, energy. One of the first, of many to come, to reject the establishment and to attempt to create a new one based in joy and levity. Nowhere is this more evident than in his movie Jailhouse Rock which features his classic hit record of the same name. This musical is one that any lover of music should own. 

Elvis masterfully captures a sense of the exhilarating and the rebelious that leaves even the modern viewer with a sense of wicked joy, and although the music is so sinfully hypnotic as to suggest that it was created out of dark voodoo magic, two of the things actually responsible for engrossing listeners, both contemporary and modern, are first the novelty of his willful taboo breaking, and second, his choice to present a (paradoxically) flagrant, yet restrained display of sex appeal that artists have tried and failed to reproduce ever since. 

The movie is about a rebellious young man that gets thrown into jail. This concept of the jail house created a sense of wicked exhilaration and rebellion that appealed to the teenagers, hungry for anything with the Elvis trademark. The idea of rebellion frames every scene and is in every song. Elvis presents the idea that going against the status quo is desirable. In Jailhouse Rock, Elvis gets thrown into jail and through song and dance; the audience discovers that it is a party:

Shifty Henry said to Bugs, "For Heaven's sake

No one's lookin', now's the chance to make a break." 

Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, "Nix nix

I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks."

 

His performance in the movie also shocked viewers with his daring dance moves and lyrics. He dances and shakes his hips in such an undesirable fashion to the parents that all of the children, desperate for a way to break out of the norm, craved his music and performances. 

In 1957 most reviewers recognized Jailhouse Rock as a step up in Presley's Hollywood career. Unlike his two previous movies, this one was built entirely around Elvis. He makes his first appearance just 15 seconds after the opening credits and is front and center in nearly every scene throughout the movie. Judy Tyler, the female lead, isn't seen until 26 minutes in, and the other main actor, Mickey Shaughnesay as Hunk Houghton, is off camera for a half hour in the middle of the film. For the first time the success of a major motion picture was placed squarely on the shoulders of Elvis Presley. 

The implied fear that Jailhouse Rock would lead to more teenage riots appears to have been just another overestimation of Elvis' negative influence on young people. There's no doubt the film's main audience of adolescents warmed up to Elvis' "bad boy" character in Jailhouse Rock. This is no evidence, however, that the film resulted in a surge of teenage hooliganism in the final months of 1957. 

Jailhouse rock is also famous for possibly handing us the best line in Elvis' movie career. It occurs in the definitive scene in the film, apart from the Jailhouse Rock dance sequence, when Vince Everett forcibly kisses Peggy Van Alden and responds: 

"That ain't tactics, honey. That's just the beast in me." 

The film is covered with "little" innuendos here and there, even oozing out of songs like Jailhouse Rock. It's one of the last numbers in the show and one verse contains the following lyrics: 

Number forty-seven said to number three, 

You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see; 

I sure would be delighted with your company, 

Come on and do the jailhouse rock with me. 

Even though songwriters didn't generally dwell on such subjects back in 1957, these lyrics may refer to homosexual acts practiced within the walls of American penitentiaries. You don't say!

There's innocence and an evocative brashness in what Elvis does/says. He can be sexier with his PG winks and dances and hints than anyone today can with their blatant displays. In fact, it's the subtlety that makes it sexier than any crude content that is modernly presented. Elvis's performance in Jailhouse Rock is timeless. He will always be the king of rock and roll that was sinfully hypnotic through his willful novelty of taboo breaking and have undeniable sex appeal that has yet to be reproduced.  

But before we get to the main feature, let's enjoy... 

The Pre-show: 

In our "Film Extras" folder we have 6 interesting docs (three on Elvis and three on Judy) which will enable us to understand their legacies to a fuller extent. And we continue with our 60s-70s comedy sitcoms plus our cartoon delight and last but not least the last chapters remaining of The Batman (boy were we innocent back then - The Bat guy wasn't much of a "sport enthusiast"!). 

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The Main Feature: 

Title: Jailhouse Rock 

Director: Richard Thorpe 

Cast: Elvis Presley / Judy Tyler / Mickey Shaughnessy / Vaughn Taylor / Jennifer Holden 

Release Date: November 8, 1957 

Country: United States 

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On Your Way Out: 

As our motto goes: "Grab 'em, Use 'em, Enjoy 'em". You all know by now this section is here to hopefully, enhance your experience of viewing today's flick. The pictures, the reading material plus the listening extras, all have one common goal: pleasure through learning! 

Cheers Shade. 

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