Scott LeBrun Considered by some to be his best movie vehicle, the Elvis Presley feature "Jailhouse Rock" does indeed provide its star with an agreeable showcase. The King stars as Vince Everett, a hot tempered young man who accidentally kills a guy in a bar fight, and does time for manslaughter. There he makes the acquaintance of cellmate "Hunk" Houghton (Mickey Shaughnessy), who teaches him how to strum a guitar and carry a tune. Vince finds that he quite enjoys performing, and upon his release from prison embarks upon a singing career. Among those helping him are the bright and efficient - and very pretty - Peggy Van Alden (Judy Tyler).The King is compulsively watchable. A great actor he may not have been, but he had a powerful charisma, and he gives his character appeal. He's also convincing when the surly Vince starts to take his friends and associates for granted, and become all about financial gains to be made. The story (screenplay credited to Guy Trosper, based on a story by Nedrick Young) gets pretty serious without getting bogged down in melodrama, and naturally it gives The King a couple of opportunities to belt out a number. "Treat Me Nice" and the groovy title tune (one of this viewers' favorites by Elvis) are definite highlights.The supporting cast is somewhat variable, but Shaughnessy is good, as is Vaughn Taylor as money man Mr. Shores and Dean Jones as radio D.J. Teddy Talbot. Tyler is endearing as Peggy, but sadly, she never even got to see the film released as she and her husband died in a car accident just weeks after filming wrapped.This viewer next plans on watching "Flaming Star", also said to be another of Elvis' best vehicles.Seven out of 10.

gavin6942 After serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett (Elvis Presley) becomes a teenage rock star.I was never a big Elvis fan. I liked some of his songs, had not seen any of his movies, and never really understood the obsession some people had with him. While the "obsession" still confuses me, after seeing a few of his movies I can really begin to understand the appeal. This one in particular is quite good.Who knew Elvis was not just a lover but a fighter? He is cast as a kid with a short tempter and even kills a man in the first few minutes. I never expected to see that, especially after the silliness of things like "Blue Hawaii". This is not edgy filmmaking like that of Sam Fuller, but i guess I need to give Elvis more credit.

ehaight12 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 "(w)hen 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." (admin). 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 Jailhouse Rock. This musical is one that any lover of music should own-Elvis masterfully captures a sense of the exhilarating and the rebellious 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 creates a sense of wicked exhilaration and rebellion that appeal to both modern and contemporary audiences. The idea of rebellion frames every scene and is in every song. Elvis presents the idea that going against the status quo is desirable and that will never go away because he broke the taboo of how to act. In Jailhouse Rock, Elvis gets thrown into jail and through song and dance; the audience discovers that it is a party. He presents the idea that going against the law is fun and that being in jail is admirable and desirable. Also, that it is fun to be rebellious and that nobody should ever want to leave the Jailhouse Rock. "Shifty Henry said to Bugs, 'For Heaven's sake, no one's looking', now's our chance to make a break.' Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, 'Nix nix, I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks.' Let's rock, everybody, let's rock." The warden even tells the man that is sad about being in jail that he needs to cheer up and have a good time. The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square. If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair. Let's rock, everybody, let's rock." The man that is supposed to enforce the law is the man that is supporting the prisoners' unlawful behavior. His performance in the movie Jailhouse Rock 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. He is known for brainwashing young girls with his charming, soothing, passionate voice. Anyone listening to him perform can feel his passion he had for what he did whether they liked him or not. The entire presentation oozes with sex appeal. He creates a dark, rebellious life and packs it with everything desirable to the cookie cutter teens of the past and individualistic teens modernly. We can see some subtle-but-brash innuendo in the words in his song "Young and Beautiful" that Elvis repeats to his love interest "Your lips so red, your eyes that shine, shame the stars that glow, so fill these lonely arms of mine, and kiss me tenderly, then you'll be forever young, and beautiful to me" to viewers in the 60's, this would have been shocking, indeed. Such things are not talked about, certainly not sung about. And yet, there is something so irresistible about the promise implied by "your angel smile, your gentle touch, are all I'm dreaming of, oh take this heart I offer you and never set me free." Even today, a time we consider so much less repressed, one can't help but hear his invite to be his love and not melt. 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.Works Cited admin, . "rapbasement." Lil Wayne Passes Elvis in Most Hot 100 Hits. N.p., 30 September 2012. Web. 28 Apr 2013.

gullwing592003 It's generally regarded that "King Creole" is considered to be Elvis's best movie of all his films because of it's high production values & a very strong excellent cast & a great storyline. These first 4 pre-army films captured the significance & rebellion & threat of the rebel Elvis & what he represented & how he was seen by the youth & the establishment in the 1950's as a new Marlon Brando & James Dean."Jailhouse Rock" captures Elvis at his meanest & nastiest & most arrogant & conceited of his pre-army movies."King Creole's" Danny Fisher was tough & likable but "Jailhouse Rocks" Vince Everett is downright despicable. But it has low production values & a mediocre cast which weakens the film to a certain point. It was obviously a low budget B picture that could've been better if it had a bigger budget & better cast like his other 3 movies "Love Me Tender", "Loving You" & "King Creole".But it does make up for it with it's great songs & of course the exciting & spectacular "Jailhouse Rock" dance production sequence which was choreographed by Elvis himself & when he sings "Baby I Don't Care" is classic Elvis at his best."Jailhouse Rock" has a good story & Elvis does some good serious acting in this as well. His dramatic scenes are great & intense & this film packs a punch & it does impact you with different emotions from frustration, sympathy, anger, jealousy, resentment, revenge, happiness & humor to redemption. There is some classic Elvis lines like "Lady I don't know what the hell you're talking about" & "That ain't tactics honey it's just the beast in me". This movie came the closest to what Elvis was really like in real life & he was not the teddy bear everyone thought. Elvis really did get into a lot of fist fights by jealous boyfriends in 1956 & '57. In 1957 Elvis did stand in front of a judge in court for punching a gas station owner in the eye when the owner asked Elvis to clear out while he was signing autographs as he was drawing a huge crowd of fans. The judge threw the case out for not enough evidence to support the charge. Was it art imitating life or the other way around ?? Jailhouse Rock is an all time Elvis Presley classic !! A must see movie & one of Elvis's best !!