MovieChat Forums > Change of Habit (1970) Discussion > His Last Film

His Last Film

posted 18 years ago by ijonesiii
6 replies | jump to latest

Am I the only one who wishes Elvis' last film role would have been as John Norman Howard in the 1976 version of A STAR IS BORN? I just shudder at the thought of what a completely different movie that would have been with Elvis playing John Norman instead of Kris Kristofferson. Then again, with the size of Elvis and Barbra's egos, it's doubtful that the film ever would have been completed without the two of them killing each other...and with Barbra's beau, Jon Peters thrown in the mix, that set would have been constant fireworks. At least with Kristofferson, the film did get completed eventually.

[–] viy46 18 years ago

You know, I often wonder about that myself. I actually think that it might have turned Elvis' career in a new direction and given him a new outlet outside mindless movies and Vegas concerts. Yes, Barbara and Elvis would probably have disagreements, but the main source of trouble would most likely be Parker and Jon Peters. Barbabra was the one who offered the role to Elvis so I am sure she thought that there was a good chance of making it into a movie without killing the project.

[–] wtl471629 17 years ago

It would probably have been great for those two great stars to have been together. It is a shame Elvis didn't get to play Birdie in the movie Bye Bye Birdie with Ann Margaret and Dick Van Dyke.

[–] sean4554 16 years ago

The Streisand film was a mess. I think had Elvis done it, it may have helped slow his physical decline somewhat but no way would it have helped his career. Looking back it's difficult to discern what kind of film role would have been suitable for Elvis, at least in an artistic sense, and I believe that was always the problem, although Parker certainly didn't try to find out.

[–] theatredec_nt 15 years ago

Elvis should of definitly been in bye bye birdie

[–] sean4554 15 years ago

"Bye Bye Birdie", really.
That movie was a hit at the time, but what kind of enduring artistic relevance does it have today? And how much sense would it have made for Elvis to appear in a film parody of his own career? (Well, I guess in broad terms he did, but...)
I don't see how this "Birdie" film is any better than most of the musicals Elvis himself appeared in, but that's just my opinion I suppose.

[–] argia_oriana 13 years ago

From what I read in Guralnick's biography of Elvis, he never had much saying on what films he would make. It was all left to the money-hungry Col. Parker. He sought for cheap films where he could make an easy stash of cash. Parker would go berserk on directors if Elvis' face was not all over the place, he didn't want anyone in the movie "stealing" the attention from "his boy." A movie with Streisand, would have not been possible under those terms. Plus, after so many bad movies, studios didn't take Elvis seriously as an actor (which is a shame).

I wish I could go back in time, and somehow fix this.