Watch Love Me Tender For Free

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.So how does The King of Rock and Roll fare here in his screen debut? There is some stiffness here, which isn't unexpected in anybody making his debut (though with Elvis it was something that was never completely shaken off) and his trademark moves during the songs while fun to see feel anachronistic in a Civil War Western film. However, generally 'Love Me Tender' contains one of his better performances, there is a real charm, easy-going charisma and also a genuine emotional honesty. He sings sublimely, his rendition of the iconic title song "Love Me Tender" (one of his most gorgeous songs) is beautifully sung. The other three songs are not quite as great but are still good, regardless of what can be said about how they're placed and how they fit.He is very well supported by the rest of the cast, the heart-wrenching Richard Egan stealing the film pretty much and Debra Paget is sympathetic and charming. Mildred Dunnock is always reliable and is here. The conflicts are interesting enough, and the tragic finale is genuinely moving.For a modest budget, 'Love Me Tender' looks good, the western setting while not majestic, evocative or sweeping is handsome and not cheap and the black and white is quite nice. The film is competently directed, and as said the music is good with one song being fantastic.Dialogue is not a strong suit though, being somewhat awkward-sounding, parts of it and the anachronisms causing unintentional humour. Nor is the start of the film, until Elvis appears 'Love Me Tender' is pretty dull and uneventful.Parts don't fit with the story or setting as well as ought, one never feels like the film is set in the 1860s instead feeling like a 1950s film set amidst a Civil War backdrop.Overall, a decent if not great film and one of Elvis' better films and performances. 7/10 Bethany Cox

It's a shame that the earliest films Presley did were the best. He went on to crank out a lot of tripe, excuses to sing songs, many poorly written and produced. In this one, he played the youngest brother of a group of Confederate soldiers who committed a robbery. When one brother gets back, he finds his girl married because news had got back that the soldier was dead. This leads to serious conflict in the family. I remember when we get our first closeup of Elvis behind a plow, the whole theater broke into screaming. I didn't hear half the movie because of the girls watching it. The thing is that it is a good story with lots of tension. Elvis gets to sing some cool songs that fit into the plot pretty well. He is known for his singing and so he's able ply his talents in logical ways. Nothing surreal like "Jailhouse Rock," which is a decent film as well.

"Vance, I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't mean it!" This was a pretty nice start at Elvis' career, spanning over 30 films. His first film performance was good, not great and not bad, just good. One problem was that he and Debra Paget, who played Cathy Reno, lacked chemistry. I actually found the rest of the actors in this films pretty boring and forgettable, but I think it was made that way so the focus would be on the rising star at that time, Elvis Presley. The ending was actually my favorite part of the movie, where Clint (Presley) has just been shot and he begs of forgiveness to his brother. It's pretty sad, really. Anyway, you should definitely watch this film, but don't expect a masterpiece of some sort.

Love Me Tender is a supremely stupid movie, but one that has a certain appeal for nostalgists and lovers of drive-in level plotting and acting (not to mention Elvis fanatics who want to see him before he became a Viva Las Vegas cliché).There's no point in talking about the story itself--who would ever have thought the Post Bellum South looked so much like the hills where the TV show MASH was shot--and there is a whole rebel-whooping crowd of professional actors (except the ridiculous Debra Paget) who have to run blocker for the 22-year-old boy with a great, great voice and charisma, so why should you watch Love Me Tender the next time it shows on AMC?Cuz it's Elvis, singing the title song, the prettiest single piece of music he ever performed.