Top 5 films starring Elvis Presley – and number 1 Isn’t Viva Las Vegas

It’s easy to think of Elvis Presley as simply The King of rock ’n’ roll, an icon with a catalog of hits and an enchanting aura. But Elvis also had a prolific film career, starring in 31 feature films between 1956 and 1969.

Though many of these followed a predictable formula – boy meets girl, sings a few songs, happy ending – some of his performances broke the mold.

Variety Magazine took on the task of ranking the 10 best Elvis Presley films, and here we take a look at the five best – from Western experiments to pop musicals and gritty dramas:

5. Flaming Star (1960)

In Flaming Star, Elvis Presley plays Pacer Burton, a man born to a white settler father and a Kiowa mother, torn between two worlds when tensions between settlers and Native tribes erupt into violence. This was Presley’s second dramatic role, and arguably his most ambitious attempt at serious acting.

Director Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) made a concerted effort to strip away the usual musical formula. He limited the film to just two songs – one in the opening credits and another used more like a folk ballad – and pushed Elvis to tap into emotional depth rarely seen in his previous roles.

According to the 1974 critical biography Don Siegel: Director by Stuart M. Kaminsky, the role of Pacer was originally intended for Marlon Brando. Siegel recalled: “Presley was very good in the picture. However, I think one of the reasons the picture did not get the recognition I feel it deserves… is that the public was unable to get beyond the fact that Elvis Presley was in it.”

Despite underwhelming box office returns, Flaming Star earned Elvis some of the best reviews of his acting career and was notable for tackling complex racial issues – another rarity in Elvis’ filmography.

4. Blue Hawaii (1961)

Released at the height of Elvis’ success, Blue Hawaii solidified the formula that would come to define an “Elvis movie.” Here, he stars as Chad Gates, a recently discharged Army veteran who returns to his family’s Hawaiian estate but chooses to leave his family’s pineapple business behind in favour of a carefree life as a tour guide.

Filmed on location in Oahu, the film provided a vibrant Technicolor postcard of the Aloha State just two years after Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state. The musical included 14 songs, most famously ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, which went on to become one of Elvis’ signature ballads and has since been covered by artists across every genre.

While the plot is light, Blue Hawaii became a massive commercial success, becoming the 10th highest-grossing film of 1961 in the U.S. and launching a wave of travel-themed Elvis films. Despite criticism of its simple narrative, the film’s infectious energy and perfect visuals made it a good representation of the early ’60s.

3. Jailhouse Rock (1957)

The bronze medal goes to one of Elvis’ earliest and most iconic projects. Jailhouse Rock follows construction worker Vince Everett, who is imprisoned for accidental manslaughter, learns to sing from his cellmate, and emerges from prison to become a selfish pop star. The film mirrors Elvis’ life as a pop teen idol but with the addition of an antihero persona.

The title track’s performance is considered one of the greatest musical sequences in cinema history. Choreographed by Alex Romero and filmed in just one day, the ‘Jailhouse Rock’ number features Presley dancing solo with backup dancers on a minimalist prison set.

Beyond its pop spectacle, Jailhouse Rock shows Elvis embracing a darker, more complex character. It also marked a cultural shift, portraying rock ‘n’ roll as rebellious and even dangerous. Despite some censorship concerns at the time, the film was a box office hit and ranked #497 in Empire Magazine’s 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.

Fun fact: The film’s soundtrack was the first in Elvis’ career to be released before the movie itself – and it became an instant hit.

2. Viva Las Vegas (1964)

This one is the Elvis movie that everyone knows, even those who haven’t seen it. Viva Las Vegas features Presley as Lucky Jackson, a race car driver trying to raise money for a new engine while romancing swimming instructor Rusty Martin, played by Ann-Margret.

Elvis and Ann-Margret’s chemistry was explosive both on and off-screen, making Viva Las Vegas a standout among his films. Director George Sidney, best known for Anchors Aweigh and Bye Bye Birdie, capitalized on their dynamic, adding extra scenes for Ann-Margret and giving the movie an electrifying energy.

One of the film’s most iconic moments is its title song, performed by Elvis in a continuous take, confidently strutting through a Vegas showroom set. The song became synonymous with Presley himself, and was later adopted as an anthem for the city of Las Vegas.

Though not complex when it comes to its plot, the film was a commercial success and is considered a high point in Presley’s musical-comedy career.

1. King Creole (1958)

Finally, crowned as the best Elvis film of all time, King Creole was directed by Michael Curtiz, the man behind classics like Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood. In the film, Presley stars as Danny Fisher, a moody New Orleans teenager who finds success as a nightclub singer but becomes entangled with a dangerous gangster (Walter Matthau).

Based on the Harold Robbins novel A Stone for Danny Fisher, the film adapts the setting from Brooklyn to the French Quarter. Shot largely on location in New Orleans, the film is said to capture the jazzy atmosphere of the city better than any other of its era. Presley’s first song in the movie, ‘Crawfish’, is a duet sung from a balcony at dawn – a reflective, calm one, contrasting his energetic performances in previous titles.

King Creole earned high praise upon release, not just for its soundtrack but for Presley’s genuinely strong performance. The cast also included Dean Jagger, Carolyn Jones, Dolores Hart, and Vic Morrow.

Presley was only 23 at the time – at his peak, fourteen days before his military service – but he reportedly also deemed it to be his best film.