Elvis Presley historian Trina Young returns to 360°Sound to set the record straight on three pivotal scenes from the Baz Luhrmann-directed 2022 film Elvis, starring Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. These fascinating scene breakdowns are a preview of what you can find in Young’s new book Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS Movie: An Unauthorized Scene-by-Scene Analysis. Young is also the author of Elvis: The Army Years Uncovered.
“Trouble” at Russwood Park
Trina Young: It is true that Elvis performed at Russwood Park in Memphis on July 4, 1956, a few days after appearing on The Steve Allen Show where he sang “Hound Dog” to a basset hound. However, the speech that Elvis gave in the film when introducing his song was not as dramatic in real life.
Elvis also did not sing “Trouble” as portrayed in the scene. “Trouble” was not recorded by Elvis until 1958 for his film, King Creole, where he sang the song onscreen. He did not sing the song during his concerts, but he did perform it on his 1968 Comeback Special. But, in the film, it makes for a great dramatic scene and statement. The song enforces the film’s narrative that Elvis was rebelling against society and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. However, in reality, Elvis did nothing at that show out of the ordinary.
While the film shows Elvis rolling around with the RCA Nipper dog on the Russwood Park stage, this infamous performance actually took place on October 28, 1957 in Los Angeles. Various complaints by parents after Presley’s wild performance that night led the Los Angeles police to warn the Colonel that Elvis needed to tone down his suggestive body movements for the next concert on October 29. This is the real-life instance in which the Colonel would have told Elvis not to “wiggle.”
Elvis was never dragged off the stage involuntarily by security guards at a show on the orders of the Colonel as depicted in the film. The movie also falsely portrays that a violent riot broke out at the show. While many rock and roll concerts did turn into riots in those days, that wasn’t the case at Elvis concerts.
Truth score: 5 out of 10
Priscilla Leaves Elvis
Trina Young: It is speculated that Priscilla first expressed to Elvis her intention to leave him over the Christmas holiday at Graceland in 1971. However, Priscilla states in her memoir that she told Elvis she wanted a divorce in Las Vegas in his penthouse suite in February 1972.
In the scene, Priscilla says she’s leaving Elvis not because of the other women in his life, but because of his addiction to pills. However, Presley’s prescription drug problem wasn’t a crucial factor in their split in real life, according to Priscilla.
As much as Elvis loved Priscilla, he loved his freedom more. Elvis kept seeing other women during their marriage. Once he started playing in Las Vegas and touring, it made more sense for Priscilla to stay at home either in Memphis or Los Angeles to take care of Lisa Marie who was a toddler at the time.
While Priscilla was at their home in Los Angeles, two women that spent a lot of time with Elvis were Joyce Bova and Barbara Leigh. Elvis also spent many weekends with the guys at his newly bought home in Palm Springs.
“The chances of our marriage surviving were slim indeed as long as he continued to live apart from Lisa and me and in bachelor quarters at that,” Priscilla wrote in her memoir. “Elvis wanted to have his cake and eat it, too.”
Many in Presley’s entourage believed that Priscilla actually left Elvis for her karate instructor, Mike Stone, who she admittedly had an affair with. In fact, Elvis specifically told the guys after his show in Las Vegas in February 1972: “Another man has taken my wife.”
In her memoir, Priscilla says Elvis asked her if she was leaving him for another man. Priscilla’s response was: “It’s not that you’ve lost me to another man, you’ve lost me to a life of my own. I’m finding myself for the first time.”
In the scene, Elvis tells Priscilla they will get back together when she’s 40 and he’s 50. This statement is based on a real-life conversation they had after the divorce with Priscilla suggesting that maybe in the future they would reconcile.
In a 2022 interview, Priscilla was asked if she wished she had never gotten divorced. She replied: “To be honest, I think we were better not married. We had a great relationship [after the divorce]… Everything just seemed to be more relaxed, more at home when the tension wasn’t there. Remember, I’m with ‘Elvis Presley’. Watching the girls running up to him, wanting kisses from him… There isn’t anyone that doesn’t love Elvis.”
Truth score: 7 out of 10
Trapped by the Colonel
Trina Young: It is true that Elvis and his father Vernon received a letter from Colonel Tom Parker with the list of debts owed to him in Presley’s penthouse suite in Las Vegas. In real life, this incident occurred after Elvis tried to fire the Colonel in September 1973. In this clip, Vernon tells Elvis that they can’t afford to pay back the Colonel and that they’re broke because Elvis spends too much money. Vernon urges Elvis to take the Colonel back as his manager.
In truth, Presley’s spending habits were out of control and would only get worse in the years leading up to his death. While the scene depicts Presley using his plane, The Lisa Marie, he did not actually purchase that plane until 1975. This was an example of his exorbitant spending habits. Elvis even purchased a plane for Parker, but Parker turned it down.
In the scene, Elvis says the Colonel takes 50 percent of everything he makes. This statement is misleading. In reality, the Colonel did not start taking 50 percent of all of Presley’s earnings until 1976. Parker’s original 25 percent cut increased gradually over the 21 years he managed Elvis and with different rates for movies, records, concerts, and side deals.
Later in the clip, Elvis runs into the Colonel at the parking garage elevator of the hotel in Las Vegas. However, any face-to-face conversation between the two men after Elvis tried to fire the Colonel never took place in real life. The disagreement would ultimately be resolved over the phone.
A significant reason why Elvis did not leave the Colonel that is not addressed in the movie is the fact that Elvis could not find a better replacement, nor did he try very hard to find one. Most people who knew Elvis and the Colonel could not imagine anyone else working in the role as Presley’s manager.
It’s hard to imagine a proud, unemotional man like the Colonel ever saying he’s lonely as he does in this scene when he tries to convince Elvis that they are alike. In truth, there is one way where they were similar. Both Elvis and the Colonel were living for the moment with no regard for the consequences. Elvis believed “you don’t come back for an encore” which fueled his impulse buys, while the Colonel didn’t believe he had much longer to live due to his heart condition. As a result, his gambling was out of control. In summary, Elvis spent too much, and the Colonel gambled too much.
Truth score: 6 out of 10
