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Love Me Tender

Released Nov 15, 1956 1h 29m Western List
58% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Confederate soldiers led by Vance Reno (Richard Egan) rob a Union train of its payroll money. But because the Civil War officially ended the day before, their theft was not a legitimate act of war. Now an outlaw, Vance takes his share and heads home, where he intends to marry his fiancée, Cathy (Debra Paget). But upon arrival he discovers that she has already married his youngest brother, Clint (Elvis Presley). The troubled family tries to reconnect -- while also evading the law.
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Love Me Tender

Critics Reviews

View All (12) Critics Reviews
Archer Winsten New York Post [Elvis Presley] has all the emotions that he has heretofore expressed merely with larynx and pelvis. Sep 22, 2018 Full Review Kimberly Pierce Ticklish Business The period drama clearly shows just why everyone was so taken with Elvis Presley. For a performer who quickly became a well-oiled (and formulaic) machine, its refreshing to see him so raw. Rated: 3.5/5 Apr 21, 2022 Full Review James Plath Family Home Theater Without The King, Love Me Tender is a decent horse opera that has more stand-and-talk moments than shoot-'em-ups....But Elvis really does add interest. Rated: B- Mar 30, 2016 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Elvis's debut film and only time billed as a supporting actor. Rated: B Jul 5, 2013 Full Review Blake French Filmcritic.com one of Elvis' most compelling works, despite a forced, artificial ending. Rated: 4/5 Aug 2, 2009 Full Review Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com Elvis' debut in movies, and not a bad production. Set in Civil War with nice title song. Rated: 3/5 Feb 21, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Red T Here's the thing, your enjoyment is going to depend on one question. Are you wanting to see a Western or Elvis sing? If it's Elvis your better off just watching clips of the 3 songs he sings in this on YouTube. Hes in maybe 40% of the movie as a supporting character and he ends up being a key plot point in the last 20 minutes or so kind of out of nowhere. This ends up working for and against the movie. Elvis is the weakest actor in this and it really isn't that big a deal until the final 20 minutes when he is the main focus in some dramatic scenes and it starts to show how out of place he is and somewhat miscast. It ends up weighing down the climax. His music numbers are good but there is only 3 and they end up feeling out of place in a serious western like this as well and conflict with the tone. The actual main western story is solid except for the pacing which is decent. It feels like things pick up out of nowhere in the last 20-30 minutes and gets really complicated out of nowhere. This feels off compared to the slow and somewhat dry pacing of everything else in this. It feels like more should've been spent working on building up the conflict rather taking 15 minutes of a really short runtime letting Elvis sing. Honestly, if Elvis wasn't in this I would call this a hidden gem of a western. The acting outside of Elvis is solid, the cinematography outside of Elvis is really well done, and the story is good as well. Anyone who is a die hard western fan should check this out. Elvis fans should just watch clips of him sing. This isn't really a Elvis movie. It's a western with Elvis in it and weighed down by him, but still decent enough. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/23 Full Review steve d Surprisingly dark. No better than the lighter Elvis films. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The worst 01 hour: and 29 minutes of Western action and singing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Liam D A memorable star in a okay movie this musical western is okay but not one of Elvis's best movies. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/09/20 Full Review james g Elvis' first film, and no new transfers? The quality is terrible, but Elvis is Elvis at his rawest stage-and this film deserves an update. As it stands, it's about too messy to watch. By the 60s, Elvis films had at least tripled their budget, but eliminated the sexual rawness. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Great to see Elvis in his debut film and him singing (We're Gonna Move, Love Me Tender, Let Me, Poor Boy, Love Me Tender end Title) I feel it is slow in parts but not a bad movie Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Love Me Tender

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Confederate soldiers led by Vance Reno (Richard Egan) rob a Union train of its payroll money. But because the Civil War officially ended the day before, their theft was not a legitimate act of war. Now an outlaw, Vance takes his share and heads home, where he intends to marry his fiancée, Cathy (Debra Paget). But upon arrival he discovers that she has already married his youngest brother, Clint (Elvis Presley). The troubled family tries to reconnect -- while also evading the law.
Director
Robert D. Webb
Producer
David Weisbart
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 15, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 18, 2012
Runtime
1h 29m
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