<p id=”par-1_50″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/elvis-presley/?swcfpc=1″>Elvis Presley</a> acted in his first <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/movies/”>film</a> in 1956 and continued to work consistently as an actor until 1969. Though Elvis saw himself as a singer first, he appreciated the work he did on film sets. Over time, though, his enjoyment of acting waned. Elvis’ stunt double believed one movie in particular marked a negative turning point in the singer’s film career.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-elvis-nbsp-stunt-double-said-one-film-changed-the-nbsp-singer-s-nbsp-career-for-the-nbsp-worse”>Elvis’ stunt double said one film changed the singer’s career for the worse</h2>
<p id=”par-2_43″>In 1964, Elvis starred in <em>Kissin’ Cousins</em>, a comedy musical. The film’s director, Gene Nelson, said Elvis was a hard worker and always brought a positive attitude to set. Still, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-presley-felt-scene-1-movies-embarrassing.html/”>Elvis was embarrassed</a> about the quality of the story and his appearance. He also did not appreciate the rushed filming schedule.</p>
<p id=”par-3_70″>“Up until that time certain standards had been maintained, but it seems to me from <em>Kissin’ Cousins</em> on, we were always on a short schedule,” Elvis’ body double, Lance LeGault, said in the book <em><a href=”https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/careless-love-peter-guralnick/1101355819″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley</a></em> by Peter Guralnick. “It was like, ‘It’s good enough because it’s Elvis, and it’s in color, and we’re gonna make two and a half times negative cost plus another two and a half times.’ Sometimes [Elvis might] comment about this, that, or the other — but he’d go ahead and do it.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1200″ height=”913″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of Elvis on the set of ‘Kissin’ Cousins.’ He is surrounded by women, some of whom lay on their backs with their legs in the air.” class=”wp-image-3661878″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=640&h=487 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=1024&h=779 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=768&h=584 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=460&h=350 460w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=222&h=169 222w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=200&h=152 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=666&h=507 666w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=435&h=332 435w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-kissin-cousins.jpg?w=79&h=60 79w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Elvis in “Kissin’ Cousins” | ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_19″>LeGault believed <em>Kissin’ Cousins</em> set a standard for the rest of Elvis’ career. They could make movies quickly, but they would still do well because of their star. </p>
<p id=”par-5_55″>“I don’t remember how long I was on <em>Viva Las Vegas</em>, but it seems like it was ten or eleven weeks, a long time,” he said. “We weren’t off a [few] weeks when, boom, we jumped back into <em>Kissin’ Cousins</em>, which was shot in seventeen days. When they realized they could take this guy and do a film that quickly with him, from then on we were on quick pictures.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-elvis-did-not-like-rushing-through-making-a-nbsp-film”>Elvis did not like rushing through making a film</h2>
<p id=”par-6_38″>While LeGault said Elvis rarely complained, he did not like working on a film that quickly. The tight schedule saw them slowly shutting down the set and letting people go as they progressed. It was hectic and everyone was stressed. </p>
<p id=”par-7_32″>“I hadn’t learned the patience and control that I have now, and I’d get uptight — and this upset Elvis,” Nelson said. “He came to me the last week and said he didn’t like to work this way, it wasn’t worth it.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_13″>Elvis offered to try to slow down the pace of production for Nelson.</p>
<p id=”par-9_34″>“He said he knew what kind of pressure I was under, and he volunteered to get sick or show up late if it would help,” Nelson recalled. “I thanked him and said to hang in, it was <em>my </em>problem.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-had-a-number-of-regrets-about-his-nbsp-career”>He had a number of regrets about his career</h2>
<p id=”par-10_31″>When Elvis reflected on his film career, he had a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-revealed-1-major-career-regret.html/”>number of regrets</a>. He wanted to be taken seriously as an actor, but he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-said-amount-money-feel-good-film-career.html/”>rarely had challenging roles</a>. According to Nelson, he also seemed uninterested in improving. </p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Kissin’ Cousins” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fm_hdQN8AWU?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-11_51″>“I had thought that they would … give me a chance to show some kind of acting ability or do a very interesting story, but it did not change, it did not change, and so I became very discouraged,” he said. “They couldn’t have paid me no amount of money in the world to make me feel self-satisfaction inside.”</p>