While this is Elvis Presley's first film, he was not the star but third billed. You wouldn't know that looking at the posters, as he alone is shown on most posters, including the one on IMDB. This isn't surprising considering Elvis' popularity back in 1956!
The story begins just as the Civil War is ending. A group of Confederate soldiers are on a mission to steal the Union payroll....though as it turns out the war had just ended! While the raid is successful, the soldiers soon realize their mistake and instead of giving back the money, they decide to split it up among them.
When one of these men, Vance Reno (Richard Egan), returns home, he's in for a real shock! His girlfriend had married his brother, Clint (Elvis), following her receiving word that Vance had been killed in action....oops!! Not surprisingly, things are VERY tense on the Reno homestead! Fortunately, Clint doesn't realize the tension between Vance and Cathy (Debra Paget)! How does all this work out? Well, I'll give you a clue...it doesn't work out well!
It wasn't surprising that Elvis would sing a few songs in the film. However, a few of these were very anachronistic and Elvis' gyrating and style just didn't seem to fit 1865! His version of the title song, however, was wonderful.
Overall, this is a very good film...I nearly give it an 8. The story is sound, the acting (including Elvis') is quite nice and it's well worth seeing.
The story begins just as the Civil War is ending. A group of Confederate soldiers are on a mission to steal the Union payroll....though as it turns out the war had just ended! While the raid is successful, the soldiers soon realize their mistake and instead of giving back the money, they decide to split it up among them.
When one of these men, Vance Reno (Richard Egan), returns home, he's in for a real shock! His girlfriend had married his brother, Clint (Elvis), following her receiving word that Vance had been killed in action....oops!! Not surprisingly, things are VERY tense on the Reno homestead! Fortunately, Clint doesn't realize the tension between Vance and Cathy (Debra Paget)! How does all this work out? Well, I'll give you a clue...it doesn't work out well!
It wasn't surprising that Elvis would sing a few songs in the film. However, a few of these were very anachronistic and Elvis' gyrating and style just didn't seem to fit 1865! His version of the title song, however, was wonderful.
Overall, this is a very good film...I nearly give it an 8. The story is sound, the acting (including Elvis') is quite nice and it's well worth seeing.