Fact vs. fiction in the 2022 ELVIS movie – 5 myths about Elvis Presley

In 2 hours and 39 minutes, the 2022 ELVIS movie starring Austin Butler covered so many details and controversies about Elvis Presley’s life and career. So, what’s true and not true in the 2022 Elvis movie? Here are five myths about Elvis Presley depicted in the film:

1) Did the Russwood Park concert really break out in a riot?

No! The Russwood Park concert on July 4, 1956 was not as dramatic as portrayed in the film.

For starters, while Elvis performing “Trouble” at the show was a great dramatic scene and statement, in reality, he did not sing that song at the concert. Elvis would not record the song until two years later for his film, King Creole, where he sang the song onscreen. He also performed it on his 1968 Comeback TV special. 

While the young girls went crazy for Elvis at this show, there was no violence as depicted. The most bothersome part of the scene is when police officers are seen beating on audience members with batons. Then you see a (fake) headline stating “Youths clash with police.” 

While many rock and roll concerts did turn into riots in those days, especially in Europe, that wasn’t the case at Elvis concerts. The narrative in the film is misleading that Parker would pull Elvis off the stage because he didn’t like how he was performing or that Elvis defied him, which is not true. 

2) Did Elvis ever hang out with BB King, Little Richard, or Sister Rosetta Tharpe?

The Beale street scenes and nightclub scenes were recreated so well in the movie. Of course, it was a great musical moment to see Elvis hanging out with B.B. King as they watched LIttle Richard perform. But was it true?

Unfortunately, no. Elvis was more of an acquaintance of B.B. King’s but not really friends (pictured below in 1956). During the summer of 1956 when this scene takes place, Elvis would not have gone to downtown Beale street by himself. If he did go, he would have brought a friend or two.

While Elvis never met Little Richard or saw him perform, he was a fan of his songs, like “Tutti Frutti”, which Richard performed in the movie. In real life, Elvis recorded “Tutti Frutti” several months before this scene at Club Handy supposedly took place. 

It is true that Club Handy was a real club in Memphis located on Beale Street. It was one of the most popular clubs for Black artists to perform at during segregation. In real life, Little Richard performed at a similar club in Memphis in April 1956 called Club Ebony. Richard was one of several performers that night and Fats Domino was top of the bill. 

It is believed that Elvis went to Club Handy a few times, but that was in his early days before he was well known. He used to frequent the clubs on Beale street with Memphis DJ, Dewey Phillips, starting in 1954, after his first record came out. 

It is not known if Elvis ever met Sister Rosetta Tharpe or saw her perform. However, this scene is reminiscent of how Elvis would often go to African American events in Memphis and be one of the few white people there. By the time of this scene, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the first gospel superstar, had been performing in larger venues for several years. If she did perform at Club Handy, it would most likely have been in the mid to late 1940s. In a surprising twist of fate, Tharpe had hired The Jordanaires gospel quartet to be her backup singers on tour during the late 1940s and early 1950s, several years before they worked with Elvis.

The original Club Handy no longer exists. However, a new version of Club Handy is now located on Beale street across the street from where the original club was located at 209 Beale Street. 

3) Was Elvis’ relationship with Priscilla portrayed accurately?

There are many issues to discuss about Elvis’ relationship with Priscilla as depicted in the film.

For starters, a big red flag is how the other women Presley was involved with during his life were left out of the film, with the exception of Dixie Locke. Probably the most misleading image of the film is when we see Elvis singing “Viva Las Vegas” as he stands next to Priscilla. Ann-Margret, Presley’s co-star in the film, who he had a relationship with while he was also involved with Priscilla, is not even shown in the brief montage of Elvis film clips. 

Overall, the main thing that is misleading about Priscilla in the film is that after their divorce, Elvis was unable to move on. This is suggested by the last scene before Elvis dies in the film. Elvis meets with Priscila one last time. This scene tries to compress the last three years of Presley’s life into one scene. However, it leaves out the last two significant relationships Elvis had with Linda Thompson from 1972 to 1976, and Ginger Alden, who he was engaged to be married at the time of his death in 1977. 

4) Was Jerry Schilling really Presley’s closest friend in the Memphis Mafia?

Although Jerry Schilling is singled out in the film to represent Presley’s entourage, he did not start working for Elvis until 1964. Jerry, who is seven years younger than Elvis, stopped working for Elvis full-time in 1967 when he decided to move to California. He stayed friends with Elvis, and assisted him several times over the years. He then came back to work for Elvis in 1971. 

In real life, Jerry was not involved in one of the key parts of the ELVIS movie which was the 1968 Comeback Special. He was not working for Elvis at the time, so the scenes of him at the meeting for the special and the taping of the special are misleading. While Elvis and Jerry were good friends, if anyone was Elvis’ right-hand man through the years, it was Joe Esposito. 

5) Did Elvis fire Colonel Parker onstage when he was performing in Las Vegas?

No, that is not true. This scene was based on a real-life incident that occurred in September 1973 when Elvis complained onstage about the hotel’s management for firing one of their employees that Elvis was fond of. Colonel Parker did not like Elvis saying negative things about the Las Vegas Hilton (which had changed its name from the International in 1971) while he was on stage, so he confronted Elvis after the show. This led to an argument between Elvis and The Colonel which escalated until Presley proclaimed that the Colonel was fired. Some of the members of Elvis’ entourage witnessed parts of the argument. However, this took place in private. Elvis would have never fired the Colonel in public, especially on stage in the middle of his show.

Want more?

There are so many more details discussed about the film in the new 200-page book, Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS movie. It’s available in paperback and e-book formats on Amazon in 15 countries.

For more info about the book, CLICK HERE

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