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| director = [[Don Siegel]]
| director = [[Don Siegel]]
| producer = [[David Weisbart]]
| producer = [[David Weisbart]]
| writer = [[Clair Huffaker]] (novel)<br />[[Clair Huffaker]]<br />[[Nunnally Johnson]]
| writer = [[Clair Huffaker]]<br />[[Nunnally Johnson]]
|based on = novel ''Flaming Lance'' by [[Clair Huffaker]]
| narrator =
| narrator =
| starring = [[Elvis Presley]]<br />[[Barbara Eden]]<br />[[Dolores del Río]]
| starring = [[Elvis Presley]]<br />[[Barbara Eden]]<br />[[Dolores del Río]]
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| gross = $2 million (US/ Canada)<ref>Solomon, p. 228. Please note figures are rentals accruing to distributors.</ref>
| gross = $2 million (US/ Canada)<ref>Solomon, p. 228. Please note figures are rentals accruing to distributors.</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Flaming Star''''' is a 1960 American [[Western (genre)|Western film]] starring [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Barbara Eden]], based on the book ''Flaming Lance'' (1958) by [[Clair Huffaker]]. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the [[mixed-blood]] "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role. The film was directed by [[Don Siegel]] and had a working title of ''Black Star''. The movie reached No. 12 on the box office charts.
'''''Flaming Star''''' is a 1960 American [[Western (genre)|Western film]] starring [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Barbara Eden]], based on the book ''Flaming Lance'' (1958) by [[Clair Huffaker]]. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the [[mixed-blood]] "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role. The film was directed by [[Don Siegel]] and had a working title of ''Black Star''.<ref>FLAMING STAR
Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 28, Iss. 324, (Jan 1, 1961): 31. </ref>

The movie reached No. 12 on the box office charts.


It was filmed in [[Utah]], [[Los Angeles]] and in [[Wildwood Regional Park]] in [[Thousand Oaks, California]].<ref>Schad, Jerry (2009). ''Los Angeles County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide''. Wilderness Press. Pages 35-36. {{ISBN|9780899976396}}.</ref> A road near Wildwood in Thousand Oaks has been named Flaming Star Avenue after the movie.<ref>Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Page 82. {{ISBN|9780897812993}}.</ref>
It was filmed in [[Utah]], [[Los Angeles]] and in [[Wildwood Regional Park]] in [[Thousand Oaks, California]].<ref>Schad, Jerry (2009). ''Los Angeles County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide''. Wilderness Press. Pages 35-36. {{ISBN|9780899976396}}.</ref> A road near Wildwood in Thousand Oaks has been named Flaming Star Avenue after the movie.<ref>Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Page 82. {{ISBN|9780897812993}}.</ref>
Line 46: Line 50:
==Production==
==Production==
===Development===
===Development===
⚫
The film was based on Clare Huffaker's novel ''Flaming Lance''. In May 1958 Fox announced a film version would start shooting the following month.<ref>FOX TO AUGMENT MOVIE SCHEDULE New York Times 24 May 1958: 18. </ref> Nunnally Johnson, who wrote the first draft, later recalled the studio "said they couldn't make it because it would cost too much for a western and a
The film rights for ''Flaming Star'' had been circulating around Hollywood since 1958 when [[20th Century Fox]] finally decided to cast Presley in the lead role.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167">Victor, Adam, ''The Elvis Encyclopaedia'', p.167</ref> Originally [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Marlon Brando]] were lined up to play the brothers.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/>

⚫
Nunnally Johnson, who wrote the first draft, later recalled the studio "said they couldn't make it because it would cost too much for a western and a
western couldn't get in as much as it would cost, something like that."<ref>Johnson p 128</ref>
western couldn't get in as much as it would cost, something like that."<ref>Johnson p 128</ref>
The [[executive producer]] was [[Buddy Adler]], but he died a week before the start of filming, his duties taken by [[David Weisbart]].


⚫
Originally [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Marlon Brando]] were lined up to play the brothers.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/> The Fox decided to cast Presley in the lead role.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167">Victor, Adam, ''The Elvis Encyclopaedia'', p.167</ref> Presley's previous film, ''[[G.I. Blues]]'', had been a success at the box office and had led to one of his best selling [[G.I. Blues (album)|albums]] to that point.<ref name="Elvis Enc-190">Victor, Adam, ''The Elvis Encyclopaedia'', p.190</ref> However, determined to be taken seriously as an actor, Presley asked for roles with fewer songs.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/>
⚫
With Presley on board, the film started production under the name 'Black Star'. A song was recorded by Elvis to be used as the theme song, but was later rerecorded as "Flaming Star" using the same words and melody.<ref>https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/black-star-david-bowies-connection-to-elvis-presley.shtml</ref>


"Physically he's right," said producer David Weisbert, who had produced Presley's first film, ''Love Me Tender''. "His Army training and the athletic interests he picked up there have left him in superb condition. He probably always was graceful... but now his grace is trained and refined and developed. What's more his slight Tennessee accent is no problem in a film set in West Texas."<ref name="los">New Elvis Presley Will Be Unveiled Los Angeles Times 6 Sep 1960: C11. </ref>
⚫
Presley's previous film, ''[[G.I. Blues]]'', had been a success at the box office and had led to one of his best selling [[G.I. Blues (album)|albums]] to that point.<ref name="Elvis Enc-190">Victor, Adam, ''The Elvis Encyclopaedia'', p.190</ref> However, determined to be taken seriously as an actor, Presley asked for roles with fewer songs.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/> ''Flaming Star'' was initially to include four songs, but after Presley demanded two be removed, it ended up with only the title song and a short number at the opening birthday party scene.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/>


Director Don Siegel made tests of Elvis wearing dark contact lenses but decided they detracted from his acting too much and discarded them.<ref name="los"/>
⚫
Johnson was contacted when abroad by Clair Huffaker who had written the original novel. He said Elvis Presley was going to star wanting know if Johnson objected to Huffaker having credit on the script. "I'd always objected to that, but I couldn't say no to the guy," said Johnson. "He didn't do anything, as he admitted. I was wondering what in God's name they would do with Elvis Presley In this. All they did was put in a kind of a hoedown dance and Presley sang a song at the opening and then they went right on into the picture."<ref>Johnson p 128-129</ref>


Fox insisted on the addition of four songs. "We aren't courageous enough to present him without any songs at all," said Weisbart.<ref name="los"/>
⚫
[[Barbara Steele]], originally signed to play the love interest, was replaced during filming by [[Barbara Eden]] after studio executives decided that Steele's British accent was too pronounced.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/> (Steele claims she quit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://popcultureaddict.com/interviews/barbarasteele/|title=Reluctant Scream Queen: A Conversation with Barbara Steele - Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict|website=popcultureaddict.com}}</ref>)

They asked Huffaker to do the rewrites."I took two weeks rewriting the script and only ten days of the book," said Huffaker. "I hate to say it but in rewriting the script I think it makes a better story than my original."<ref name="huff">Author Revises Story So Presley Can Sing
Finnigan, Joe. Los Angeles Times 16 Aug 1960: 20. </ref>

"We've spotted them [the songs] where they'd come in naturally," said Weisbart. " At a frontier party, at an encampment, and during a horseback ride over the plains."<ref name="los"/>

Fox wanted a theme song so Huffaker changed the title to ''Black Star'' which he felt would be better for a song than ''Flaming Lance''. He made up an old Indian legend about a black star. "It was OK to change the title and have a song written about a star," he said.<ref name="huff"/>

⚫
A song was recorded by Elvis to be used as the theme song, but was later rerecorded as "Flaming Star" using the same words and melody.<ref>https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/black-star-david-bowies-connection-to-elvis-presley.shtml</ref><ref>2 MOVIES OPENING HERE WEDNESDAY
New York Times ]25 July 1960: 20. </ref>

⚫
Johnson was contacted when abroad by Clair Huffaker who had written the original novel. He told Johnson that Presley was cast and wanted know if Johnson objected to Huffaker having credit on the script. "I'd always objected to that, but I couldn't say no to the guy," said Johnson. "He didn't do anything, as he admitted. I was wondering what in God's name they would do with Elvis Presley In this. All they did was put in a kind of a hoedown dance and Presley sang a song at the opening and then they went right on into the picture."<ref>Johnson p 128-129</ref>
===Shooting===
===Shooting===
Parts of the film were shot in [[Delle, Utah|Delle]], [[Lone Rock, Lake Powell, Utah|Lonerock]], and [[Skull Valley (Utah)|Skull Valley]] in [[Utah]]. Filming also took place at Conejo Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California.<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref>
Filming started August 1960. Parts of the film were shot in [[Delle, Utah|Delle]], [[Lone Rock, Lake Powell, Utah|Lonerock]], and [[Skull Valley (Utah)|Skull Valley]] in [[Utah]]. Filming also took place at Conejo Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California.<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref>

⚫
[[Barbara Steele]], originally signed to play the love interest, was replaced during filming by [[Barbara Eden]] after studio executives decided that Steele's British accent was too pronounced.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/> (Steele claims she quit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://popcultureaddict.com/interviews/barbarasteele/|title=Reluctant Scream Queen: A Conversation with Barbara Steele -
Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict|website=popcultureaddict.com}}</ref>)

''Flaming Star'' was initially to include four song. Siegel said while directing, "Evlis must not appear professional" in those scenes. "He should have an awkwardness and an absence of the Presley mannerisms."<ref>PRESLEY FACING 'DEMANDING' ROLE New York Times (4 Oct 1960: 49. </ref> Eventually Presley demanded two be removed, it ended up with only the title song and a short number at the opening birthday party scene.<ref name="Elvis Enc-167"/>


==Soundtrack==
==Soundtrack==

Revision as of 02:44, 31 August 2019

For the song, see Flaming Star (song). For the EP, see Elvis by Request: Flaming Star and 3 Other Great Songs. For other uses, see Flaming Star (disambiguation).

Flaming Star
Film poster
Directed byDon Siegel
Written byClair Huffaker
Nunnally Johnson
Produced byDavid Weisbart
StarringElvis Presley
Barbara Eden
Dolores del Río
CinematographyCharles G. Clarke
Edited byHugh S. Fowler
Music byCyril J. Mockridge
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • December 16, 1960 (1960-12-16) (New York)[1]
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.7 million[2]
Box office$2 million (US/ Canada)[3]

Flaming Star is a 1960 American Western film starring Elvis Presley and Barbara Eden, based on the book Flaming Lance (1958) by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the mixed-blood "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role. The film was directed by Don Siegel and had a working title of Black Star.[4]

The movie reached No. 12 on the box office charts.

It was filmed in Utah, Los Angeles and in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.[5] A road near Wildwood in Thousand Oaks has been named Flaming Star Avenue after the movie.[6]

Synopsis

Elvis Presley plays Pacer Burton, the son of a Kiowa mother and a Texan father working as a rancher. His family, including a half-brother, Clint, live a typical life on the Texan frontier. Life becomes anything but typical when a nearby tribe of Kiowa begin raiding neighboring homesteads. Pacer soon finds himself caught between the two worlds, part of both but belonging to neither.

Primary cast

Production

Development

The film was based on Clare Huffaker's novel Flaming Lance. In May 1958 Fox announced a film version would start shooting the following month.[7] Nunnally Johnson, who wrote the first draft, later recalled the studio "said they couldn't make it because it would cost too much for a western and a western couldn't get in as much as it would cost, something like that."[8]

Originally Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando were lined up to play the brothers.[9] The Fox decided to cast Presley in the lead role.[9] Presley's previous film, G.I. Blues, had been a success at the box office and had led to one of his best selling albums to that point.[10] However, determined to be taken seriously as an actor, Presley asked for roles with fewer songs.[9]

"Physically he's right," said producer David Weisbert, who had produced Presley's first film, Love Me Tender. "His Army training and the athletic interests he picked up there have left him in superb condition. He probably always was graceful... but now his grace is trained and refined and developed. What's more his slight Tennessee accent is no problem in a film set in West Texas."[11]

Director Don Siegel made tests of Elvis wearing dark contact lenses but decided they detracted from his acting too much and discarded them.[11]

Fox insisted on the addition of four songs. "We aren't courageous enough to present him without any songs at all," said Weisbart.[11]

They asked Huffaker to do the rewrites."I took two weeks rewriting the script and only ten days of the book," said Huffaker. "I hate to say it but in rewriting the script I think it makes a better story than my original."[12]

"We've spotted them [the songs] where they'd come in naturally," said Weisbart. " At a frontier party, at an encampment, and during a horseback ride over the plains."[11]

Fox wanted a theme song so Huffaker changed the title to Black Star which he felt would be better for a song than Flaming Lance. He made up an old Indian legend about a black star. "It was OK to change the title and have a song written about a star," he said.[12]

A song was recorded by Elvis to be used as the theme song, but was later rerecorded as "Flaming Star" using the same words and melody.[13][14]

Johnson was contacted when abroad by Clair Huffaker who had written the original novel. He told Johnson that Presley was cast and wanted know if Johnson objected to Huffaker having credit on the script. "I'd always objected to that, but I couldn't say no to the guy," said Johnson. "He didn't do anything, as he admitted. I was wondering what in God's name they would do with Elvis Presley In this. All they did was put in a kind of a hoedown dance and Presley sang a song at the opening and then they went right on into the picture."[15]

Shooting

Filming started August 1960. Parts of the film were shot in Delle, Lonerock, and Skull Valley in Utah. Filming also took place at Conejo Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California.[16]

Barbara Steele, originally signed to play the love interest, was replaced during filming by Barbara Eden after studio executives decided that Steele's British accent was too pronounced.[9] (Steele claims she quit.[17])

Flaming Star was initially to include four song. Siegel said while directing, "Evlis must not appear professional" in those scenes. "He should have an awkwardness and an absence of the Presley mannerisms."[18] Eventually Presley demanded two be removed, it ended up with only the title song and a short number at the opening birthday party scene.[9]

Soundtrack

Main article: Elvis by Request: Flaming Star and 3 Other Great Songs

Reception

Box Office

The film was released only one month after G.I. Blues but did not achieve the same degree of box office success, reaching number 12 on the Variety box office survey for the year.[9].

Critical receptions

The film received generally positive reviews, with a few critics lauding Presley's performance and noting his improvement as an actor. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times praised the film as "an unpretentious but sturdy Western that takes the time, the place and the people seriously."[19] Variety called the plot "disturbingly familiar and not altogether convincing, but the film, attractively mounted and consistently diverting, will entertain and absorb the audience it is tailored for."[20]

Harrison's Reports graded it "Very good," calling Presley "believable" and John McIntire "a powerful figure."[21] Charles Stinson of the Los Angeles Times appraised the film as "standard for its type — the half-breed tragedy — but done well enough to head a program double bill." Stinson wrote of Presley that "he seems to be improving noticeably with every film. He has, of course, rather a distance yet to go to dramatic power and polish. But 'Flaming Star' and 'G.I. Blues' are a long way up from 'Jailhouse Rock.'"[22] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post criticized the film for "flat, one-syllable dialogue" and "ruthless predictability," though he found some of the outdoor shots "handsome."[23] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that although the film "never really gets beyond the comic strip weepie stage," director Siegel "has managed to communicate considerable excitement through flashes of imaginative cutting and handsome composition, notably in the first Indian attack, and in some realistically staged fight, chase and battle passages ... But Siegel's main achievement is his direction of Elvis Presley, still basically not an actor, but no longer a joke as a screen personality. Given the full, virile build-up, he plays the half-breed with a brooding presence that is surprisingly effective."[24] Johnson eventually saw the film and said he "liked it very much." He thought Siegel "did a first-rate job and also Presley did."[25]

Effect on some African countries and territories

According to an Associated Press report from Johannesburg, dated May 31, 1961, South Africans were initially not able to see the movie. The government, which had strict laws to keep the races separate, banned the picture on that same day, because Presley "played the son of an American Indian woman and a white man" A day later, 20th Century-Fox appealed and as a result the South Africa Board of Censors lifted the ban, on condition that the film not be shown to the country's indiginous population. The film then opened to segregated theatres, starting in Durban in early June. However, it was permanently banned on cinemas in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as UK colonial government officials in those territories were concerned the movie could reignite racial tensions in the aftermath of the then recent Mau Mau uprising.

Artistic legacy/Andy Warhol silkscreens

One single publicity still from the film was used by Andy Warhol to create several silkscreens, among them numerous versions of "Single Elvis", "Double Elvis" and "Elvis I and I" , as well as at least four "Triple Elvis" and a one of a kind, each, of "Eight Elvises" and " Elvis Times Eleven", the latter of which is currently housed at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburg,PA. The total amount of monies generated by at least ten of these silkscreens, from that single publicity still and on behalf of auction houses ar at private sales are, as of June of 2019, in excess of US$345,000,000.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Flaming Star - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p. 252
  3. ^ Solomon, p. 228. Please note figures are rentals accruing to distributors.
  4. ^ FLAMING STAR Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 28, Iss. 324, (Jan 1, 1961): 31.
  5. ^ Schad, Jerry (2009). Los Angeles County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide. Wilderness Press. Pages 35-36. ISBN 9780899976396.
  6. ^ Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers. Windsor Publications. Page 82. ISBN 9780897812993.
  7. ^ FOX TO AUGMENT MOVIE SCHEDULE New York Times 24 May 1958: 18.
  8. ^ Johnson p 128
  9. ^ a b c d e f Victor, Adam, The Elvis Encyclopaedia, p.167
  10. ^ Victor, Adam, The Elvis Encyclopaedia, p.190
  11. ^ a b c d New Elvis Presley Will Be Unveiled Los Angeles Times 6 Sep 1960: C11.
  12. ^ a b Author Revises Story So Presley Can Sing Finnigan, Joe. Los Angeles Times 16 Aug 1960: 20.
  13. ^ https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/black-star-david-bowies-connection-to-elvis-presley.shtml
  14. ^ 2 MOVIES OPENING HERE WEDNESDAY New York Times ]25 July 1960: 20.
  15. ^ Johnson p 128-129
  16. ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
  17. ^ "Reluctant Scream Queen: A Conversation with Barbara Steele - Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict". popcultureaddict.com. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 63 (help)
  18. ^ PRESLEY FACING 'DEMANDING' ROLE New York Times (4 Oct 1960: 49.
  19. ^ Weiler, A. H. (December 17, 1960). "'Flaming Star' Opens". The New York Times: 19.
  20. ^ "Flaming Star". Variety: 6. December 21, 1960.
  21. ^ "'Flaming Star' with Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Dolores Del Rio, John McIntire". Harrison's Reports: 207. December 24, 1960.
  22. ^ Stinson, Charles (December 23, 1960). "Elvis Presley Caught in Warfare of Races". Los Angeles Times: Section II, p. 7.
  23. ^ Coe, Richard L. (January 6, 1961). "Everyone's Old Texas". The Washington Post: A20.
  24. ^ "Flaming Star". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 28 (326): 31. March 1961.
  25. ^ Johnson p 129

Notes

External links

Movie reviews
DVD reviews
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