My life is the rhythm

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title My life is the rhythm
Original title King Creole
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1958
length 116 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Michael Curtiz
script Herbert Baker ,
Michael V. Gazzo
production Hal B. Wallis ,
Paul Nathan
music Walter Scharf
camera Russell Harlan
cut Warren Low
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
Jailhouse Rock - rhythm behind bars

Successor  →
Café Europa

My Life is the Rhythm is an American drama directed by Michael Curtiz from 1958. The screenplay is based on Harold Robbins ' novel The Merciless (OT: A Stone for Danny Fisher ). The leading role of a young man in New Orleans during the Great Depression is played by Elvis Presley , who made his fourth film appearance in My Life is Rhythm .

action

After the death of his mother three years ago, Danny Fisher had to work to make ends meet with his father, an unemployed pharmacist , and his sister Mimi. As a result, he already failed his final exam and had to repeat a school year. Firmly convinced that this time he will get his school- leaving certificate , he makes his way to school on the last day of school. Halfway through, he still has to tidy up in a small nightclub , this activity is part of his job. A couple of drunks harass the prostitute Ronnie, who can help Danny with a trick to escape from her suitors . As the two of them drive in a taxi towards Danny's school, Danny learns of Ronnie's pimp Maxie, from whom she cannot escape despite multiple attempts.

The incident caused him to be late for school, which led his teacher not to give him a certificate. Danny returns home in the evening, deeply saddened. His father takes the news calmly and wants to encourage his son to repeat the school year a second time. He'll try to get back to work himself so that Danny isn't too much deterred from studying because of his part-time jobs. But his son doesn't want to know anything about it, but prefers to become a singer in the club "King Creole" of the generous Charlie LeGrand. But his father doesn't approve of Danny's intentions, even as Danny becomes the club's celebrated star, saving him from ruin .

Danny's luck is thwarted by the machinations of the unscrupulous Maxie Field, who would rather win Danny for his club and therefore cause him all sorts of difficulties: He lets Danny's father beat up and puts more and more to Ronnie, with whom Danny tries to build an ever closer relationship. During a battle, Danny and Ronnie escape and hide in a cabin away from town. But Maxie finds the two and shoots Ronnie. Before she dies, she can tell Danny that she loves him and that the time with him in the hut is the most beautiful of her life, even if she did not allow long. Maxie dies in an accident before he can kill Danny too.

Despite his mourning for Ronnie, Danny appears again in the "King Creole" and can revise the relationship with his father.

production

My Life's Rhythm was recorded from January 20th to March 10th, 1958. Filming locations included a high school, the Vieux Carre Saloon and the French Quarter in New Orleans, and the Lake Ponchartrain.

The film premiered in Memphis on June 4, 1958 and was released in US cinemas on July 2, 1958. The cinema release in Germany took place on October 24, 1958.

Elvis Presley sings numerous songs in the film, including:

  • Steadfast, Loyal And True (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
  • Lover Doll (Sid Wayne & Abner Silver)
  • Trouble (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
  • Dixieland Rock (Aaron Schröder & Rachel Frank)
  • Young Dreams (Aaron Schröder & Martin Kalmanoff)
  • New Orleans (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
  • Hard Headed Woman (Claude Demetri)
  • King Creole (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
  • Don't Ask Me Why (Fred Wise & Ben Weisman)
  • As Long As I Have You (Fred Wise & Ben Weisman)

He also sings the title Crawfish with Kitty White .

Reviews

On the occasion of the German premiere in 1958, Der Spiegel wrote:

“The scriptwriters have endowed the idol of the rock and roll generation with popular principles and skills: Danny Fisher, portrayed by Presley, is a respected thug and a casual girl hero. But the facial expression of the mass favorite is an even clearer alarm signal for those concerned about civilization than any word or hook on the chin. "

- The mirror, 1958

The catholic film service found in 1958 that Presley had "an average quality of acting in Marlon Brando manner", although the dance interludes to his songs in the film are only weakened. “The script just as naturally sticks to the fact that its 'art' still puts people in a stupor, but now that the rock'n'roll fashion is ebbing, it doesn't seem very exciting even to the adolescents who keep pouring in . In this film, the young man serves nothing but fourteen hits, some of them new. [...] It's all uncomfortable, even disgusting enough not only to discourage young people. "

The lexicon of international films published by film-dienst in 1990 wrote that the film was “one of the show films arranged for […] Elvis Presley - with fourteen numbers and a criminally tinted career story that, based on a Robbins novel, was used as a vehicle for serves his appearances. "

Time Out London gave the film a positive rating . Curtis' directorial work is smart and serious like a film noir and thus balances the partial debauchery of the script. The direction complements Elvis Presley's portrayal perfectly.

For Allmovie , Presley delivered one of his best acting performances in My Life Is Rhythm . In addition, the film and Jailhouse Rock show the best cinematic example of the "untamed" Elvis before his time in the Army. Presley has always called My Life Is Rhythm his favorite movie.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ New in Germany: My life is rhythm . In: Der Spiegel , No. 46, 1958, p. 64.
  2. ↑ Sa .: My life is the rhythm . In: film-dienst , No. 45, 1958.
  3. ↑ Klaus Brüne (Ed.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 5. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 2533.
  4. ↑ See timeout.com .
  5. ↑ See Overview on allemovie.com
  6. ↑ See review on allemovie.com