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Loving You, 1 / 3
Elvis's second movie and his first in color was the 1957 Paramount
film "Loving You".
In 1956, producer Hal Wallis bought the film rights to a story
written by Margaret Agnes Thompson. It had appeared in the June 1956
issue of "Good Housekeeping" magazine and was a story set in
Oklahoma about a young singer called Lonesome Harris and his journey
to stardom. Wallis thought it would be a perfect vehicle for Elvis.
The working title was "Lonesome Cowboy". It then became "Running
Wild". Finally, "Loving You", the name of a song Leiber and Stoller
wrote for Elvis for the movie, became the title.
Hal Wallis assigned Hal Kanter as the screenwriter and director for
the movie. At the time, Kanter, a native of Savannah, Georgia, was
37 years old. He had written for variety shows, graduating to
screenplays and specializing in comedies. He wrote for Bob Hope as
well as the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. For the
movie "Loving You", Wallis wanted Kanter to visit with Elvis and to
get to know him off the movie set and as a live performer. So, on
December 12, 1956 he flew to Memphis to meet the young star. On the
first day, Elvis showed him around his Audubon Drive home, where
Kanter enjoyed a meal of fried chicken with the Presley family.
After a tour of Memphis on the 14th, they drove to Shreveport,
Louisiana, stopping in Pine Bluff, Arkansas for dinner with
entertainer friends of Elvis's, Jim Ed Brown and Maxine Brown. Once
in Louisiana, Kanter saw firsthand an audience's hysterical reaction
to Elvis. He also noted a set of twins in the audience clapping to
the music, one twin clapping her right hand to her sister's left. He
made a mental note to include this small nuance in his script for
"Loving You". Over the years, Hal Kanter received six Emmy Award
nominations, winning the last two for his writing on the annual
Academy Awards telecast. He also wrote the script for Elvis
Presley's 1961 hit film "Blue Hawaii", which garnered him a "Best
Written American Musical" nomination from the Writers Guild of
America.
In "Loving You" the twins used for the hand-clap scene were Trude
and Maida Severen.
This was Trude's only film, but Maida continued acting, having
roles in such movies as "Marjorie Morningstar", "Imitation of Life",
and "Airport 1975".
Her television work included a recurring role on "General Hospital"
and guest roles on "The Addams Family", "Gidget", "Bewitched",
"Sanford & Son", and "Starsky & Hutch".
The executive producer for "Loving You" was Paul Nathan, who had
worked on films such as "The Rainmaker" and "Gunfight At The O.K.
Corral". Nathan worked as associate producer on eight other Elvis
films: "King Creole", "GI Blues", "Blue Hawaii", "Girls! Girls!
Girls!", "Fun In Acapulco", "Roustabout", "Paradise, Hawaiian Style",
and "Easy Come, Easy Go".
Hal Pereira was the art director. His set designs can be seen in
over 250 productions, including the Elvis films mentioned above. He
received twenty-three Academy Award nominations for his work in such
films, including "Sabrina", "The Ten Commandments", "Funny Face",
"Vertigo", and "Breakfast at Tiffany's".
He won the Academy Award for his work in "The Rose Tattoo".
Musical director for "Loving You" was Walter Scharf. He also worked
on Elvis's 1958 film "King Creole" and the 1981 documentary "This Is
Elvis".
Scharf received a Golden Globe award for the song "Ben" from the
movie of the same name. Among his career achievements were ten
Academy Award nominations.
Elvis enjoyed working with choreographer Charles O'Curran, who was
married to popular singer Patti Page at the time.
O'Curran hung out with Elvis and his band off the set, often
inviting them to his home.
He staged musical numbers for five more Elvis films: "King Creole",
"GI Blues", "Blue Hawaii", "Girls! Girls! Girls!" and "Fun In
Acapulco".
"Loving You" is one of the nine Elvis films that legendary movie
costume designer Edith Head participated in.
Wally Westmore had charge of makeup for "Loving You", as he did for
all of Elvis's Paramount films.
Next week, we'll bring you Part 2 of our behind-the-scenes look at
"Loving You".
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