By 1968, Elvis Presley had starred in over 30 Hollywood films – but the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was disillusioned after his dreams of being the next James Dean or Marlon Brando were derailed.
Jason Hehir’s new Netflix documentary, “Return of the King: The Fall & Rise of Elvis Presley,” explores the singer’s personal dissatisfaction and iconic comeback. It features behind-the-scenes clips and new interviews with the late star’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, and his close confidante/business partner, Jerry Schilling, among others.
“I have seen just about every documentary done on Elvis Presley, and I haven’t seen too many that explore his journey in the ‘60s,” Hehir told Fox News Digital. “I was interested in exploring his decision to play in front of a live audience for the first time in seven years. . . . And 1968 was the biggest crossroads of Elvis’s life. It made sense to take a deep dive.”
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In the film, Presley is heard describing how frustrated he was about making cash-grab musicals, versus taking on more serious roles.
“Hollywood’s image of me was wrong, and I knew it, and I couldn’t do anything about it,” said Presley. “I didn’t know what to do. I just felt I was obligated to things I didn’t fully believe in.”
“They couldn’t have paid me no amount of money in the world to make me feel I had any satisfaction inside,” Presley added.
Presley’s Hollywood career had gotten so low that the Grammy winner is heard singing the children’s melody “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” in the 1967 film “Double Trouble.”
“That to me is a crime,” Priscilla, 79, said in the film while watching the scene.
“It is a crime,” she stressed. “To put him in that situation and sing that song. It made him a laughingstock. And he knew it.”
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Hehir said that Presley felt so defeated and trapped by his film career that he would at times get “physically ill.”
“He was deeply dissatisfied. He couldn’t get out of bed,” said Hehir. “Many . . . don’t realize how disappointed he was. . . . He was taking these movie roles and seemingly just taking the easy way out and cashing enormous checks. But it wasn’t his ambition as an artist. It had always been a frustration for him. . . . He couldn’t even get out of bed because he was so starved for an artistic challenge. But he had locked himself into these movie contracts, and his management had allowed him to be locked into these movie contracts.”
“It shined a light on what truly mattered to him – to perform,” Hehir continued. “And I think that frustration of seven years of not being in front of a live audience and instead, just being on movie sets doing increasingly more mediocre films – a light bulb went off over his head. He wanted to do something for himself, not for his management. Not for movie audiences. He wanted to get back to the Elvis he wanted to be.”
The former teen idol was eager to reclaim his throne. Ready to breathe new life into his career, he agreed to star in a historic hour-long broadcast that would air on NBC. But when it came time to perform, Presley – at age 33 – was insecure.
“He almost didn’t leave his dressing room,” Hehir explained. “He was terrified of going back out in front of an audience, and he always had horrible stage fright. This goes back to the days of Ed Sullivan and the early days of performing in his career. He always had tremendous anxiety about going out and performing in front of people. But then, once he got out there, that’s where he was the most comfortable in the world, on a stage with a microphone in his hand.”
“But he was terrified enough that the special, as we know it, almost didn’t happen because he refused to leave his dressing room,” Hehir continued. “… He did not want to do it. If it wasn’t for [director] Steve Binder going in and persuading him to come out, then we might not be having this conversation.”
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For the special, Presley famously channeled Brando. Inspired by the actor’s role in 1953’s “The Wild One,” Presley wore a black leather suit. Presley needed to show the world he still had it.
“He hadn’t performed in seven years . . . so many things had changed since he was the guy who could captivate audiences,” said Hehir. “He used to have screaming teenage girls, but those teenage girls were now mothers.
“… Elvis had been the snarling rebel before he went into the army, and by the time 1968 rolled around, he was a family-friendly performer who was singing ballads and songs that were just about the plots of his films. . . . Ten years prior, Elvis was the conversation. But the music scene had changed so much that he was no longer even a part of the conversation.”
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“He thought, ‘They liked me then, but will they like me now?’” Hehir added.
The special revived a career that many critics believed was long over. After it aired, Presley fully immersed himself in touring. He also found solace in singing gospel music which, according to Hehir, “satisfied his soul.”
“His musical roots were based on gospel,” Hehir explained. “He learned about performing in churches when he was younger and hearing singing preachers. He sang along with choirs. . . . That’s where his heart always was. That was the safest place for him to be. That was the place that brought him the most joy. In 1967, he was at rock bottom, both creatively and spiritually. . . . That’s when he put his foot down and put together an all-star team of the best gospel instrumentalists and gospel singers.”
“… Priscilla said she would hear him sing gospel music and play the piano in the middle of the night by himself,” said Hehir. “That piano is still at Graceland. Gospel is where he went for solace. . . . It brought him joy.”
Presley died in 1977 at age 42. Hehir said he wanted his documentary to focus on “the apex of his career as a performer.”
“You see Elvis with his friends jamming – that’s what he loved to do behind closed doors,” said Hehir. “I wanted to give a glimpse of that, a glimpse into the man himself. . . . All the documentaries I’ve seen about Elvis always end on a sad note. I didn’t want to end on a sad note. This was an opportunity for us to end on a triumphant note.”
“We still don’t know what kind of actor Elvis could have become,” Hehir reflected. “His movie career just dried up. It was so mismanaged that he never got a chance to develop as an actor and demonstrate any sort of acting skills. . . . But I think he also recognized what he truly loved.”
