While Elvis Presley is best remembered for his music, the Memphis singer had an impressive career in Hollywood movies. Elvis starred in 31 feature films and two concert documentaries. Still, he has a lengthier filmography than many might realize, and his 26th movie, Stay Away, Joe, premiered in New York City 55 years ago today.
Elvis Presley starred in many movies in a short period of time
Elvis’ career in movies began in 1956 with Love Me Tender. The final film he starred in, Change of Habit, debuted in 1969, but he still featured in 29 other movies within that 13-year time frame. A few of his most famous movies include Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas, Blue Hawaii, and It Happened at the World’s Fair.
For a while, Elvis Presley was one of the world’s biggest movie stars and the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. His movies were often box office hits, grossing over $284 million worldwide. Not every movie was a critical darling, but they were bolstered by great soundtracks that brought audiences into the theater.
Elvis’ 26th movie, ‘Stay Away, Joe,’ premiered on Mar. 8, 1968
55 years ago today, Stay Away, Joe, premiered in New York City. Directed by Peter Tewksbury, the movie stars Elvis as Joe Lightcloud, a Navajo who lives on the reservation with his family. Joe has plans to start a cattle business to support the entire tribe, but things go awry when a congressman donates a bull that ends up as dinner. The comedy western also stars Burgess Meredith, Susan Trustman, Quentin Dean, and Joan Blondell.
The film is based on a 1953 novel by Dan Cushman. Upon its release, it made $1.5 million at the box office, earning Elvis a pretty penny as he was paid $850,000 and received 40% of the profits. Stay Away, Joe did include a few songs, but it was made after the “Suspicious Minds” singer wanted to make movies with fewer musical numbers so he could display his acting talents.
The soundtrack included “Stay Away,” the B-side to “U.S. Male”. “Stay Away” did become a minor hit, reaching No. 68 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Many criticized this movie for being outdated, even in 1968
“Stay Away, Joe” wasn’t a hit with critics, and many found the movie already outdated in 1968. Besides the white-washed casting of Elvis Presley as a Native American character, several critics found the portrayal of the Navajo inappropriate, especially at a time when many Americans were learning more about the plight of Native Americans in U.S. history.
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote a particularly scathing review saying, “In an unintentionally patronizing way, it projects an image of the Indian as happy-go-lucky, immoral, and irresponsible just when the public is becoming aware of how truly tragic his plight is. No amount of good-naturedness—and Stay Away, Joe! undeniably has plenty of that—can compensate for humor based on stereotypes so offensive to minority-group sensitivities.”
Other critics believed the movie’s humor didn’t work, and the narrative fell flat. It’s not one of Elvis Presley’s most memorable movies, but it still did well at the box office.
