This film, has nothing -- whatsoever -- to recommend it . . . except Elvis Presley in his prime and a bunch of decent early Elvis songs.  Of course, that's enough.

The story, which riffs superficially on Elvis early career, is contrived, the dialogue thuds along without even a whiff of wit or believability, the photography is dull and the directing is ham-handed.  But the young Elvis prowls through this wasteland of mediocrity with an almost feral grace -- as innocent as a panther, and almost as beautiful.

He doesn't seem to realize himself the power his combination of virility and sweetness projects, and that naivete is part of his charm.  Unless you were there, and of a certain age, it's probably impossible even to imagine the effect his persona had when it appeared as if from nowhere in the middle of the Eisenhower years.  America still hasn't gotten over it, and probably never will.  He's become part of what it means to be American.