Was CBS trying to embarrass Elvis?

[KPM]

Of course they were not trying to embarrass him-they were trying to make money-they had a contract that Elvis signed/agreed to and they knew this last pro filmed footage was a goldmine.
The idea of somehow to embarrass Elvis after death-to what purpose-to what end? They had a contract for a special and the film they had was part of that contract, unless some CBS exec had some score to settle with Elvis-why intentionally work to make him look bad (perhaps it was some vendetta to settle the score for the Sullivan shows before the "only from the waist up" rule)

[Jungleroom76]

While I can certainly see where it would appear that the CBS Special was made possibly to embarrass Elvis, I really don't believe that was the original intent of the special. I think it was simply a matter of several factors all coming together to create that illusion...Elvis' poor health, the choice of songs used in the special versus what could have been used, poor editing, etc.

I do agree that the special does somewhat resemble one of the "quickie" Elvis movies made in the mid-to-late 60's ("quickie" being the term used to describe director Sam Katzman ("Kissin' Cousins"), who was dubbed "The King of the quickies" for his ability to make movies quickly and cheaply). The special seems to have been thrown together, as mentioned in previous posts, with poor camera angles, questionable performance choices, etc. My guess is that those people that have suggested this was just a quick-buck scheme by The Colonel and CBS are probably right. The Colonel was in full-self profiting mode by this point in Elvis' career and obviously knew signing Elvis to do the CBS special was a no-brainer. Elvis was already on tour, so there was no extra costs that The Colonel had to put up for CBS to do the show...so the whole contract fee was pure profit!! How much easier could it have been to make money by arranging this special??

As for the fan comments segments, I honestly don't know why those were included. Personally, I don't have a problem with them other than they distract from the continuity of the show. Perhaps they seemed like a good idea at the time to help distract from the ELVIS: WHAT HAPPENED book as has been previously suggested...

TCB!
Mike

[ThreeCornPatches]

Am i the only one who loves the movie Kissin' Cousins?

[KPM]

While I can certainly see where it would appear that the CBS Special was made possibly to embarrass Elvis, I really don't believe that was the original intent of the special. I think it was simply a matter of several factors all coming together to create that illusion...Elvis' poor health, the choice of songs used in the special versus what could have been used, poor editing, etc.

I do agree that the special does somewhat resemble one of the "quickie" Elvis movies made in the mid-to-late 60's ("quickie" being the term used to describe director Sam Katzman ("Kissin' Cousins"), who was dubbed "The King of the quickies" for his ability to make movies quickly and cheaply). The special seems to have been thrown together, as mentioned in previous posts, with poor camera angles, questionable performance choices, etc. My guess is that those people that have suggested this was just a quick-buck scheme by The Colonel and CBS are probably right. The Colonel was in full-self profiting mode by this point in Elvis' career and obviously knew signing Elvis to do the CBS special was a no-brainer. Elvis was already on tour, so there was no extra costs that The Colonel had to put up for CBS to do the show...so the whole contract fee was pure profit!! How much easier could it have been to make money by arranging this special??

As for the fan comments segments, I honestly don't know why those were included. Personally, I don't have a problem with them other than they distract from the continuity of the show. Perhaps they seemed like a good idea at the time to help distract from the ELVIS: WHAT HAPPENED book as has been previously suggested...

TCB!
Mike

Well I read somewhere so many were used because they did not feel much of the footage they had-was usable by their standards....and this is a memory-so I have no idea where I recall it from (memories can also be deceptive)
But perhaps the comments were intended to show how much love and affection the world had for Elvis.....even when he was not in the best of shape, not at the top of his game.....but that would be a guess.

[KPM]

Am i the only one who loves the movie Kissin' Cousins?

No sir I have always enjoyed that film, I liked several of the songs and the comedy-good talented name co-stars.......
But I overlook the the production values which were fairly low.
For 14-16 days of production it came out fairly well.

[Jungleroom76]

Am i the only one who loves the movie Kissin' Cousins?

I wasn't trying to put down the movie my friend...I am sorry if you took my comment that way...

I was merely pointing out that many Elvis books referred to Sam Katzman as the "King of the quickies" and that KISSIN' COUSINS was one of the movies that he was attached to.

While I personally wouldn't say I "love" KISSIN' COUSINS, it certainly isn't his worst movie and I occasionally enjoy watching it!!

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

Well I read somewhere so many were used because they did not feel much of the footage they had-was usable by their standards....and this is a memory-so I have no idea where I recall it from (memories can also be deceptive)
But perhaps the comments were intended to show how much love and affection the world had for Elvis.....even when he was not in the best of shape, not at the top of his game.....but that would be a guess.

That could have very well been the reason(s) indeed...

Thanks for the info. as always my friend!!

TCB!
Mike