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TL;DR:

  • Roger Ebert said one of Elvis Presley’s movies was “pleasant, kind, polite, sweet, and noble.”
  • Ebert still criticized the movie.
  • The movie produced a pair of hit singles in the United States but it’s forgotten today.

For the most part, Elvis Presley‘s movies have such a bad reputation that they’re almost an instant punchline. Roger Ebert said one of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll‘s films did a terrible job capturing the late 1960s. Regardless, the movie still produced a hit soundtrack.

Roger Ebert said 1 of Elvis Presley’s movies was ‘sweet’ but divorced from reality

Through his print reviews and his show Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, Ebert became one of the most famous film critics who ever lived. According to RogerEbert.com, the writer published a contemporary review of Elvis’ movie Speedway in 1968. In it, he gave the film two out of four stars.

“Speedway is pleasant, kind, polite, sweet and noble, and if the late show viewers of 1988 will not discover from it what American society was like in the summer of 1968, at least they will discover what it was not like,” Ebert wrote. Ebert was referring to the fact that the summer of 1968 was defined by violence, instability, and civil rights gains. That April, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and President Lyndon Johnson subsequently signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. By that time, Elvis’ movies probably seemed out-of-touch.

Roger Ebert felt ‘Speedway’ pandered to Elvis Presley fans by focusing on racing

Ebert also felt Speedway pandered to a certain area of the United States. “Viewers will also find a catalog of the recreations and material possessions prized in 1968, especially by Southerners,” he opined. “Elvis’ films are quite successful in the South, and Speedway seems to have been made with that market in mind.

“Stock-car racing is far and away the most popular Southern sport (see Tom Wolfe’s The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby),'” he continued. “So in Speedway, Elvis races a Barracuda around the Charlotte Speedway, lives in an expensive mobile home, drinks pop, and keeps his hair combed.” Ebert felt Speedway exhibited none of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s early sex appeal.

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The soundtrack for Speedway reached No. 82 on the Billboard 200. It stayed on the chart for a total of 13 weeks. Two of the songs from the soundtrack became minor hits. One of those tunes, “Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby,” peaked at No. 72 and remained on the chart for seven weeks. The other hit from the soundtrack, “Let Yourself Go,” reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for five weeks.

Although Speedway produced two charting singles, it’s been mostly forgotten today. While Viva Las Vegas is a must-see for Elvis fans, Speedway is remembered only for the appearance of Nancy Sinatra as the singer’s love interest.

Ebert wasn’t a fan of Speedway but it found some measure of success.

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