Elvis Movie Quotes
Elvis Presley
A reverend once told me, "When things that are too dangerous to say, sing."
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Elvis Presley
I ain't wearin' no tails. I just... gotta lay off the moves, is all. Colonel says if I don't, they're gonna put me in jail.
B.B. King
[chuckles]
Come on, man. They're not gonna put you in jail. They might put me in jail for walkin' across the street, but you a famous white boy. Too many people making too much money off you to put you in jail.
Elvis Presley
You think so?
B.B. King
I know so. The Colonel's a smart man. There's gotta be another reason.
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Gladys Presley
The way you sing is God-given, so there can't be nothin' wrong with it.
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Elvis Presley
I'm gonna be forty soon, and nobody's gonna remember me.
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Colonel Tom Parker
[on Robert Kennedy's shooting; halfheartedly]
Poor Mrs. Kennedy. A tragedy. Tragedy, but it has nothing to do with us.
Elvis Presley
It has everything to do with us! Martin Luther King was killed 8 miles from Graceland!
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Elvis Presley
If I can't move, I can't sing.
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Elvis Presley
There's a lot of people saying a lot of things, but in the end you gotta listen to yourself.
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[At Elvis's first performance, the girls are wild]
Vernon Presley
Hurt him? Looks like they wanna ...
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[Elvis has called TV producer Steve Binder and record producer Bones Howe out for a meeting at the dilapidated Hollywood sign; Elvis is sitting in the second O]
Elvis Presley
When I first came up to Hollywood, I'd come up here and sit for hours.
[gestures over to the Griffith Observatory]
Elvis Presley
Right over there, the observatory? That's where they shot "Rebel Without a Cause". Man, I used to dream about being a great actor like Jimmy Dean. This sign was beautiful then. And now... feels as though lots of things are like that these days. Broke down, beat up. Rotten. I really like what you guys did, putting James Brown and the Stones together.
Steve Binder
We're, uh... big fans of yours too. It's just that, Mr. Presley, we don't usually...
Elvis Presley
Oh, Elvis.
Steve Binder
Elvis, uh... Christmas specials aren't really our thing.
Elvis Presley
I know. Tell me, honestly... where do you boys think my career's at right now?
[Binder looks over to Howe]
Bones Howe
Well, it's...
Steve Binder
It's in the toilet, Elvis.
[Elvis looks up at Jerry Schilling and they both begin laughing]
Elvis Presley
You hear that, Jerry? Oh, Lord. I knew you were the right guys for this job. You know, back when I was starting out, some people wanted to put me in jail, even kill me, 'cause of the way I was moving. So they cut my hair, they put me in uniform and they sent me away. That killed my mother. And ever since then... I've been lost. And when you're lost, people take advantage. I need you fellas to help me get back to who I really am.
Steve Binder
And who are you, Elvis?
Elvis Presley
I sure as hell ain't somebody who sings Christmas songs by a fireplace for an hour.
Steve Binder
And what does the Colonel think?
Elvis Presley
I don't give a damn what the Colonel thinks.
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[sees an excited girl at Elvis's first performance]
Colonel Tom Parker
[narrates]
Now, I don't know nothing about music. But I could see in that girl's eyes, he was a taste of forbidden fruit. She could have eaten him alive!
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Colonel Tom Parker
[to Elvis]
We are the same, you and I! We are two odd, lonely children, reaching for eternity.
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Colonel Tom Parker
I wish to promote you, Mr Presley. Are you ready to fly?
Elvis Presley
I'm ready. Ready to fly.
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Elvis Presley
I just gotta be making the most of this thing while I can. This could all be over in a flash.
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Colonel Tom Parker
You can do ten stupid things if you do one smart thing.
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[seeing Col. Parker waiting on him after learning he owes him $8 million dollars]
Elvis Presley
Eight million? Oh, you blood-sucking old vampire! You bled me dry and you still want more?
Colonel Tom Parker
I'm not an uncaring man, Mr. Presley.
Elvis Presley
Don't you "Mr. Presley" me, you toad!
Colonel Tom Parker
If you are so determined to get out of our contract...
Elvis Presley
You're goddamn right I want out!
Colonel Tom Parker
Well, I will personally loan you the money that you owe to Jamboree Attractions.
Elvis Presley
Yeah, and you'll still have your claws in me. You'll still have me working here like a goddamn slave in a salt mine, you phony, no-good piece of trash! I oughta shoot you in your fat, goddamn face. Who are you? Who are you really?
Colonel Tom Parker
I am you. And you are me.
Elvis Presley
Cut the horseshit! Colonel Tom Parker... or whatever your real name is. Everything I've ever known about you is a lie!
Colonel Tom Parker
[chuckles; stands up in front of Elvis]
My past is the least of your problems, my boy. Everyone else you associate with lives from you, Mr. Presley. Even Vernon. That's right, even your own daddy has looked after himself before he's looked after you. Yes. I have lived off from you too, but the difference is you have also lived off from me. We have supported each other. Because we shared a dream. We are the same, you and I. We are two odd, lonely children reaching for eternity. Maybe you should fly away, my boy. Away from all of this. But if you do choose to leave... I, for one, would be very lonely. So would your father.
[Colonel leaves towards an elevator]
Colonel Tom Parker
But I think you may be lonely, too.
[He calls the elevator down]
Colonel Tom Parker
Oh, you see, my boy, the... truth about the Rock of Eternity...
[the elevator opens and Colonel enters]
Colonel Tom Parker
...it is forever just beyond our reach.
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Elvis Presley
I've never met anyone like you.
Priscilla
Well, I hope not.
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Colonel Tom Parker
It was at the moment that Elvis the Man was sacrificed and Elvis the God was born. He had no idea what he had just done.
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Elvis Presley
Did you know there's a kind of bird that doesn't have any legs? So it can't land on nothing. It lives its whole life on the wing. When it gets tired it just spreads its wings and sleeps on the wind. If it ever does land, even but one time... so it dies.
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[preparing to rehearse for his Vegas show]
Elvis Presley
This ain't no nostalgia show. We're gonna do something a little different.
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[first lines; over a Christmas card featuring Elvis and Col. Tom Parker dressed as a snowman]
Colonel Tom Parker
For those of you who are wondering who this fella here is, I am the legendary Colonel Tom Parker. I am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley. Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley. And yet, there are some who'd make me out to be the villain of this here story.
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Colonel Tom Parker
[narrates]
Are you born with destiny? Or does it just come knocking at your door?
[sees Elvis sing for the first time]
Colonel Tom Parker
In that moment, I watched that skinny boy transform into a superhero. He was my destiny.
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[Backstage, Elvis has learned the truth about Colonel Tom Parker and exposes him live on stage; Parker himself is sitting in the audience with the owner of the International Hotel]
Elvis Presley
I'd like to turn the house lights up, ladies and gentlemen. 'Cause now that you've seen me, I'd like to take a look at you.
[the audience cheers and applauds as the house lights come up]
Elvis Presley
Oh, you're beautiful. Thank you. Oh, boy!
Colonel Tom Parker
He'll mention the VIPs that are here.
Elvis Presley
We got some high-rollers in here tonight.
Colonel Tom Parker
Get ready for the spotlight.
Elvis Presley
Mr. International Hotel himself.
[the spotlight falls on him]
Colonel Tom Parker
Ah, there you go!
Elvis Presley
And right next to him, is my so-called manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
[the spotlight turns to Parker, who playfully acts bashful]
Elvis Presley
But I hear rumors that Colonel... is an alien.
[Audience laughs]
[Elvis grabs a wine glass from someone in the audience and downs it one gulp]
Elvis Presley
Somebody call the FBI and tell 'em that he has abducted me...
[his voice becoming aggressive]
Elvis Presley
that he has locked me in this *golden cage* to keep me here forever with you, ladies and gentlemen.
[Audience applauds again]
Elvis Presley
[singing]
So, I'm caught in a trap / I can't get out / 'Cause Colonel's got some big debts, baby!
[the Colonel realizes what Elvis is saying. Elvis gives him a mean look from the stage]
Colonel Tom Parker
Excuse me.
[Colonel leaves]
Elvis Presley
Well, this is the last show I'm ever playing here.
[Audience groans]
Elvis Presley
I'm gonna get on my jet plane, the "Lisa Marie". It's named after, uh... my beautiful daughter. And I'm gonna fly away.
[the Colonel has arrived backstage in a hurry]
Elvis Presley
No, no, no... You know I'm going to fly away.
Colonel Tom Parker
[angrily whispering to the stagehands]
Stop the show. Stop this show! Come on, get this curtain down!
Elvis Presley
Fuck the International.
[Audience gasps]
Elvis Presley
And Las Vegas.
Jerry Schilling
That's what he wants to know.
Elvis Presley
Ain't no one gonna stop me, man.
[spots Parker from the wings]
Elvis Presley
Oh! Security! Security!
[begins babbling nonsensically, grabs another microphone from a band member]
Elvis Presley
Security, security, security!
[to Parker, shouting]
Elvis Presley
800 shows! You don't have a goddamn passport, you son of a bitch! You are fired!
[even louder, even angrier]
Elvis Presley
You are fired!
[Parker has now walked up to him face-to-face; Presley screams]
Elvis Presley
YOU'RE FIRED!... You're fired.
[as the curtains close, he drops the microphones and storms off]
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[repeated line]
Elvis Presley
The snowman strikes again.
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[after having written out a makeshift contract on a cocktail table setting for Elvis to earn $1 million for five years playing the International, without discussing it with him first]
Colonel Tom Parker
That is what my boy would expect. Now...
[chuckles gleefully]
Colonel Tom Parker
What are you going to pay me?
[the owner of the International takes a cocktail napkin and writes: All Previous Debts Canceled, Unlimited Line of Credit, As Long as Elvis Presley is on stage at the International]
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[Jerry confronts Elvis over the truth about Colonel Parker]
Jerry Schilling
He lied. There wasn't going to be an international tour 'cause he can't leave the country. He's got no citizenship, no official identity. He doesn't exist. There never was a Colonel Tom Parker.
Elvis Presley
What are you talking about, Jerry?
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[as Parker is introducing the Presley family to the merchandising options, Gladys is perturbed by one item]
Gladys Presley
"I Hate Elvis".
[Parker and Elvis look up in surprise and find that written on a button Gladys is holding]
Colonel Tom Parker
Yes. "I Hate Elvis". In my way of thinking, "I Love Elvis," that's an easy sell. Those who hate your son will do so whether we profit from it or not.
[to Elvis]
Colonel Tom Parker
After all, what is hate worth if it's free?
Vernon Presley
Oh, yeah. I get it.
[Elvis then breaks into a smile]
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[the afternoon before the Louisiana Hayride, Jimmie Snow has brought a record with him and plays it on a turntable]
Hank Snow
Hey, Jimmie, turn that record off.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow
Y'all have to hear this. Kids all over town are playing it everywhere I go.
[Jimmie turns up the volume - it's Elvis Presley covering Big Boy Crudup's song That's All Right]
Hank Snow
I hear Negro rhythms.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow
But with a country flavor.
Hank Snow
Sun Records? That's Sam Phillips' label.
Colonel Tom Parker
Oh, yeah, Phillips. He makes all those race records with the colored singers.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow
Well, this fella's on the Hayride tonight, after me in the newcomer spot.
Colonel Tom Parker
In Shreveport? No, they are not putting a colored boy on the Hayride.
[beat]
Jimmie Rodgers Snow
He's white.
[to himself]
Colonel Tom Parker
He's white?
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Colonel Tom Parker
[narrating]
Since the day he was born, she had feared losing her second son. While he was in basic training, she worried and drank. Worried and drank.
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[hearing Little Richard play "Tutti Frutti" live]
Elvis Presley
Man, he sings the hell out of that song! I would love to record that.
B.B. King
If you do, you'll make a whole lot more money than that kid could ever dream of.
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Gladys Presley
I don't need no pink Cadillac.
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Colonel Tom Parker
[narrating]
No, no, I didn't kill him. I made Elvis Presley. Nothing all those muckrakers said in their books was true. Me and Elvis, we was partners. It was Elvis the Showman and the Colonel the Snowman. I always knew I was destined for greatness. As an orphan, I ran away to the carnival, where I learned the art of the "snow job," of emptying a rube's wallet while leaving them with nothing but a smile on their face. But a carnival act that would get you the most money, the most snow, had great costumes and a unique trick, that gave the audience feelings they weren't sure they should enjoy. But they do. And I knew if I could find such an act, I could create the greatest... show... on... Earth.
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[after being asked if a clearly ill Elvis should go on with a concert]
Colonel Tom Parker
Now you listen to me. The only thing that matters is if that man is on that stage tonight!
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[Binder speaks to the crew of the '68 Special in the aftermath of Bobby Kennedy's assassination]
Steve Binder
Listen, I, uh... I just wanna say that... that this nation is hurting. It's lost. You know? It... it needs a voice right now to help it heal. We have to say something.
[turns to Elvis]
Steve Binder
You... have to make a statement, E.P.
[the Colonel barges his way into the room]
Colonel Tom Parker
Mr. Presley does not make statements. He sings "Here Comes Santa Claus" and wishes everyone "Merry Christmas and good night".
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[after the death of his beloved mother, Elvis is grieving alone in her closet, sobbing quietly. Colonel Parker enters]
Colonel Tom Parker
[gently]
Your daddy is doing the best he knows how, but he is overwhelmed. He needs your help.
Colonel Tom Parker
Oh, my boy. No one could never replace her. But you listen to me. From this moment on, everything she would have done, I will carry out, in her name. When you are overseas, I will stay here at home. And I will work and I will worry. Trust me. Now you go and you stand by your papa. You comfort him.
[helps Elvis to his feet]
Colonel Tom Parker
You comfort him. Comfort your friends and your family and even your fans. Hmm? Because if you don't do that, all that your mama has sacrificed for you will be for nothing.
[Still crying, Elvis embraces Colonel Parker]
Elvis Presley
No matter what happens, you stay with me through thick and thin, okay? You're like a... like a father to me.
[the Colonel pats him on the back, comfortingly]
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Elvis Presley
I don't feel I'm doing anything wrong.
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[In 1968, the Colonel is pitching Elvis a Christmas special on TV sponsored by the Singer sewing machine company]
Elvis Presley
Christmas special. Is this the best we can do, Admiral?
Colonel Tom Parker
Well, we took the Hollywood phonies for every nickel they had and now it is time to pack up our tents and move on to even greener pastures. We've seen "Elvis the Rebel". We've seen "Elvis the Movie Star". Now we will see "Elvis the Family Entertainer".
[walks over angrily]
Elvis Presley
Listen, Jerry, I don't need you to question me about how I support my family and every *goddamn* person here! You understand me? If you don't like it, you can go back to Memphis.
[entering his trailer]
Elvis Presley
Laugh it up, assholes.
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[Parker has found an advantageous opportunity to speak to Elvis alone in a hall of mirrors at a carnival]
Colonel Tom Parker
Lost, my boy?
Elvis Presley
Colonel Parker, sir.
Colonel Tom Parker
You look lost.
Elvis Presley
I guess I am.
Colonel Tom Parker
Ah, yes. The roar of the crowd. The life on the road. And then calling home to your loved ones, pretending nothing has changed when everything has.
Elvis Presley
Yeah. Lost. I'm sorry, sir. I... I meant I don't know the way out.
Colonel Tom Parker
Yes, that is precisely what I am saying. I... I saw you. Apart from the others. Burdened. Like you don't know how to get out of this. But I do.
[the Colonel pushes open a secret door allowing the two to exit the hall of mirrors]
Colonel Tom Parker
Allow me to show you.
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Priscilla
I am your wife. I AM YOUR WIFE!
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Colonel Tom Parker
It's just business. Show business. To achieve truly great things, one must make truly great sacrifices. You will have to be free of any entanglements. You see, my boy, show business is snow business.
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[narrating as he's being shown fuming over Elvis' choice to record "If I Can Dream" over a traditional Christmas song]
Colonel Tom Parker
I always said, when it came to music, my boy knows best. But the special was *my* idea. It was a tremendous hit. We was back on top. But some people were putting ideas in his head that he didn't need me no more.
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Jimmie Rodgers Snow
[Holding up a 45 rpm record with a Sun label]
Hot diggity dog, Billy, I got one! Can't believe it. Blow your socks off!
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Colonel Tom Parker
[narrating]
Those know-it-all hippies had brainwashed Elvis, acting like he was one of them radicals, throwing his career away to sing spirituals with a bunch of longhairs.
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Colonel Tom Parker
All showmen are snowmen.
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