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Elvis and the Beauty Queen

  • TV Movie
  • 1981
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
184
YOUR RATING
Don Johnson in Elvis and the Beauty Queen (1981)
DramaMusical

After separating from his wife Priscilla in February 1972, Elvis Presley begins a love affair with Linda Thompson, a young beauty pageant contestant who became his live-in girlfriend and tra... Read allAfter separating from his wife Priscilla in February 1972, Elvis Presley begins a love affair with Linda Thompson, a young beauty pageant contestant who became his live-in girlfriend and travelling companion for four of the last five years of his life.After separating from his wife Priscilla in February 1972, Elvis Presley begins a love affair with Linda Thompson, a young beauty pageant contestant who became his live-in girlfriend and travelling companion for four of the last five years of his life.

  • Director
    • Gus Trikonis
  • Writer
    • Julia Cameron
  • Stars
    • Stephanie Zimbalist
    • Don Johnson
    • Ann Dusenberry
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.4/10
    184
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gus Trikonis
    • Writer
      • Julia Cameron
    • Stars
      • Stephanie Zimbalist
      • Don Johnson
      • Ann Dusenberry
    • 7User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

    View Poster
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    Top cast28

    Edit
    Stephanie Zimbalist
    Stephanie Zimbalist
    • Linda Thompson
    Don Johnson
    Don Johnson
    • Elvis Presley
    Ann Dusenberry
    Ann Dusenberry
    • Jeannie
    Rick Lenz
    Rick Lenz
    • David Briggs
    Ann Wedgeworth
    Ann Wedgeworth
    • Aunt Betty
    Richard Herd
    Richard Herd
    • Thompson
    Jay W. MacIntosh
    • Mrs. Thompson
    Ruta Lee
    Ruta Lee
    • Su-Su
    Edward Edwards
    Edward Edwards
    • Sam Thompson
    Darrell Fetty
    Darrell Fetty
    • Pete Moore
    John Crawford
    John Crawford
    • Vernon Presley
    Richard Winterstein
    • Bobby Farr
    Gary Lee Davis
    • Ray
    John Ashton
    John Ashton
    • Jake
    Bobbi Jordan
    • Pregnant Woman
    Susan Mullen
    Susan Mullen
    • Nurse
    John Christy Ewing
    • Doctor
    Jo Anne Meredith
    • Red Lady
    • Director
      • Gus Trikonis
    • Writer
      • Julia Cameron
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews7

    4.4184
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    Featured reviews

    4jescci

    Casting every bit as bad as you think

    You may say to yourself, "Don Johnson as Elvis? Can that work? Is it possible? Seems like an terrible choice to me, but perhaps I should have an open mind. Maybe I'll be surprised. Maybe he can pull it off."

    NOT!

    Don Johnson is not a bad actor. But he is an awful Elvis. He's too short, too weak-voiced, too sharply featured ... well you've already imagined how bad he would be. Add to that a hokey black wig and heavy-handed eye-liner and mascara and it's a big fat embarrassing mess.

    The best I can say is that since Johnson's acting is decent and since his impersonation is so far off, after a while you don't even think of him as Elvis anymore. You see him as some other crazed pop star instead. Then, on that level, the movie becomes watchable.

    Stephanie Zimbalist is also not ideally cast as the tall, beauty queen, Linda Thompson. But she is attractive in her own right and plays the part with the honesty, elegance and intelligence we've come to expect from all her roles. There may be too much intelligence in her performance. You have to be kind of a dope to stick with a dope abusing dope.

    There's nothing new to this story; we've heard it many times before. If you've looking for new info or insight, you won't find it. It's told as a love story - an unrequited one: Linda for Elvis and Elvis for drugs.
    10awebb-88562

    Enjoy Every Perspective of Elvis

    This is a good movie from Linda Thompsons perspective. I've seen other reviews say it's not a factual movie. It actually is a factual movie. One has to understand that names, places, costumes, and certain situations were either trademarked or names would have to be granted permission. It's also Hollywood. So you have to suspend real life, use your imagination and enjoy the movie. Nobody is Elvis Presley and, if you're a fan, nobody ever will. So don't knock Ms. Thompsons version of how she saw life with Elvis. It's a movie.....enjoy it.
    rtsenn

    Sonny pushes up his sleeves and takes on the KING!

    WOW! This is the worst Elvis tribute movie I have ever seen. Don Johnson is HORRIBLE! Looking at him in the cheesy wig and over the top jump suits almost made me puke. This is supposed to be a docudrama, it is neither! I know that this movie is from Linda Thompson's perspective but man is it ever bad writing.

    Elvis is an icon and an American treasure. The filmmakers should have been required to run this by E's estate. As a die hard Elvis fan I would never recommend anyone see this film. "Elvis" with Kurt Russell is the definitive Elvis tribute and the singing by Russell is awesome! His reprise in "3000 Miles to Graceland" is awesome as well.

    There is a reason that Don Johnson is out of work, and this film shows why! He should stick to singing "Heartbeat" and leave the Elvis songs to the KING!
    jwpeel-1

    Not the worst. Not the best.

    I still remember when I first saw this movie on television and the entrance of Don Johnson as Elvis made me laugh out loud. His high pitched voice was so unlike Elvis, it was almost like a Saturday Night Live routine that was SUPPOSED to be ridiculous. Stephanie Zimbalist I found impressive as an actress, but the only reason I could see to watch this movie at all was to hear Ronnie McDowell's excellent voice impression of Elvis seen on stage. As expected, the Las Vegas jumpsuits were perfect, but it isn't enough to make this anything but an interesting curio. Better to watch the Kurt Russell film "Elvis," directed by John Carpenter. They need little bit of trivia. Elvis Presley did play a character named John Carpenter in one of his later films.
    1smalltownlover2003

    The worst

    I'm a Don Johnson fan, but this is undoubtedly the WORST movie, done by anybody, that I've ever seen. The acting was bad, as was the cinematography. Don should stick to doing action, because as The King, he just didn't cut it.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)
    Musical

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Don Johnson gained 40 pounds to portray Elvis in this film.
    • Goofs
      15 minutes in, the scene with Linda's aunt, a boom mic is seen from above for at least a second.

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 1, 1981 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Elvis y la reina de belleza
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • David Gerber Productions
      • Columbia Pictures Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 40m(100 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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