Love Me Tender is a 1956 American musical Western film directed by Robert D. Webb, and released by 20th Century Fox on November 15, 1956.

In the film's opening scenes, the three Reno brothers, serving as Confederate cavalrymen, attack a Union train carrying a federal payroll of $12,000, not knowing that the war had ended only a day before.

A conflict of interest ensues when Vance tries to return the money against the wishes of some of his fellow Confederates, all of whom are being sought by the U.S. Government for robbery.

In the end, the money is returned, the Reno brothers are released, the other three ex-Confederates are arrested, and Clint is laid to rest at the family farm.

A somewhat more realistic film telling the story of the Reno Brothers, Rage at Dawn starring Randolph Scott, had been released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1955.

[4] He had worked as a cinema usher in his youth and would often watch his screen idols James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Tony Curtis[4] during shifts, studying their acting and learning lines from their movies.

[8] The test lasted three days[8] and included Presley performing two scenes from The Rainmaker,[8] and lip-syncing to Blue Suede Shoes.

"[4] His first screen test, a scene from the William Inge play The Girls of Summer, resulted in drama coach Charlotte Clary declaring to her class of students, "Now that is a natural born actor".

[8] Wallis, who had produced classics such as Casablanca, Little Caesar, and The Maltese Falcon, had promised Presley that he would look for dramatic roles to let the singer take his acting career seriously.

Lewis had just separated from his comedy partner Dean Martin after a successful run of seventeen movies together, but again the idea was shelved.

[11] On April 10, Presley confidently announced during a radio interview that his debut feature would be The Rainmaker with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn.

[20] Filming of the movie's climactic sequence, including the death scene for Presley's character, took place at the Bell Moving Picture Ranch in the Santa Susana Mountains west of the San Fernando Valley on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

The party was able to locate the site by combining details from Love Me Tender and the Victor Mature movie Escort West, which also filmed on the "Rocky Hill.

"[7] When Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show during a break in filming the movie, on September 9, he performed "Love Me Tender" for the first time.

[3][22] On November 20 Presley attended a private screening at Loew's State Theater in Memphis,[3] during which his mother, Gladys, cried over the death of her son's character.

[4] In his book Me And A Guy Named Elvis, Jerry Schilling recounts the atmosphere inside Loew's State Theater in Memphis during the premiere screening: "The screams of the girls around me made it just about impossible to follow the story.

This was the first time I'd seen an audience treat a film like it was a live concert, loudly responding to every move made and word uttered by their favorite star.

"[24] Presley would later tell his friend Cliff Gleaves [de] that he found this type of reaction from his moviegoing fans embarrassing, and that it prevented him from being viewed as a serious actor.

The disc contains the movie in its original widescreen letterbox format, plus audio commentary by noted Elvis historian, and Memphis Mafia member, Jerry Schilling.