King Creole: The Disputed Territories of 1950s American Youth Culture

This book positions King Creole in the disputed territories of 1950s youth culture. It is one of Elvis’s best regarded films, but one of his least financially successful. It is a portrait of youthful alienation and juvenile delinquency made at a time when these topics were becoming less fashionable in teenpics.

The author argues that King Creole's release during the death throes of rock and roll in America helps to position it as an outlier among youth films of the time in three distinct way...