In his book 'Cinema Speculation' Quinton Tarantino commented that this is the movie that convinced him that Elvis could have been a really good actor, if he hadn't gotten stuck making the cheese that Colonel Parker liked, because it was cheap and made easy money. 'Flaming Star' is not an "Elvis movie" in the Parker sense, rather it is a movie with Elvis in it. It's a decent, though in no way remarkable film; Elvis sings two songs in the first 10 minutes or so (a concession to Parker) but its a straight pulp western story after that.
Set in 1870's Texas, Elvis plays Pacer Burton, the son of one of the earliest ranchers in the area Sam 'Pa' Burton (John McIntire) and an Indian princess who he calls Neddy (Dolores del Rio). Packer has an older half brother named Cliff (Steve Forrest) from Sam's previous marriage, Cliff's mother had died and Sam married Neddy shortly after moving to the area in the 1850's. Accordingly the Burtons social circles bridge the native Americans and the newer white settlers. Things in the area were mostly peaceful for a very long time, but with increasing white settlement and the subsequent loss of land the local Indians start to attack unwanted settlers. Elvis is torn between two worlds, with the Burtons trying to keep natural as long as possible, but that proves to be untenable.
It's a good movie, well paced, interesting enough story, Elvis is understated outside, but inside he gets to seething. A young Barbara Edan is a local girl both brothers like, but Elvis's "half cast" status means her pa is not keen on him. Again, this is a satisfactory pulp western tale, with interesting interpersonal character dynamics for the genre. Elvis show promise here, that was never realized. ***
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