Daarstad's 'Elvis on Tour' on Little Theater screen

"Elvis on Tour," Elvis' last film before his death in 1977, follows the King of Rock 'n' Roll as he embarked on a 15-city U.S. tour in April 1972. More than 25 performances spotlight Elvis' talent, range and showmanship in captivating on-stage performances and intimate backstage rehearsals with his band.

The Panida and Bonner County Daily Bee present "Elvis on Tour," another wonderful Erik Daarstad documentary in "A Visit with Erik" series in the Little Theater on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Shot with multi-cameras and presented in a split-screen format similar to "Woodstock" the movie, "Elvis on Tour" combines concert, rehearsal and backstage footage to provide all the excitement of having a front row seat at the show. Concert performances include "Burning Love," "Don't Be Cruel," "Teddy Bear," "Hound Dog," "Love Me Tender," "Suspicious Minds," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Are you Lonesome Tonight" and many more favorites. The film also contains footage of Presley's famous 1956 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and pre-tour rehearsal footage.

The concerts filmed for "Elvis on Tour" took place at the Coliseums in Hampton Roads and Richmond, Va., Greensboro, N.C., and at the Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Eight to 10 cameras were utilized to cover the events with Dave Myers, a veteran of "Woodstock," and Erik Daarstad manning the two main cameras. Both Dave and Erik usually worked up on stage with the performers, Dave on stage right and Erik on stage left or vice versa. Martin Scorsese, who shortly thereafter became a director, worked as an editor at that time and supervised montage sequences. The film was directed by Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel.

The concert film reached 13 on the Variety National Box Office Survey. In general, documentaries were very rarely box office successes. However, despite costing upward of $1.6 million to produce, most of which was Presley's $1 million fee, the film recouped its production costs after just three days in the theaters. As well as being a financial success, "Elvis on Tour" proved to also be a critical success by winning the 1972 Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary, making it the only Elvis film to win an award of any kind.

"Elvis on Tour" begins with the opening lines spoken by Elvis himself: "My Daddy had seen a lot of people who played guitars and stuff and didn't work. So he told me, you should make up your mind about either playing guitar or being an electrician. I never saw a guitar player that was worth a damn."

Although Presley would be offered numerous films over the next few years, including, famously, the 1976 remake of "A Star is Born," he would make no more films in his lifetime.

Tickets to "Elvis on Tour" are $6 adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, 18 and under, available in advance at Pedro's, Pack River Potions and at the door before each showing, if any remain.