The following story is true and may even be frightening. On a cold winter day in 1970, Elvis Presley met Richard Nixon, and hey, we even have the pictures to prove it. The film appropriately titled Elvis Meets Nixon takes the comical and sometimes unbelievable events of the meeting and makes them known to the public. This is history, maybe at its funniest. To really understand this story and why it proves important, a little background information needed.
Elvis started out as a good old country boy in 1952 while trying to make a name for himself. He looked to Tony Curtis for hair-style and began singing like Dean Martin. In 1956 Elvis broke through in the music world, seen only from the waist up on The Ed Sullivan Show, acquiring the nickname Elvis The Pelvis. In the `60s Elvis was dethroned with the arrival of the Beatles and remained in the background of music till 1968, when he put on the black leather jacket for the TV Comeback Special.
In 1952 Nixon fought his bad press with the now infamous Checkers’ speech and Eisenhower kept him as a running mate. Then in 1956 Nixon fought again to be vice-president, earning the nickname Tricky Dick. Nixon lost the election in 1960 and retired from public life until 1968 when he won, thanks to his secret plan to end the war.
So what you had was two men, icons of the `50s, who fell silent for the most of the `60s, only to rise and fall and rise again in the late `60s and early `70s. And only in America, would these two cultural giants meet four days before Christmas 1970.
The film Elvis Meets Nixon begins at Graceland on Dec. 19, 1970. Elvis (Rick Peters) unhappy with his life leaves the mansion alone for the first time in 14 years.
Unbeknownst to all, Elvis sets out that night with a secret plan. He travels by plane to Washington D.C., hoping to meet with the U.S. Deputy Marshal in Drug Enforcement.
Even though he continued to pop pills after leaving the army, Elvis desires to become a drug enforcement agent. Elvis thought drugs like marijuana were something that the Beatles had brought over from England.
Later, a bored Elvis catches another flight to LA to visit a friend. Elvis arrives in LA and in the next 24 hours the outside world opens his eyes. He sees people protesting the war, hears their music and smells the pot.
Elvis, being a good American, feels the country is falling apart and wants to help out. While flying back to Washington the next day, he writes a letter to President Richard Nixon offering his support as a federal agent-at-large to counteract the revolution in the streets.
Nixon (Bob Gunton), at the same time, faced problems of his own. People hated him and the 24-hour marches outside the gate reflected the public’s opinion. Nixon desperately wanted someone the young people looked up to, to support him. When Elvis pulls up to the White House gates and hands the letter to the guard, Nixon gets his wish.
In the end, as history shows, Nixon got his picture and Elvis got his badge, and neither man would make any use of either one. Elvis Meets Nixon humorously explores a time in the country when drastic changes were taking place. Elvis and Nixon represented different worlds coming together in a time that had no place for either of them.
The great movie combines aspects of both documentary and straightforward comedy, and includes interviews with Dick Cavett, Wayne Newton, Graham Nash and Tony Curtis. Peters and Gunton bring new life to their characters, adding humor that in a way reflects the unbelievable truth behind the story.
Made for the Showtime cable network. Elvis Meets Nixon is only available on video cassette.
