In 1957, Tommy Sands had his breakout role playing a character with LOTS of similarities to his own singing career. Surprisingly, one of the songs from this live TV show soon hit the top 10...and suddenly the previously unknown Sands was in big demand. It also wasn't at all surprising that Hollywood would want to remake this TV show into a feature length film, "Sing Boy Sing".
What I find most interesting as I watch the movie is how similar Sands' character, Virgil Walker, is to Elvis. This isn't coincidental, as Sands himself used to have Colonel Tom Parker as his manager...the same guy who took Elvis to mega-stardom. And, it seems that Sands' view of Parker is NOT the same Elvis'...at least not in 1958. This film makes the Parker wannabe, 'Joe Sharkey' (Edmond O'Brien), seem pretty much like Satan's meaner big brother! Yes, Sharkey is a master manipulator and liar...and a man who is easy to detest! To wring the most out of his protege, Sharkey tries to isolate young Virgil...isolating him from family, friends and from real life. He is 100% rotten and you can tell that Sands was really disaffected with the man. Of course, to avoid lawsuits, everyone connected with the film and TV version claimed it's all fiction. Yeah, sure! So exactly what does Sharkey do and how does all this end? See the film.
Seeing Tommy Sands in the lead is perfect...just perfect. His style is very reminiscent of Elvis....complete with the swinging of the hips, his style singing and his voice. I've seen Sands in several other films, but this one seems to be the best vehicle for him. Apart from Sands, O'Brien is great...nasty and awful, but great at playing the role.
The story itself is also exceptional, as so much of what you see in it turned out to be the same way the Colonel managed and micro-managed Elvis. The big deal about this is that it took decades until tell all movies about Elvis came out...and this one came out way earlier.
Overall, a really interesting and well made film with a mesmerizing performance by Sands. I've seen all but one of his films and clearly of those I've seen, it's the best chance to see his singing and acting talents.
