Elvis and his buddies liked to practice karate between set-ups on location, breaking many boards in the process. Don Siegel had a crew member make cuts to a board to weaken it.
When Elvis passed by, Siegel yelled, “Hey, Elvis,” and karate chopped the board, breaking it. Elvis kept walking saying, “That's pretty good, Don. Almost as good as my other directors did it.”
Elvis’ performance was praised by critics. One only has to compare Elvis’ brooding, violent presence as the half-breed Pacer, to his naive country boy Tobey Kwimper in Follow That Dream, to appreciate his range as an actor.
There were four songs planned, but Elvis demanded all but the title song be taken out. However, the cast was called back a month after filming to add Elvis singing a hoe-down dance number at the beginning of the film before any of the dramatics started.
Elvis’ GI Blues, with 10 songs, was released at the same time as Flaming Star. GI Blues made more money, so after one more try at drama, Wild in the Country, with two songs added mid-filming, Elvis’ movie career went totally musical. (With the exception of the western Charro.)
That said, all of Elvis' 33 movies made a profit. Producer Hal Wallis said, “The only sure thing in Hollywood is an Elvis Presley movie.”
Andy Warhol immortalized Flaming Star with his art depiction of Elvis as Pacer.
