This information was told by Academy Award winning actress Shelley Winters in her autobiography and confirmed by Sammy Davis Jr. in his autobiography.

Shelly was in a studio screening room with Elvis, Sammy, and producer Hal Wallis, who produced 380 movies and eventually nine movies with Elvis. They had just finished watching Elvis' dramatic performance in Jailhouse Rock. Wallis said, "Good job, Elvis. I think you and Sammy will be perfect for The Defiant Ones."

Shelley Winters said, "Tom Parker's loud voice came from the back of the room saying, 'We won't do that movie. There's more money with Elvis singing in movies.' Elvis sat there silently.”

Elvis went on with producer Wallis and director Michael Curtis to make one of his most dramatic and popular movies, King Creole. Yet, it did have Elvis singing tens songs to be released as a record album with two of the songs, King Creole and Hard Headed Woman being hit singles. The album peaked at number two.

Yet, Elvis wanted an acting career where he didn’t sing at all. The Defiant Ones would have given him that chance. In David Thomson’s book The Moment of Psycho, he wrote: “No one ever thought of casting Elvis Presley as Norman Bates. But once you do think of it, you can’t shake it lose.”

Thinking that, brings to mind numerous possibilities for Elvis’ movie career. He was a big fan of movies, often renting his local theater five nights a week to watch movies with his friends. When Elvis raved about a movie, his friends sometimes ask, “Why don’t you make a movie like that?” Elvis would shrug it off with some offhand remark.

Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier made The Defiant Ones with Stanley Kramer producing and directing.  The movie won Academy Awards for Best Black and White Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay and nominated for seven others including: Best Picture and Best Actor for both Poitier and Curtis.

Tony Curtis insisted that Poitier's name be above the title with his name. A first in Poitier's career.

As for Elvis’ acting, one only has to watch his hot-tempered, half-breed character of Pacer in Flaming Star, followed up by his slow-witted Tobey Kwimper in Follow That Dream to know Elvis had the talent to pull off The Defiant Ones, had his manager not been so defiant.