One of Elvis's best films. Legendary film director Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry) gets the most out of Elvis and the King proves here that when he had something of substance to work from, he was more than capable.

This film not only has a gripping and tragic storyline, it looks and feels authentic enough in dealing with an important chapter in American history. The film is packed with emotional moments and action and an all round good cast. If Elvis had gotten more film roles like this one, he could have become one of the great movie stars. 8 out of 10.

Elvis Presley really stretched his acting talents to the limit in Flaming Star. Though the singing King is kept to a minimum, Flaming Star is one of his finest acted films. And musically the title song which Elvis sings over the opening credits is a great one for him.

The only other musical number is right at the beginning of the film where Elvis sings a country hoedown during a party. Right after that the world of Elvis's character Pacer Burton falls apart. He's the son of John McIntire and his wife Dolores Del Rio who is a Kiowa Indian. The rest of the family consists of older brother Steve Forrest. The Kiowas with their new chief Rudolfo Acosta go on the warpath and when their formerly friendly neighbors turn on them the Burtons are all alone on their Texas frontier spread.

Being of mixed race Presley feels the conflict from within. Elvis under the direction of Don Siegel gives a wonderful performance with pain registering from every pore every minute he's on screen when the Kiowa War starts.

Flaming Star is the most negative film Elvis Presley ever did in his career. It's a stinging indictment of racial prejudice, one of the best ever put on screen. Elvis rarely stretched his talents on the screen like this and Flaming Star is one of his films that's quite a bit more than a showcase for his music.

I haven't seen enough Elvis Presley movies to say whether this is one of his better ones as some other reviewers state, but the film being what it is, he does a competent job among a fair contingent of fellow actors in support roles. Interestingly, this is the second film in a row I've seen in which John McIntire figures prominently; he was an evil town boss up against Jimmy Stewart in "The Far Country", while here he's portraying the patriarch of a ranch family, maintaining his integrity as the husband of Kiowa Indian squaw Neddy (Dolores del Rio),who's translated name means 'thin woman who deserted her own people'.

As a half-breed, Presley's character is torn between two races, particularly after new Kiowa chief Buffalo Horn (Rodolfo Acosta) renews his tribe's war against whites with raids on local ranchers, including the Burton homestead. Before it's explained, I thought 'Flaming Star' might have been Pacer's Indian name, but we soon learn that it refers to a dream or vision in which a flaming star signals impending doom or death. Two such instances occur in the story, once for Pacer's mother Neddy, and then again for Pacer himself at the finale.

Most likely in keeping with the general dark tone of the story, Presley's appearance here doesn't bring with it a host of musical numbers. After offering the title song over the opening credits, there's only one more fairly lively number called "A Cane and a High Starched Collar" performed in front of family and friends before the story turns ominous.

Directed by movie veteran Don Siegel, there's probably more graphic violence here than one might expect, particularly given the film's celebrity star in the lead role. A wicked Kiowa hatchet to a settler's forehead caught me by surprise, and Presley himself engaged in a pretty realistic looking tussle with his white brother Clint (Steve Forrest) in the story. I was surprised as well that Presley's character was allowed to die in the picture from mortal wounds suffered in the final battle, a fate generally not considered for entertainers as popular with the ladies as Elvis was.