Great Balls of Fire!

Synopsis: The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Director(s): Jim McBride
Production: Orion Pictures Corporation
  1 win & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
6.2
Rotten Tomatoes:
63%
PG-13
Year:
1989
108 min
188 Views


- I don't know, Jerry Lee. I don't know.

- You don't have to come, cousin.

My dad will whip me if he finds out

I went to the chocolate quarter with you.

- Jimmy Lee Swaggart, you're yellow.

- I am not.

- Think anybody seen us?

- Who cares?

Come on.

Come on!

Oh, yeah!

Come on, Jerry Lee. Let's get

outta here. It's the devil's music.

I can feel it.

Yeah.

Come on, Jerry Lee.

- Get your arms off my man.

- Hey, baby.

Yeah!

Hi, squirt.

Memphis, Tennessee

November - 1956

Myra, ain't it?

Yeah.

- Who are you?

- I'm your daddy's cousin.

Jerry Lee Lewis, from Ferriday, Louisiana,

your Aunt Mamie's boy.

I heard about you.

- They say you're a wild one.

- When it comes to playing this here piano

you are looking at

the wildest mother of them all.

- What are you doin' around here?

- Me and your dad are forming a band.

I'm gonna be the main attraction. I've

got a ferocious God-given talent on me.

We're goin' over to Sun Records.

We're gonna eyeball Sam Phillips,

see if he can get us a deal.

- Sam Phillips discovered Elvis, you know.

- I know.

I got all Elvis's records.

Oh, Elvis ain't so hot. He can't do this.

You sure think a whole lot

of yourself, don't you?

Sure I do.

- Don't you?

- Me?

I ain't nobody. I'm only 13.

Well, you look all woman to Jerry Lee.

Myra Gale, you better behave yourself.

I am!

Jerry Lee here's a married man.

Ain't that right, Jerry Lee?

- Uh, that's not necessarily so, Lois.

- And just what do you mean by that?

Well, you see, I was still married to my

first wife when I married my second wife,

so I never really was married to her.

And since I divorced my first wife

a couple of years ago,

I'm as free as a bird in a tree.

- Well, hello.

- Hey, babe.

- Hey, you ready to go?

- Where?

- Where? Sun Records.

- What, now?

Hell, yeah, now. What do you think

I've been waitin' around all day for?

- All right.

- Daddy, can I go too?

Little girl, you stay home

and do your homework.

Sorry Mr Phillips couldn't be here. I'll play

those tapes for him soon as he gets back.

Are you sure we recorded enough, Mr

Clement? I can play anything you want.

You're good, boy, but a piano

ain't never gonna make you no money.

Little girls like guitar players nowadays.

They like to watch 'em wiggle around.

You can't do that behind a piano.

So, what did Mr Sam Phillips

think of the great Jerry Lee Lewis?

- He ain't heard him yet.

- But he will. It's a guaranteed fact.

Thank you, Lord, for this,

your bountiful blessing.

Protect and guide us

in your everlasting grace.

For what we are about

to receive, we give thanks.

- Amen.

- Amen.

Amen.

Jerry Lee, have some of my meat loaf.

Here you go.

I'm takin' the car.

What in holy hell is wrong with him?

Sam Phillips was supposed

to be back four days ago.

All this waitin's

drivin' poor Jerry Lee nuts.

- Are you ready, Mr Phillips?

- Roll it.

Piano, huh?

I can sell that.

Wait! Well, I'll be dogged. It's Mr

Sam Phillips. Come on around here.

We got a brand-new record

recorded today in Memphis

at the same cotton-pickin' studio,

by the same cotton-pickin' man

that discovered Elvis, Mr Sam Phillips.

Good old Sam of Sun Records tells me

this boy he's got is gonna be bigger

than the Big E, Carl Perkins

and Johnny Cash combined.

That's me!

The name of the song is "Crazy

Arms" and the singer is Jerry Lewis.

Mama! Dad! Come quick!

Oh, my God!

Yeah!

What do you think, Memphis? Call

Daddy-O at the Red Hot and Blue Show,

KL55656, and tell me what you think

of "Crazy Arms" by Mr Jerry Lewis.

We love it, Daddy-O!

Hot dog!

Whoa!

Sorry.

I'll take him over Elvis

any old day, Daddy-O!

Whoo!

Well, that vote's in,

and 39 out of 40 callers say yes

to "Crazy Arms" by Jerry Lewis.

Well, Myra, throw away

them Elvis records.

Here comes Jerry Lee Lewis.

What's that on your face, Officer?

Get rid of that.

Straighten up. Now, you're gonna

go and meet Sam Phillips.

Hi.

For Pete's sakes, Jerry.

Hi. Jay Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis

to meet Sam Phillips.

Let me do the talkin', all right?

Sam? JW Brown. Remember me?

And Jerry Lee Lewis here.

Mr Phillips.

You take a white right hand

and a black left hand

and what do you got?

Son, you got rock and roll.

Jerry, I got big plans for them hands.

Well, Mr Phillips, these hands

can heal the sick, raise the dead,

and make girls talk

right out of their head.

Hallelujah.

Jerry Lee Lewis, JW Brown,

say hello to my brother, Jud Phillips.

My brother here's got a real good feelin'

about that hot piece of wax you cats cut.

I'm the legman here. I move

the merchandise. And it's movin' time.

You gonna bust us flat in no time.

Sam here don't understand that you

have to spend money to make money.

- That makes sense.

- And Jud don't understand

that you cannot spend

what you do not have.

- You got a point there.

- And that is from the genius

who sold Elvis Presley for $35,000.

I've got bigger fish to fry.

Jerry...

how would you like to become

a member of the Sun family?

- Golly! Where do I sign?

- On the dotted line.

- Maybe I'd better take a look at that first.

- You're the manager?

Why, sure I am. Ain't that right, Jerry?

Uh...

Yes, Mr Phillips, he's my manager.

He's my bass player too. We're family.

But he won't have to read it

cos we trust you, Mr Phillips.

Oh, man!

We're gonna batter eardrums

from coast to coast, man!

- Hot dog!

- Look who's outside!

Elvis! Elvis!

Excuse me a second, boys.

Elvis?

How would you boys like to meet

the king of rock and roll?

Why, hell, yeah!

How you doin', son?

Ferriday, Louisiana

Christmas - 1956

Jerry!

Here you go.

Y'all want one? All right. Here you go.

- Here.

- Oh, thanks.

- Ain't that Jimmy's car?

- It's Uncle Jimmy.

Hey! Here you go, cousin.

Take a look at that.

Just play it.

I'm of the opinion that a God-given talent

ought to be used for the glory of God.

I'm of the opinion that a God-given talent

ought to be for the glory of the talented.

Jimmy.

Come here.

How come you're actin' like this?

Boy, you got a smart mouth on you,

talkin' about God that way.

Loosen up, cousin. Now, look, I know you.

You're my blood and you're just like me

if you wouldn't fight it so hard.

So why don't you and me go down

to the chocolate quarter

and have some fun like we used to?

You remember how?

Now I'm going to tell you somethin'

and you listen close here.

God will not be mocked.

He speaks through those two hands

of yours, or tries to.

Your music is meant to serve him.

You were raised to preach his word.

Yeah, but his word is "Don't".

And I got this thing inside me

that says "Do, do, do".

Don't you believe in God any more?

Course I do. You know that I do.

Then talk to him.

And listen to what he has to say.

Read this.

"Narrow is the way to life everlasting. "

Other side.

"Broad is the road

that leadeth to destruction. "

- Sort of like heads or tails, ain't it?

- You keep it, Jerry Lee.

You keep it to remind you that

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Jack Baran

Jack Mathew Baran (born January 13, 1997), also known by his YouTube name thatsojack is an American YouTuber from Fairfield, Connecticut. more…

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    "Great Balls of Fire!" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/great_balls_of_fire!_9293>.

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