three-movie deal with Paramount Pictures, Presley was paid US$150,000. Lizabeth Scott plays Glenda Markle, manager and love interest of bandleader "Tex" Warner. Known for her roles in the 1940s and early 1950s, Scott returned from retirement to co-star in the movie. Wendell Corey plays Walter "Tex" Warner, bandleader of the Rough Ridin' Cowboys and the roadshow that Deke joins and revitalizes. Corey was known for his appearances in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and Joseph Anthony's The Rainmaker. A decade earlier, he co-starred with Lizabeth Scott in 1947's Desert Fury and I Walk Alone. Dolores Hart plays Susan Jessup, a young singer who tours with Tex Warner's band and Deke's love interest. Cast in her first movie role, Hart was discovered by Wallis after he saw her in a production of Joan of Lorraine at Loyola University. He screen-tested Hart on January 16, 1957, and later signed her for US$250 a week. Then named Dolores Hicks, Wallis requested her to change her name to favor her acting career. She adopted Hart, after the maiden surname of a friend. The actress changed it legally to "Dolores Hart". A year after Loving You, Hart was cast as Presley's love interest in his 1958 black-and-white musical drama, King Creole. Ken Becker also occasionally billed as Kenny Becker or Kenneth Becker, plays Deke's rival, Wayne, who loses a fistfight with Deke. Becker played similar roles in three later Presley films, G.I. Blues (1960), Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) and Roustabout (1964). Jana Lund plays Daisy Bricker, the object of Wayne's jealousy, who kisses Deke (Presley's first on-screen kiss). A year earlier, she appeared in another rock and roll film, 1956's Don't Knock the Rock. Following Loving You, she had roles in three other titles in the psychotronic film genre, 1958's High School Hellcats, Hot Car Girl and Frankenstein 1970. Production The film was based on the short story "A Call from Mitch Miller", written by Mary Agnes Thompson and published in the June 1956 issue of Good Housekeeping. In that year, producer Hal Wallis bought the rights for the story to turn it into a vehicle for Presley's first starring role for Paramount Pictures. Six months before the start of the production, Wallis loaned Presley to 20th Century Fox, where he appeared in his movie debut, the 1956 film Love Me Tender. The producer then selected Hal Kanter to direct the film and to co-write the