As recounted in “Down at the End of Lonely Street” by Peter H. Brown, Anne Helm’s affair with Elvis Presley got off to a quick start on the set of “Follow That Dream.” The movie was being shot in Crystal River, Florida, with the actors and crew spending each night after filming cooped up in a nearby motel. Presley made an impression on Helm by knocking on her door on the first day of filming to greet her with a bouquet of roses — a charm tactic he reportedly used on all his leading women. It certainly worked on Helm.
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Everyone on set loved Presley and doted on him, and though the King was often mobbed by fans, back at the motel the actors and crew formed a tight-knit group who played poker together and performed practical jokes on each other. Helm found herself adolescently infatuated with her iconic co-star, later admitting that she would spend her time writing poetry about the “Jailhouse Rock” singer. Their affair became well known on set — even though it was rumored that Presley was engaged — and Helm claims to have felt guilty for staying the night in the rocker’s room. The pair continued to see each other after filming, but after an argument in Hollywood that ended with Helm slamming the lid of a piano down on Presley’s finger, he never called her again.
