Elvis Presley Was Here!

Follow That Dream is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley made by Mirisch Productions. The movie was based on the 1959 novel Pioneer, Go Home! by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the song Follow that Dream and retitled the picture. The movie reached #5 on the Variety weekly Box Office Survey, staying on the chart for three weeks, and finishing at #33 on the year end list of the top-grossing movies of 1962.

The title Follow That Dream was chosen, allegedly, because the songwriters could not find a rhyme for "pioneer".

At first, Powell was unhappy that Presley had been chosen for the role, but after seeing the finished film he thought Presley had done a good job.

Filming began July 6, 1961 in the summer heat of Florida. It was filmed in Citrus, Marion, and Levy Counties, specifically Inverness, Ocala, Yankeetown, Inglisn. The courtroom scene took place in the 1912 Citrus County Old Courthouse in Inverness which has been restored and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Part of the courtroom restoration can be directly attributed to the film in that it was the only record of the original courtroom configuration.

Yankeetown memorializes his stay in the form of their major highway, Follow That Dream Parkway. The parkway was named due to the efforts of four Elvis fans. After months of meetings, the parkway had a grand opening under its new name, Follow That Dream Parkway, on July 27, 1996. The dedication and celebration was held in Inglis, Florida. The bank scene was filmed in Ocala, Florida at a bank on Silver Springs Boulevard.

During filming, Elvis met Tom Petty, who was only 11 years old at the time. Petty's uncle was involved in the production of the movie. Shortly afterwards, Petty swapped his slingshot for a friend's collection of Elvis records.