The new movie, "Elvis & Nixon," tells the story of the meeting of the King and the President in the Oval Office on Dec. 21, 1970. This was before the installation of the taping system that ultimately brought down Nixon's presidency, so the scriptwriters imagined what might have happened during the meeting. But some records do exist. They tell the story of when Elvis met Nixon. It started with a scrawled letter on airline stationery, involved Elvis bringing a pistol to the White House, and ended with the singer getting a badge from the federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Photo courtesy of National Archives

When Elvis met Nixon: The real story behind the movie

This is the most-requested photo in the National Archives, a snapshot of a surreal moment in presidential history.

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Elvis' letter to Nixon

It started with this 6-page letter, which Elvis scrawled on American Airlines stationery on his flight to Washington, D.C.

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Hunka hunka burning desire

Elvis made the trip on impulse, possessed by a hunka hunka burning desire to have a badge from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the precursor to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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Call Jon Burrows

Elvis told the president he was registered at the Washington Hotel under the name Jon Burrows. "I will be here as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent," he wrote.

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He needed the stinkin' badges

Elvis collected badges from various police and sheriff's departments around the country. But the one he coveted, a Federal Agent at Large badge from the Bureau of Narcotics, didn't actually exist.

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Priscilla's take on the badge

"The narc badge represented some kind of ultimate power to him," Priscilla Presley wrote in "Elvis and Me," her memoir of life with the King. "With the federal narcotics badge, he [believed he] could legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished."

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Special delivery

Elvis gave Nixon all of his private phone numbers, and personally delivered the letter to guards at the Northwest Gate of the White House.

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Elvis showed up here this morning

The letter went to Nixon deputy assistant Dwight Chapin, who wrote a memo to Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. "Elvis showed up here this morning and has requested a meeting with the President," the memo began. It noted that Presley had stressed that since he was not a member of the "establishment," he could reach "drug culture types, the hippie elements, the SDS, and the Black Panthers."

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You must be kidding

Chapin wrote that he and Nixon advisor Egil "Bud" Krogh thought a meeting with Elvis was a good idea. "... if the President wants to meet with some bright young people outside of the Government, Presley might be a perfect one to start with." To that, Haldeman wrote, "You must be kidding."

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A little problem

Meeting approved, Elvis entered the building. Armed. Sort of. "I got a call from the Secret Service telling me we had a little problem, because Elvis had brought a gun in to give the president," Krogh recalled in an interview for "Frontline," the PBS series. "I had to go over and explain to them that 'No guns in the Oval Office' was standard policy around here." The gift was a WWII commemorative gun that Elvis had taken from his own wall.

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Dressed to impress

Elvis had dressed for the occasion, in a purple velvet jumpsuit with a cape and a white shirt open to the navel. He wore a big gold chain and a massive gold belt buckle, topped with his trademark aviator-style sunglasses. "I must say, I was very impressed with him," Krogh told "Frontline." Krogh, left, was the only other person in the Oval Office, at least at first.

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A rock musical for Nixon

Krogh had drafted this agenda with talking points for Nixon. On the next page of the memo, he shared possible plans: "Encourage fellow artists to develop a new rock musical theme, 'Get High on Life.'" The idea of a Nixon-inspired rock musical never became real.

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Get high on life, part 2

Krogh and Elvis entered the Oval Office at about 12:30 p.m. Krogh said on "Frontline": "It was a little bit awkward at first, because I'm not sure that Elvis really believed that he was there. They had a really weird discussion about a lot of things that had nothing to do with the talking points I had written." Elvis never recorded an album with the theme "Get High on Life" either.

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Elvis gives Nixon an autograph

Elvis gave the President photos of himself, Priscilla and their daughter, Lisa Marie. He also pulled out his collection of badges for Nixon's inspection. In a memo recording the meeting, Krogh wrote that Elvis "mentioned that he is studying Communist brainwashing and the drug culture for over ten years. He mentioned that he knew a lot about this and was accepted by the hippies. He said he could go right into a group of young people or hippies and be accepted which he felt could be helpful to him in his drug drive."

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The dream comes true

In the "Frontline" interview, Krogh said, "And then the real reason for the trip finally came out as Elvis said, 'Mr. President, can you get me a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs?' And the president looked and he said, 'Bud, can we get him a badge?' And I said, 'Well, Mr. President, if you want to get him a badge, we can do that.' He said, 'Well, get him a badge.' " Associates say Elvis carried the badge in its leather case always.

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Nixon meets Elvis's entourage

At the end of the meeting, Krogh wrote in his memo: "Presley again told the President how much he supported him, and then, in a surprising, spontaneous gesture, put his left arm around the President and hugged him." Then Elvis asked Nixon if his two bodyguards, Jerry Schilling and Sonny West, could come in to meet him. Nixon said yes. (From left, Nixon, West, Schilling and Elvis)

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Joanna Connors, The Plain Dealer

Nixon's letter to Elvis

Nixon sent this thank-you to Elvis. Two decades later, in a 1990 TV interview, Nixon recalled the meeting. "He was very flamboyant. I didn't know much about him except what I read. He was a very shy man. Flamboyance was covering up the shyness," Nixon said. He was, Nixon added, "very sincere and decent man."