Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it ... See full summary »

Director:

George Sidney

Writer:

Sally Benson

Stars:

Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova

3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elvis Presley	...	Lucky Jackson
Ann-Margret	...	Rusty Martin
Cesare Danova	...	Count Elmo Mancini
William Demarest	...	Mr. Martin
Nicky Blair	...	Shorty Fansworth
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dallas Johann	...	Dancer
Rickey Murray	...	Delivery Boy (as Rick Murray)

Storyline

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser. Perhaps some singing will help.

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Plot Keywords:

swimming pool | waiter | racer | race car | rivalry | 

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Taglines:

Elvis is at the wheel but Ann-Margret drives him wild!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Only Girl in Town

Filming Locations:

Henderson, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,675,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Jack Cummings Productions, Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was double billed with Tamahine in most theaters when first released.

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Goofs

During the auto race, the cars are supposed to be driving across the Hoover Dam from Nevada into Arizona. In reality, they are driving the wrong way across the dam, from Arizona into Nevada.

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Quotes

Lucky Jackson: Its what I call a real sport model.

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Connections

Referenced in Blow Dry (2001)

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Soundtracks

"The Yellow Rose of Texas/The Eyes of Texas"
(uncredited)
Written by Don George, adapted by Randy Starr & Fred Wise/John Lang Sinclair
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

Rusty Gets Lucky in Las Vegas

The first time I saw this movie was in the Army before it hit the movie theaters for the general public, and as all ye guys know, if a movie goes over in the Army - well, it's gotta become a big smash it, and with Elvis Presley wooing Ann Margaret, well - Ann Margaret was all the service guys had to see. The Hell with the rest of the show! The guys whistled, cheered, and that night probably dreamed that they were Lucky with Rusty! Anyone who doesn't like this movie is an old Grumpy! All right gang, so it's predictable and we've seen it many a-time in the movies. Guy sees girl, girl hates guy, guy still chases girl, and like Irving Berling wrote: "A Man Chases A Girl Until She Catches Him!" In the old Fred Astaire-Ginger Rodgers movies, Ginger always hated Fred until they had their first dance together and then the love affair started, and if you'll notice, the same thing happens here in Viva Las Vegas. Rusty doesn't like Lucky until they sing their first song together and then the love affair starts. This was the formula in those days. Funny thing: There was this story that went that in the Astaire-Rogers movies, Fred gave Ginger class and Ginger gave Fred sex! Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. Astaire was not really the most sexiest looking of men, so he had to have the sexy lookin' gals around him to make the teaming work, but in Elvis and Ann-Margarets pairing, who was giving who sex? Song are great, dances numbers great, cast is very good, and it IS probably the best musical film that Presley ever made! He and Ann-Margaret was very wise never to appear again in a film. This was as far as I'm concerned a one time deal. Same thing as Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Partin in Rhinestone. It was a one time deal and the paring for one film was great and should not be repeated, but - sometimes I wonder what Barbra Striesand's "A Star Is Born" would have turned out like if she could have got her first choice for the film - Elvis Presley. What a dynamite of a movie that would have been, but - it was never to be!