Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Director:

George Sidney

Writer:

Sally Benson (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Elvis Presley | Hot Pants | Automobile Racing | Las Vegas Nevada | City Name In Title

Awards:

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:
The Jubilee Four	...	Themselves

Also Known As:

Love in Las Vegas (International: English title) (UK)
Only Girl in Town (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:G | Canada:PG | Finland:S | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #20549) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Henderson, Nevada, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

One of the guitar players on the soundtrack was singer/actor Glen Campbell.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: 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.

Quotes:

Count Elmo Mancini: [On seeing Elvis dressed as a waiter] What's this, some kind of American joke?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.95)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Yellow Rose of Texas

The lady loves me... but she doesn't know it yet.

Arguably the best of the standard Elvis Presley travelogue confections that comprised the majority of the films in his screen career, Viva Las Vegas succeeds largely due to the chemistry shared between E and sexy inferno Ann-Margret. Sporting the impossibly comic-book perfect names Lucky Jackson and Rusty Martin, the two stars forge a romance against the backdrop of the Vegas Grand Prix, which Elvis, naturally intends on winning. Typical Elvis movie values like achievement through hard work (E must slave away as a lowly hotel employee in order to raise enough cash to fix his racer) and plucky perseverance don't detract from the colorful widescreen photography and a number of fun songs, like "The Lady Loves Me," "C'mon Everybody," "I Need Somebody to Lean On," and the memorable title tune.