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

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:

Average Shot Length = ~8.9 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~7.3 seconds.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the race the counts car runs off the track and then back on wherein the cockpit gets pulverized by a yellow car. This would definitely have killed the driver, or at least put the "count' into a full body cast. Yet later he appears at Rusty and Lucky's wedding, very healthy.

Quotes:

Lucky Jackson: Good morning, I've been looking for you all night.
Rusty Martin: You must be desperate to find a model that really needs fixing.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Appreciation

Her rival is a baby blue racing car

Elvis Presley as a Las Vegas auto enthusiast who has to choose between racing his roadster or chasing Ann-Margret, playing a curvy hotel pool manager who usually has the day off. Not a total success for the stars--the script is heavy with talk, and there's an uncomfortable scene early on where Elvis lies to A-M about her car problems just to keep her around. I don't know WHY Presley is forced to sing "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" in a musical set in Nevada, but nevertheless, it's a friendly-enough frolic, and it certainly looks good. The dancing is hot, and Elvis and Ann-Margret seem so right together. Sure it's campy, and the whole business with him buying her a tree because she longs for suburbia defies explanation, but it's an idealistic, happily-ever-after fantasy. *** from ****