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

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

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Goofs

The continuity of the big race is completely jumbled. For example the #19 Jaguar XK 120 is the first car to crash, yet it is plainly visible a few moments later bumping other cars off course. Lucky manages to weave his way through the whole pack to catch the race leader's Ferrari 250 GT and then they swap leads a few times. The Count's Ferrari blows a tire and crashes, then suddenly Lucky is once again passing the cars he just passed to catch the Count and take the lead.

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Quotes

Rusty Martin: You answer it and if its anybody, I don't want to speak to him!

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Connections

Referenced in Color Me Kubrick (2005)

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Soundtracks

"My Rival"
(uncredited)
Written by Marvin More & Bernie Wayne
Performed by Ann-Margret

User Reviews

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.