Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Director:

George Sidney

Writer:

Sally Benson (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

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:

Swimming Pool | Waiter | Racer | Race Car | Rivalry

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:
Dallas Johann	...	Dancer
Rickey Murray	...	Delivery Boy (as Rick Murray)
Robert Aiken	...	Driver (uncredited)
Holly Bane	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Larry Barton	...	Son of the Lone Star State (uncredited)
John Burnside	...	Son of the Lone Star State (uncredited)
Carl Carlson	...	Juggler (uncredited)
Ruth Carlson	...	Juggler (uncredited)
Regina Carrol	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Jack Carter	...	Casino Performer (uncredited)
Taggart Casey	...	Guard (uncredited)
George Cisar	...	Manager of Swingers (uncredited)
Howard Curtis	...	Starter (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Mr Baker (uncredited)
Harry Fleer	...	Son of the Lone Star State (uncredited)
Alan Fordney	...	Race Announcer (uncredited)
Teri Garr	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Barnaby Hale	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Claude Hall	...	Son of the Lone Star State (uncredited)
Alean 'Bambi' Hamilton	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
John Hart	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Connie Hermida	...	Waitress #1 (uncredited)
The Jubilee Four	...	Musicians (uncredited)
Pete Kellett	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Larry Kent	...	Race Official (uncredited)
Ingeborg Kjeldsen	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
George Klein	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Lance LeGault	...	Son of the Lone Star State (uncredited)
Brad Logan	...	Guard (uncredited)
Kent McCord	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Robert Nash	...	Big Gus Olson (uncredited)
Beverly Powers	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Eddie Quillan	...	Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Francis Ravel	...	Francois (uncredited)
Christopher Riordan	...	Dancer (uncredited)
'Reb' Sawitz	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Kay Sutton	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Ivan Triesault	...	Head Captain (uncredited)
Red West	...	Son of Lone Star State (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Swanson (uncredited)

Directed by
George Sidney

Writing credits
Sally Benson		(written by)

Produced by
Jack Cummings	....	producer (uncredited)
George Sidney	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
George Stoll
Robert Van Eps		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(director of photography) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
John McSweeney Jr.		(as John McSweeney)

Art Direction by
Edward C. Carfagno		(as Edward Carfagno)
George W. Davis

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace
George R. Nelson

Costume Design by
Donfeld		(costumes designed by) (as Don Feld)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Feldman	....	assistant director
Otto Lang	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Lou Watt	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Wallace Worsley Jr.	....	assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Frank Wesselhoff	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor

Stunts
Max Balchowsky	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Robert Jon Carlson	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Lee Faulkner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ross Sherman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Robert Van Eps	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Frank Khoury	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
David Winters	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)
• Jack Cummings Productions (as A Jack Cummings-George Sidney Production)
• Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation (uncredited)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV)
• Pony Canyon (1984) (Japan) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1990) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (Japan) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (2001) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print CinemaScope - new reissue print)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (deluxe edition)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (17-film box set)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (17-film box set)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Hotel Tropicana  "Folie Bergere" Sequence by arrangement with (as Hotel Tropicana,Las Vegas)
• MGM Home Entertainment  VHS package design (uncredited)
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design (uncredited)
• Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation  choreography (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Love in Las Vegas" - International (English title), UK

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Henderson, Nevada, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret recorded a duet, a Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller piece called "You're the Boss", but it was never used in the film. It has been released since.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the "What'd I Say" music scene, an electric piano can be heard very clearly on the soundtrack - yet only an acoustic concert piano is seen on film.

Quotes:

Lucky Jackson:When I get into the money you can have 100 trees.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Best of Saturday Night Live: Special Edition (1992) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Need Somebody to Lean On

Viva el Rey! (and Viva Ann Margret, too!)...

I love this film! Actually, every time that I see it I like it more. I'm biased, of course, being an Elvis fan (hey, isn't everyone?...if you're not, you should give it a try), but it's still an entertaining way to spend a while. The film's not based on the strongest storyline ever created and it relies on the chemistry between foxy mamacita Ann Margret and the King himself, and that's more than enough. The two had some intense off-screen things going on, too, and perhaps that helps the movie. Both Elvis and Ann Margret look great and they trade lines perfectly. Elvis is more engaged in this film than he had been in any since 1961 and the result's one that he could have been proud of. The shame is that the glossy musical formula than began with 1960's "GI Blues" became an endless rerun throughout Elvis' '60s Hollywood career, but "Viva Las Vegas" is perhaps the highlight of these musicals. Perhaps it's no coincidence that this film has less singing than the ones before and after, the songs all fitting well within the plot. The songs are also among the strongest of Elvis' '60s soundtrack offerings -- pretty much all of them are great tunes. This was most definitely not the case even in earlier films and would progressively become less the norm in subsequent years. The cinematography is also first-rate, as are lighting and transitions -- all of the things that add up to 'production value.' Lush colors and effective use of scenery -- natural and manmade -- included. This is obvious right from the opening credits and is stunningly apparent in the musical numbers. It really looks like a lot of thought went into how the songs were staged, lit, and filmed and that alone is a departure from Elvis' norm. Even most of the other of the better '60s films just stick Elvis up there, singing, while they roll film. Not a lot of imagination very evident in that approach. Check out the great presentation work on songs like "C'mon Everybody" and "What'd I Say," as well as the classic "Viva Las Vegas" talent-contest scene and the perfectly-executed "I Need Somebody To Lean On" scene in which onscreen Elvis is double-tracked with a melancholy inner-voice Elvis. Great stuff.

The film's -- to me -- probably the most entertaining and enjoyable of any of Elvis' '60s musicals. In that category I include most of the films that Elvis shot during the '60s except for the two dramas of 1960 ("Flaming Star" being a particularly excellent film), the two song-sparse movies of 1961 ("Kid Galahad" and the great "Follow That Dream"), and some of the late '60s movies that included only one or a few token songs and had stronger storylines ("Live A Little, Love A Little," "Stay Away, Joe," "Charro!," "The Trouble With Girls," and "Change Of Habit"). Actually, "Viva Las Vegas" is even more enjoyable than most of these ones, too.

Among the supporting actors are Cesare Danova, a beatnik-y Nicky Blair, and William Demarest (Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons"!), all of whom do a great job. Sharp eyes might also catch Terri Garr, especially in the "C'mon Everybody" scene, though she's in at least one or two others in the film. Red West, Elvis' bodyguard (he also wrote a song -- "If You Think I Don't Need You" -- used in this film) is an extra in the scene that included a bunch of Texas rowdies. Lance Le Gault (a blues singer and Elvis' double in '60s films, inadvertently seen in "Kissin' Cousins" and on full display as a tambourine-player in Elvis' sensational leather-clad 1968 'comeback' shows...he was also Colonel Decker on TV's "The A Team") plays a waiter who, ironically enough, is mistaken for Elvis by Ann Margret's character.

But yeah, when it comes down to it this is a film that succeeds primarily on the strengths of its male and female leads. Some great work by supporting actors doesn't hurt, but Elvis seems inspired to do a good job of acting -- not the walk-through that was becoming increasingly tempting in the face of uninspiring and mediocre storylines and production staff and accountants who didn't care about quality as long as the film was completed on time and on budget to result in the predictable crazy profits that Elvis movies generated in the first half of the '60s. The scene with Elvis waiting on the Count and Rusty exploits Elvis' comedic talents and was a nice touch. I'm surprised, really, that the pairing of Elvis and Ann Margret was never attempted again. They could've done "Grease" in '68!

The film also accomplishes its travelogue role and both it and the title song have become inextricably linked with that desert city. For those of us who have only visited Vegas in more recent years, and to those who remember it as it was in the summer of 1963, this film is a handy time capsule to the Vegas of yore. It was a kick for me to see Elvis and Ann Margret at the Sahara's camel statues because I had my picture taken there, atop one of the camels, back in the '80s (without realizing that it had such a direct Elvis connection). Cool!

All in all, if you haven't yet seen this film you might just enjoy it. It's not going to change your life (then again...who knows?) and it's not "Citizen Kane" (it's a lot more fun, though), but it's a classic of its kind. Scratch that -- it's just a classic. Unfortunately, a couple of months after wrapping "Viva Las Vegas" Elvis began production of "Kissin' Cousins," a film from producer Sam Katzman ("King of the Quickies") that was as cheap and nasty as they come and that showed the way to even greater profit (but at what cost?).