Las Vegas Nights (1941)

Director:

Ralph Murphy

Writers:

Harry Clork (writer)
Ernest Pagano (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

A vaudeville act inherits an old, beat-up building and decides to try to turn it into a hip new nightclub. |

Plot Keywords:

Theater | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Constance Moore	...	Norma Jennings
Bert Wheeler	...	Stu Grant
Phil Regan	...	Bill Stevens
Lillian Cornell	...	Mildred Jennings
Virginia Dale	...	Patsy Grant
Hank Ladd	...	Hank Bevis
Betty Brewer	...	Katy
Henry Kolker	...	William Stevens Sr.
Francetta Malloy	...	Gloria Stafford
William 'Red' Donahue	...	Himself, Red Donahue (as Red Donahue and His Mule Uno)
Tommy Dorsey	...	Himself, Tommy Dorsey (as Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	...	Themselves
The Pied Pipers	...	Themselves, The Pied Pipers

Also Known As:

The Gay City (UK)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Soundtrack:

I Gotta Ride

Haunted by the ghost of Robert Woolsey

Though many seem to view this now as a Dorsey/Sinatra effort, the top billed man in the film was Bert Wheeler, so he was the one the audiences were coming to see. The Wheeler/Woolsey partnership is now an acquired taste (thank you TCM for giving me the chance to acquire it!), though in the 30's they were one of the top ranked comedy duos. But their humor was more risqué than other teams of the times, so their films didn't get a chance to find new audiences through TV replay.

According to the filmography this is Bert Wheeler's second solo effort after the death of Woolsey. His role here has grown up a bit: he's now a married man instead of a young lover, but his charm still has the same boyish quality as in his previous films.

But the interesting thing for those who have seen the previous films is to note how much the writers here must have had Woolsey still in mind. Hank Ladd serves as Bert's foil in this film and tries to put his own stamp on the part by being slick and oily, but one can easily imagine Woolsey delivering the lines, and his style and timing fitting them better.

If you've seen many of the W/W films then you'll also notice the re-use of a number of their old routines, though Ladd isn't the partner in all of them. It's interesting to see them pop up, and note the alterations.

Wheeler has good chemistry with Virginia Dale, and also with Moore and Cornell. Their song "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" is a pleasure. And Dale's "Dove Dance" is a hoot (sic).

Connie Haines joined the Dorsey band at about the same time that Sinatra did. This may be her first film appearance: it predates anything else currently listed in IMDb. She's a charmer, singing (uncredited) on "The Trombone Man Is The Best Man In The Band".

.... Which tune also has the obligatory Buddy Rich solo.

No, not the best of Woolsey's work, nor particularly inspired Dorsey, but still pleasant enough viewing.