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

Elvis at his best!!

Okay, I've seen enough Elvis movies to last the rest of my life. I've seen the westerns, the post army movies, the musicals, the documentaries. But this movie stands alone because of the performances of Elvis Presley and the beautiful Ann Margaret. If you ever wanted to see Elvis at his peak ( still young at 29, in shape, confident in his every move ) this is the movie for you. The dance numbers are some of the best I've seen from the era. Elvis was truly at the top of his game filming this movie. I only wish some of the later movies were as good. Sure, this movie has its cheesy parts, but what Elvis movie doesn't. My four year old son likes to watch the ending race sequence over and over again. I wonder who wins the Las Vegas Grand Prix?? I can't say enough about the vivacious Ann Margaret. Elvis himself was smitten for her in real life and I can't blame him. She matches Elvis song for song and dance for dance. At the time of filming, she was referred to as the "female Elvis". Deservingly so, I might add. If only Elvis and Ann had made some more movies together.