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:

City Name In Title | Elvis | Elvis Presley | Beautiful Woman | Hoover Dam

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:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | 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: 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.

Quotes:

Mr. Martin: You kids came over here in a copter! They cost about $10 a minute!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Elvis (2005) (TV)

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 ****