Great nights in Las Vegas

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Movie
German title Great nights in Las Vegas
Original title Viva Las Vegas
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1964
length 83 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director George Sidney
script Sally Benson
production Jack Cummings ,
George Sidney
music George Stoll ,
Robert Van Eps
camera Joseph F. Biroc
cut John McSweeney Junior
occupation

Great Nights in Las Vegas (Original title: Viva Las Vegas ) is an American film musical by George Sidney from 1964 with Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret in the leading roles.

action

Lucky Jackson is an avid racing driver. When he defeated the Italian champion Count Elmo Mancini in a race, he wanted to hire him as a driver. But Lucky refuses the offer. He wants to race in his own car. His goal is the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Lucky and Mancini arrive in Las Vegas and meet the swimming instructor at their hotel, Rusty Martin, in a garage. Both fall in love with the woman. Lucky, however, loses his money by accidentally jumping into the pool and has to work as a waiter to pay his bills. In turn, Rusty falls in love with Lucky and tries to convince him to give up racing. To make Lucky jealous, she flirts with Mancini.

Lucky's attempts to raise money for a new engine in his racing car fail. Instead of money, Lucky wins a honeymoon at a talent show. Only when Rusty's father lends him money a few hours before the start of the race, Lucky can buy the much-needed engine. Mancini retired from the race due to an accident. Lucky wins the race and can marry Rusty.

background

The film premiered in Sweden on March 30, 1964. In the USA it was only published on May 20 of the same year. In Germany it was first shown in cinemas on July 24, 1964.

The MGM production budget was around one million US dollars. The film grossed approximately 9.4 million US dollars worldwide.

Small supporting roles, not mentioned in the credits, were played by Teri Garr as a dancer and John Hart as a casino visitor.

Soundtrack

Elvis Presley sang the following songs in this film: The Yellow Rose of Texas , The Lady Loves Me (together with Ann-Margret), What'd I Say (by Ray Charles ), Viva Las Vegas , I Need Somebody to Lean On , Come On, Everybody , Today, Tomorrow and Forever , Santa Lucia , Do the Vega and Night Life . The song You're the Boss , which Presley sang with Ann-Margret, was recorded but not used in the film. Presley was accompanied by Boots Randolph on saxophone , guitarist Scotty Moore , bassist Bob Moore and DJ Fontana on drums .

Ann-Margret performed the songs Appreciation and My Rival . There was also the song The Climb , which was sung by the group The Forté Four .

Reviews

The lexicon of international films described Tolle Nights in Las Vegas as "a not very original, undemanding comedy with numerous song and dance numbers, completely tailored to the singer Elvis Presley". Variety praised the composition of the leading actors, which was a stroke of luck for the film. With the exception of some brilliant music numbers and an electrifying racing scene, the story is banal and cumbersome. For Howard Thompson of the New York Times , the production was as enjoyable and unimportant as a banana ice cream. Thompson also praised the successful casting of the main roles with Presley and Ann-Margret.

BBC's Matt Ford thought the film was perhaps Elvis Presley's best. The bad script is only supported by the Presley songs. The TimeOut film guide emphasized that the flippant staging style fits the colorful vulgarity of Las Vegas well.

Awards

At the Laurel Awards , the film took second place in the Best Musical category. Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret achieved third place for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Business on imdb.com
  2. ↑ Great nights in Las Vegas. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 7, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ See Viva Las Vegas . In: Variety , 1964.
  4. ^ Howard Thompson : Elvis-Presley Teams With Ann-Margret . In: New York Times , May 21, 1964.
  5. ↑ Matt Ford: Viva Las Vegas on bbc.co.uk, November 23, 2000.
  6. ↑ See timeout.com