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Viva Las Vegas

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Viva Las Vegas
Directed by George Sidney
Milton Feldman (Ass't)
Otto Lang (2nd unit)
Produced by Jack Cummings & George Sidney
Written by Sally Benson
Starring Elvis Presley
Ann-Margret
Music by George E. Stoll
Cinematography Joseph F. Biroc
Editing by John McSweeney Jr.
Distributed by MGM
Release date(s) May 20, 1964 (USA)
Running time 85 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Viva Las Vegas (1964) is an American romantic musical motion picture co-starring American singers Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The movie is regarded as one of Presley's best and noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret.

The on-screen chemistry was real as during filming, Presley and Ann-Margret began an affair that received considerable attention from the gossip columnists in the various media. The reports led to a showdown with a very worried Priscilla Beaulieu. In her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley recounted this situation and the difficulty when Ann-Margret tried to "cut her off at the pass" with a press announcement that she and Elvis were engaged to be married.

In addition, the filming produced unusually heated exchanges between Colonel Tom Parker, Presley's manager, and the movie's director, the highly experienced George Sydney, over Parker's complaints concerning the exaggerated time and efforts allotted by the cinematographer, ostensibly on Sidney's orders, to the various musical scenes involving Ann Margret, which included views from many different angles, re-takes and the use of several cameras for each shot.

Presley's screen charisma, unerring ear, memory skills and professionalism in delivering a highly complicated scene such as the movie's title song, was nevertheless there for anyone to see. In fact, this scene remains the only in Presley's Hollywood career, or in that of any major movie draw such as Presley was at the time of the filming, to actually show the main star of a major movie musical manouvering through an entire song, in one single and uncut take, and as shot by the lens of a single camera.

Contents

[edit] Primary cast:

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Lucky Jackson (Elvis Presley) goes to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the city's first annual Grand Prix. However, his race car is in need of a new engine to properly compete. Jackson raises the money but mislays it when distracted by Rusty Martin (Ann-Margret). Soon Jackson's main competition, Count Elmo Mancini (Cesare Danova), comes into the picture to steal both the race and Rusty.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack songs were recorded in July of 1963 at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood, California and is regarded by some as one of Presley's best. In addition to Presley's singing, Ann-Margret performs two solos in the film. Three songs, "Night Life", "Do The Vega" and "You're The Boss", were recorded for the film but never used. "You're The Boss" is a duet by Elvis and Ann-Margret.

RCA Records has been heavily criticized (in Elvis: The Illustrated Record and other retrospectives) of mishandling what was considered by critics to be the best set of songs recorded for an Elvis film in some time. None of the vocals involving Ann-Margret were released at the time, despite her being a successful RCA recording artist in her own right and performing two solo numbers in the film ("Appreciation" and "My Rival"). The only recordings released at the same time as the film was the theme song and a cover version of "What'd I Say?" on a single, and a few additional songs on an EP. Additional songs recorded for the film would appear scattered about later album compilations, while the Ann-Margret duets with Presley - "The Lady Loves Me" and the deleted "You're the Boss" - would not be officially released until after Presley's death. Although bootleg LP's began to appear in the 1970s, purporting to contain the complete soundtrack, RCA wouldn't officially release anything approaching a full soundtrack release until the late 1990s when it reissued Presley's film soundtracks on a series of "Double Feature" CDs which paired the Viva Las Vegas soundtrack with that of Roustabout. Even so, this release does not include the solo Ann-Margret performances or "The Climb" by the Forte Four. An almost complete soundtrack release for this movie was released on Follow That Dream Records (the Danish division of BMG) in 2003. It includes all master takes plus alternate versions. "The Climb" is also included, but the Ann-Margret solo tracks are not. At present, the Ann-Margret solos are only available on the 5-CD box set: Ann Margret 1961-1966 from Bear Family Records in Germany.

[edit] Recording musicians

[edit] Tracks (songwriter)

[edit] Cover versions of "Viva Las Vegas", the song

  • Influential punk band Dead Kennedys recorded a version of "Viva Las Vegas" on their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. The song had been a part of their live set almost since the band's inception. Their version strips the musical arrangement down to guitar, bass, and drums, and uses a slightly faster tempo, yet maintains the song's melodic structure. It also features satirical lyric changes by lead singer Jello Biafra in the second and third verses, referencing a gambler using speed and cocaine in order not to "sleep a minute away". This version can also be found in Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film) .
  • ZZ Top recorded a version of "Viva Las Vegas" in their own inimitable blues-rock-meets-techno style, as the lone new track on their 1992 Greatest Hits CD. (This remake can also be heard on the compilations that succeeded it, the box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ (2003) and the double-CD anthology Rancho Texicano (2004))
  • Ann-Margaret recut a version of the song for the live action movie The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) under the pseudonym of her animated alter-ego Ann-Margrock and with the song's title changed to, of course, "Viva Rock Vegas".
  • The bluegrass novelty act The Grascals did a version of the song on their debut album in 2005.
  • The Chilean Punk Band Fiskales Ad-Hok covered the song (in Spanish) and changing it to "Viva Santiago".
  • The song is featured twice in the film, The Big Lebowski. Shawn Colvin performs it as a folk ballad during the closing credits. A rock version in the film is credited to a band called Big Johnson.
  • The song is a part of Bruce Springsteen´s live act, and was included in "The Gospel according to Elvis", a commemorative album of renditions by singers, and rock groups, of songs made famous by Presley.
  • In the last ten years, the song has been mentioned in countless movies, TV sitcoms, either as a reference to the city of Las Vegas, or simply as an expression of joy, or bewilderement in related comedic situations.
  • In 2002, the city of Las Vegas requested EPE, the company who handles a portion of Elvis´s musical legacy, and all Elvis-related music rights, to allow it to be the official song of the city but negotiations, to this date, have been stalled cver the price requested by EPE.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

fi:Viva Las Vegas sv:Viva Las Vegas

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