Viva Las Vegas.

Review #983: Viva Las Vegas.

Cast: 
Elvis Presley (Lucky Jackson), Ann-Margret (Rusty Martin), Cesare Danova (Count Elmo Mancini), William Demarest (Mr. Martin), Nicky Blair (Shorty Fansworth), Jack Carter (Himself), and Teri Garr (Showgirl) Directed by George Sidney.

Review: 
Ah, Elvis Presley. I've covered two films in which he had a starring role (#327 - Jailhouse Rock and #523 - It Happened at the World's Fair), with the former being a fine experience and the latter being pretty forgettable. In any case, Viva Las Vegas is a spectacle released in the middle of Presley's career (with this being his 15th film out of the 31 he did from 1956-1969). It has an exotic location, a young woman for Elvis to encounter (and inevitably romance) and a bunch of musical numbers. For the most part, the film excels as entertainment, and it is due to the chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. They simply match well on screen together, having a charm and energy that is present in most of the scenes they share on screen, with one of the highlights being their singing of "The Lady Loves Me" in the first half of the film; one of my other favorite highlights is his medley of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "The Eyes of Texas", complete with Elvis wearing a big hat. The other parts of the film don't have as much charisma, but the rest of the cast do decent jobs in their roles. The music numbers are fairly good, showcasing its star in the way you'd expect. The story is a simple one (with a short but fine length of 85 minutes), but it doesn't come off as harmful to the goal of the film, which is to have some fun in Vegas with Elvis, which it achieves handily enough.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.