'Viva Las Vegas' and Sin City Travel Notes
Burbank, California—For a giddy, mid-20th century good time, it doesn't get better than Warner Bros.' Deluxe DVD Edition of Viva Las Vegas, starring the incomparable Elvis Presley. It's part of a tidal wave of Elvis DVD releases, none of which are great motion pictures. But Elvis in Vegas is naughty, cheesy fun.
Rock-n-roll star Elvis conquered Sin City in style and this 1964 movie, co-starring Swedish-born sex kitten Ann-Margret (Bye Bye Birdie), was part of his longtime love affair with America's desert gambling and partying oasis, Las Vegas, Nevada. Viva Las Vegas is directed by George Sidney (Anchors Aweigh and Annie Get Your Gun).
Elvis plays Lucky, a race car driver who needs the cash for a motor to compete in the first Las Vegas Grand Prix—against suave Elmo (Cesare Danova, who went on to appear in an episode of Robert Urich's Eighties crime drama, Vega$). Enter red-haired Rusty (Ann-Margret) in hot pants and the greasy drivers are off and spinning around the track in a contest to win her over.
The famous title song, performed by Elvis, opens the movie, which includes some terrific dance routines and a Busby Berkeley-style number on a roulette dance floor. Elvis and Ann-Margret sizzle as they water-ski on Lake Mead, dance at UNLV, croon, swivel and swoon at Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo swimming pool—and Elvis zips across Hoover Dam in an exciting, extended automobile race, with an astronomically high wipeout rate. Casino landmarks include the Stardust, the Sands, the Tropicana and the Sahara, where Elvis stayed during production.
Of course, in 1956 he had played a two-week engagement to lukewarm crowds at the Las Vegas Strip's Frontier (which recently closed), as we learn on the Deluxe DVD's first-rate extras—to be enjoyed by Vegas and Elvis enthusiasts alike. But he staged an NBC comeback special in 1968 at the 2,000-seat International (now the Las Vegas Hilton), doing 30 days of performances with two shows per night. Every show sold out within the initial 48 hours.
Steve Pond, author of Elvis in Hollywood, narrates the Viva Las Vegas audio commentary, and it is wonderfully informative. The movie is Elvis Presley's 15th picture, Pond tells us, and it's responsible for the King's affair with Ann-Margret—they consoled one another when President Kennedy was assassinated and she attended Elvis's funeral—as well as the term Memphis Mafia, which was coined during filming, referring to his huge entourage. Other tidbits about the box office hit: Teri Garr (Tootsie) appeared as a dancer, Elvis was a Rat Pack fan and the Go-Go's "Vacation" video was inspired by the picture's Lake Mead scene. Pond's commentary is a real treat for Elvis fans.
The packed DVD, accompanied by a 24-page photo booklet, features Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas, with the NBC comeback program as the climax. Hear about manager Colonel Parker buying billboards across town, see Elvis's jumpsuit sketches (his pants kept falling down during his karate chops), and listen to opening act Sammy Shore (Pauly's pop) remember nervous Elvis backstage. After he performed to record attendance, the King played Vegas until he died in 1977 and, as Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas points out, Elvis made more money than anyone else on the Strip had by 1968—and he brought Vegas entertainment from the lounge into the arena.
Travel
My recent premiere trip to Las Vegas was something of a bust. It's huge and daunting and overwhelming and, while an interview with modern Vegas legend, visual artist and businessman Steve Wynn had been on track for weeks, it didn't happen. The globetrotting Mr. Wynn may have had his hands full, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which reports that he may have been responsible for evicting pop tart Britney Spears from his Wynn Las Vegas Resort (often seen in Ocean's Thirteen) when she and her bodyguard had a physical altercation with paparazzi outside the Wynn's spa.
That spa is top notch, though being a hotel guest does nothing to ease expenditures at the Wynn, which charges $25 per day for spa and the same rate for fitness room use, $300 for a poolside cabana ($400 on weekends) and a $30 cover for admittance to the Tryst nightclub ($20 for the ladies). Even the Wynn's water show does not allow guests—paying between $250 and $400 per night for single rooms—exclusive seating. So, what's the incentive to stay at the Wynn, billed as Vegas's only five-star hotel (a Mobil rating that only applies to suites)?
The rooms are tastefully appointed, with luxurious extras, breathtaking views and decent service and security, and the poker tables, located in the bustling casino, were packed during a mid-week summer afternoon. Expensive shops count on lucky gamblers, and a bistro table by the waterfalls at the ice cream and sandwich shop at the end of the Wynn's Esplanade is the perfect place to read a book.
Despite the pitch to families and non-bettors (and debtors), Vegas is still about rolling the dice (not merely in the casino). The typical moderate-to-luxury traveler is not as welcome if he doesn't gamble big time, though advantages abound, including the Spanish cuisine Café Ba-Ba-Reeba across from the Wynn, the Forum shops at Caesar's Palace—the soda fountain at F.A.O. Schwarz's toy store is a treat for kids of all ages, serviced by the sharpest waitresses in town—and a personal highlight is that Superman, Transformers and Viva Las Vegas icon: Hoover Dam, a gigantic, cinematic engineering achievement created in 1931 for $1.2 billion with Art Deco sculptures and a marvelous tour for eleven dollars. Besides the slots and tables, it's hands-down the best bet in southern Nevada.
$
RELATED LINKS
• DVD: Viva Las Vegas
• Wynn Las Vegas
• Hoover Dam
• Scott Holleran Column Index
Rock-n-roll star Elvis conquered Sin City in style and this 1964 movie, co-starring Swedish-born sex kitten Ann-Margret (Bye Bye Birdie), was part of his longtime love affair with America's desert gambling and partying oasis, Las Vegas, Nevada. Viva Las Vegas is directed by George Sidney (Anchors Aweigh and Annie Get Your Gun).
Elvis plays Lucky, a race car driver who needs the cash for a motor to compete in the first Las Vegas Grand Prix—against suave Elmo (Cesare Danova, who went on to appear in an episode of Robert Urich's Eighties crime drama, Vega$). Enter red-haired Rusty (Ann-Margret) in hot pants and the greasy drivers are off and spinning around the track in a contest to win her over.
The famous title song, performed by Elvis, opens the movie, which includes some terrific dance routines and a Busby Berkeley-style number on a roulette dance floor. Elvis and Ann-Margret sizzle as they water-ski on Lake Mead, dance at UNLV, croon, swivel and swoon at Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo swimming pool—and Elvis zips across Hoover Dam in an exciting, extended automobile race, with an astronomically high wipeout rate. Casino landmarks include the Stardust, the Sands, the Tropicana and the Sahara, where Elvis stayed during production.
Of course, in 1956 he had played a two-week engagement to lukewarm crowds at the Las Vegas Strip's Frontier (which recently closed), as we learn on the Deluxe DVD's first-rate extras—to be enjoyed by Vegas and Elvis enthusiasts alike. But he staged an NBC comeback special in 1968 at the 2,000-seat International (now the Las Vegas Hilton), doing 30 days of performances with two shows per night. Every show sold out within the initial 48 hours.
Steve Pond, author of Elvis in Hollywood, narrates the Viva Las Vegas audio commentary, and it is wonderfully informative. The movie is Elvis Presley's 15th picture, Pond tells us, and it's responsible for the King's affair with Ann-Margret—they consoled one another when President Kennedy was assassinated and she attended Elvis's funeral—as well as the term Memphis Mafia, which was coined during filming, referring to his huge entourage. Other tidbits about the box office hit: Teri Garr (Tootsie) appeared as a dancer, Elvis was a Rat Pack fan and the Go-Go's "Vacation" video was inspired by the picture's Lake Mead scene. Pond's commentary is a real treat for Elvis fans.
The packed DVD, accompanied by a 24-page photo booklet, features Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas, with the NBC comeback program as the climax. Hear about manager Colonel Parker buying billboards across town, see Elvis's jumpsuit sketches (his pants kept falling down during his karate chops), and listen to opening act Sammy Shore (Pauly's pop) remember nervous Elvis backstage. After he performed to record attendance, the King played Vegas until he died in 1977 and, as Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas points out, Elvis made more money than anyone else on the Strip had by 1968—and he brought Vegas entertainment from the lounge into the arena.
Travel
My recent premiere trip to Las Vegas was something of a bust. It's huge and daunting and overwhelming and, while an interview with modern Vegas legend, visual artist and businessman Steve Wynn had been on track for weeks, it didn't happen. The globetrotting Mr. Wynn may have had his hands full, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which reports that he may have been responsible for evicting pop tart Britney Spears from his Wynn Las Vegas Resort (often seen in Ocean's Thirteen) when she and her bodyguard had a physical altercation with paparazzi outside the Wynn's spa.
That spa is top notch, though being a hotel guest does nothing to ease expenditures at the Wynn, which charges $25 per day for spa and the same rate for fitness room use, $300 for a poolside cabana ($400 on weekends) and a $30 cover for admittance to the Tryst nightclub ($20 for the ladies). Even the Wynn's water show does not allow guests—paying between $250 and $400 per night for single rooms—exclusive seating. So, what's the incentive to stay at the Wynn, billed as Vegas's only five-star hotel (a Mobil rating that only applies to suites)?
The rooms are tastefully appointed, with luxurious extras, breathtaking views and decent service and security, and the poker tables, located in the bustling casino, were packed during a mid-week summer afternoon. Expensive shops count on lucky gamblers, and a bistro table by the waterfalls at the ice cream and sandwich shop at the end of the Wynn's Esplanade is the perfect place to read a book.
Despite the pitch to families and non-bettors (and debtors), Vegas is still about rolling the dice (not merely in the casino). The typical moderate-to-luxury traveler is not as welcome if he doesn't gamble big time, though advantages abound, including the Spanish cuisine Café Ba-Ba-Reeba across from the Wynn, the Forum shops at Caesar's Palace—the soda fountain at F.A.O. Schwarz's toy store is a treat for kids of all ages, serviced by the sharpest waitresses in town—and a personal highlight is that Superman, Transformers and Viva Las Vegas icon: Hoover Dam, a gigantic, cinematic engineering achievement created in 1931 for $1.2 billion with Art Deco sculptures and a marvelous tour for eleven dollars. Besides the slots and tables, it's hands-down the best bet in southern Nevada.
$
RELATED LINKS
• DVD: Viva Las Vegas
• Wynn Las Vegas
• Hoover Dam
• Scott Holleran Column Index
