Overrated and overhyped

Film Perfection

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Was pleasantly surprised at this film.Played last night in a tribute to Brad Dexter,an underappreciated actor,who was apparently once married to Ms Peggy Lee.He was good in anything he did.Here,he's an "insurance" muscle man,sent to keep an "eye" on both Vincent Price and a $100,000 dollar insured diamond necklace worn by Ms Russell.She meets up with former boyfriend and cop Victor Mature while hubby Price decides to gamble to recover money to pay up his financial debts.Ms Russell also meets up with former co-workers at a lounge in which she used to sing.In spite of it being a Howard Hughes Production,I liked the film.Some really quality actors,and Price a great semi-villain,Dexter a great pure villain,and sparks from Russell/Mature,a young lovers trying to marry before he's drafted all make for a good story.

Although it's ostensibly a murder mystery, "The Las Vegas Story", with its romantic sub-plot, musical interludes and action-packed finale looks more like a movie that was conceived as a "piece of entertainment" with something for everyone. This impression is reinforced by its rather breezy atmosphere which, at times, seems at odds with what's happening on-screen. If it was indeed designed to appeal to a mass audience, it clearly failed because it didn't turn out to be a commercial success but the finished product is undeniably entertaining, primarily because of its all-star cast and Hoagy Carmichael's songs.Ex-nightclub singer Linda Rollins (Jane Russell) reluctantly returns to Las Vegas at the insistence of her wealthy husband Lloyd (Vincent Price). He wants to spend a few days at the desert resort and after seeing a telegram from his Boston business associate, Monte, Linda quickly realises that Lloyd is being pressed by the trustees of his company to return some money to the business and it looks as if he's planning to do so by winning big at one of the city's casinos. To this end, Lloyd gets Linda to flaunt her $150,000 necklace at "The Fabulous" casino but the manager is still only prepared to offer him $10,000 credit.Linda's discomfort at returning to her hometown is obvious and after Lloyd encourages her to go ahead and get her past out of her system, she visits "The Last Chance" where she used to work and reminisces briefly about singing with the establishment's pianist, Happy (Hoagy Carmichael) and regularly being watched by a soldier who always sat at the same table. Her romance with the soldier , Dave Andrews (Victor Mature) had ended when he was posted abroad. She's pleased when she meets Happy again and as they play one of their old numbers together, Dave, who's now a local police detective walks in and is less than happy to see the woman who he still carries a torch for but who had also ended their relationship so cruelly.After Lloyd uses up all his credit at "The Fabulous" and is asked to leave, he uses Linda's necklace as security to get further credit at "The Last Chance" with the agreement of its owner Mr Clayton (Robert J Wilke). Lloyd's further gambling sessions only lead to more losses and Clayton refusing to extend him any more credit. Things then get worse for Lloyd on the following day when Clayton's dead body is discovered and he becomes the prime suspect.Robert Stevenson's direction is notable for its intelligent use of locations in Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert and also for the skill with which the action sequences are staged. Some of the stunts involved are surprisingly good for a movie of this vintage. A scene in which a helicopter flies through a hangar and another in which Victor Mature is seen jumping to the ground from a great height are particularly impressive and well-shot.Stevenson also contributes to the movie's overall characteristic of exploiting Jane Russell's presence to the full by drawing attention to her looks and physique at every possible opportunity. Examples of this are when she's filmed taking a shower, when she stands in a swimsuit on a diving board (with the word "Fabulous" emblazoned on a sign close to her) and in the ways in which various other scenes are set up. An example of how the script is used for the same purpose arrives early in the action when Linda is recognised on arrival in Vegas by an old acquaintance. When he mentions that he never forgets a face, Lloyd responds by saying that the guy obviously has no eye for figure.Vincent Price always excelled in roles in which he acted as a rogue and his performance in this movie is no exception. Victor Mature and Jane Russell also do well and Hoagy Carmichael's contributions, both as an affable character and for the quality of a couple of his songs ("I Get Along Without You Very Well" and "My Resistance Is Low"), adds a great deal of enjoyment and charm to the whole proceedings.

Routine crime drama with Jane Russell as a singer, disillusioned with life due to her marriage to gambler Vincent Price, who has a lot of other things on their mind. The two stop off in Las Vegas, where Russell used to sing at gambling place and play lover to Victor Mature, a cop on the local force.When Price experiences a losing streak at the tables, he borrows on Russell's expensive piece of jewelry. Mayhem breaks out when the owner of the hotel, who is holding the brooch, is found dead the following morning. All eyes point to Price with those evil sneers of his. Go know that while he is an embezzler, he is not the killer.There is the usual helicopter chase.Brad Dexter co-stars as an insurance agent with plenty more on his mind. Hoagy Carmichael is along as the piano player singing I Can Get Along Without You Very Well and Monkey Business. Problem is that there really is no monkey business in this very routine thriller.

Substitute Victor Mature for the part that Robert Mitchum normally played in these RKO films of the Fifties and you've got The Las Vegas Story. Wonder what Mitch was doing at this time?Nothing terribly groundbreaking in this film. Jane Russell and Vincent Price arrive back in Las Vegas where Jane used to be a singer when she was a single gal. Also working there is ex-boyfriend Victor Mature now with the Clark County Sheriff. When casino owner Robert J. Wilke turns up dead, there's a host of suspects out there. Jane's diamond necklace also is missing which is seen quite reasonably as a motive as Price said it was in the hotel safe.Things pretty much go as they normally do in these noir films, some good action sequences a nice car chase through an atomic bomb testing site in the end.What sets The Las Vegas Story apart is the presence of that old music master Hoagy Carmichael. ANY film he either appears in and/or writes some songs for is a cut above average just for that. He and Russell end the film singing his Academy Award nominated song My Resistance Is Low.So will your's be once exposed to the talents of Hoagy Carmichael.