seymourblack-1 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.

morrison-dylan-fan Reading posts on IMDb's Film Noir board,I found an excellent review for a Noir whose title sounded familiar.Checking my TV recordings,I found that it had recently aired in a double bill of rare Jane Russell movies, (the other being the easy-going Adventure flick Underwater!) which led to decided it was time to splash out in Vegas.The plot:Since walking out on Las Vegas, Linda Rollins has kept her back turned on ever looking back at the past. Secretly struggling with gambling debt,Linda's husband Lloyd takes a roll of the dice and takes Linda to Vegas to make some quick cash. Unknown to Lloyd,Linda's ex Dave Andrews has stayed in Vegas since going to war wondering where everything went wrong in his marriage. Treating his wife to a glistering necklace,Lloyd bets everything with the necklace,and loses it all (with casino owner Clayton not wiling give him a second chance.) Getting a call the next day,Andrews (who is now a cop) discovers that Clyton has been killed,and an expensive necklace has gone missing.View on the film:Gliding back to Vegas, Jane Russell (who looks very glamorous in the lavish dresses) gives her Femme Fatale Linda an elegant,playful edge,which becomes fully revealed in songs smoothly performed by Russell,who clouds Linda with an unease about being reunited with her past. Dressed to impress,Russell strips off Linda's glitz to unveil a wonderfully sharp,off the cuff manner, flared up by Russell getting Linda to hit Lloyd and Andrews with barb one-liners delivered by Russell with a spiky relish. A perfect match for Linda/Russell, Vincent Price gives a deliciously wicked performance as Lloyd,whose sharp exchanges with Linda, Price twist and turns into a mix of comedic and Film Noir menace.Caught between the couple, Victor Mature gives a firm, stoic performance as Andrews,but struggles to find breathing room between Russell and Price.Sliding like Flubber from live-action Disney flicks to Film Noir,director Robert Stevenson & cinematographer peel open the haunted Vegas past of Linda in stylish overlapping images that roll a ghostly atmosphere into the casino. Focusing on "the beautiful people" Stevenson still finds spots to dig into the dirt of Andrews unfulfilled romance,driven by great crane/helicopter shots looking down with Andrews at the Noir pit of Vegas. Introducing the Rollins as a couple,the screenplay by Paul Jarrico/Harry Essex/Earl Felton and Jay Dratler pulls the burnt veins of their Film Noir relationship out on the Vegas strip,spanning sour exchanges tangled in Lloyd's gambling debt and Linda's loveless relationship to Lloyd. Attempting to make Andrews and Linda an alluring Noir couple,the writers push Lloyd to the side lines in order to bring the bond between Andrews and Linda into the present,but tear the main Noir root due to Andrews lacking the Noir sparks of Lloyd,as the Vegas house wins on Film Noir.

MARIO GAUCI Apart from being another entry in my planned month-long tribute to Vincent Price, this also served as a nod to the recently-departed Jane Russell (as should be the upcoming MACAO from the same year, to be included in my other ongoing retrospective dedicated to Josef von Sternberg). Anyway, this is a minor noir effort: indeed, it is one of the sunnier of its type, in that the narrative unfolds as much by day as it does during the night; besides, for all its intended gloom, there is a healthy vein of humor running through it! It is saved, however, by the RKO production values (the studio, above any other, gave the genre its quintessential look) and the star cast (which also includes Victor Mature, Hoagy Carmichael, Brad Dexter and Jay C. Flippen).The plot involves Russell's return to the gambling capital of the world after she had spent the war years as a chanteuse there (at a club where Carmichael – who else? – is the typically laidback pianist/observer). In the meantime, she has married wealthy Price but does not know he is close to bankruptcy (before noticing a wire he received reporting the suicide of his Boston colleague)!; another old acquaintance is cop-on-the-beat Mature, bitter at her apparent desertion of him. Needless to say, Russell and Mature ultimately get to rekindle their affair, but the path runs far from smoothly: apart from their own mutual resentment, Price does not look favourably upon his wife's former conquests, while complicating things further is the expensive necklace Price uses as a guarantee in order to try his luck at one of the leading casinos (which is being closely watched by insurance investigator Dexter). Eventually, the new owner of Russell's old haunt is found murdered (after he had denied Price further credit) and the necklace stolen. Of course, Price becomes the key suspect – and Russell accuses Mature of having framed him so as to get back at her! However, it is obvious from the get-go that the real culprit is the wolfish Dexter, and the film climaxes decently with a desert helicopter chase and a shootout in an abandoned hangar. As for Price, he is ready to pay the price {sic} of his own criminal activity back home i.e. embezzlement.The film is reasonably enjoyable, with most of the expected noir elements intact – including its fair share of hard-boiled dialogue, not to mention having Russell and Carmichael warble a number of songs – but the contrived scripting (by Earl Felton and Harry Essex, who ought to have known better!), cornball attempts at comedy (mainly having to do with Sheriff Flippen betting what Mature's next move will be with respect to both solving the case and sorting out his private life!) and an incongruous sentimental streak (clearly evoking CASABLANCA {1942} in the subplot involving a couple of underage elopers!) prevent the promising mixture from rising to greater heights.

Bobsyeruncle24 Good looking dames, gamblers over their heads, swanky suites for high-rollers, embezzlers, bling-bling jewelry, murder. The new Las Vegas TV show could have lifted many of their episodes from the plot of The Las Vegas Story. The city of Las Vegas may have changed considerably since 1952 when this movie was made, but the themes remain the same. People still come to Vegas for a fresh start, for opportunities, to get away from their past, to escape the boredom of their everyday lives. They still get tempted by the chance of a big score and easy money. Las Vegas story has all of these elements and does them with style. All the actors play their parts to a tee. And Jane Russell is as hot and ballsy as today's actresses!