Where It's At

Garson Kanin was one of the great writers and directors in American theater and film in the twentieth century. With his wife, Ruth Gordon (later an Oscar® winner), he penned two of the classic Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicles, Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952) as well as countless other classics, including Born Yesterday (1950) and A Double Life (1947), the latter being another collaboration with his wife. He even found time for novels, penning such works as Moviola in 1979, later made into a mini-series in the eighties. But his classic period was in the forties and fifties and by the late sixties his style was distinctively out of style in the Richard Lester world of A Hard Day's Night (1964) and The Knack... and How to Get It (1965). It only made sense then that Kanin would write about being out of touch for his next project in 1969, Where It's At, or rather, about a father and son being out of touch while driven by the same desires and motivations. In Where It's At David Janssen and Robert Drivas play a father and son (A.C. Smith and Andy "A.C. Jr" Smith, respectively) in Las Vegas in 1969, the father running a casino, the son just leaving college. A.C. wants his son to eventually take over the casino but Andy seems to be more interested in loafing than anything else. Eventually he comes around and not only starts running things but forces his father out of his job, becoming the kingpin of the casino right under Daddy's nose. And the casino? Caesar's Palace, which is credited in the film as an actual cast member and that acknowledgment isn't as crazy as it sounds. Caesar's Palace is shown extensively throughout the movie, often while the viewer hears public address system pages performed by The Committee, an improvisational comedy group from the late sixties. After A.C. forces a showgirl (Edy Williams) on Andy to prove his manhood, Andy becomes more interested in his dad's secretary, Molly (Brenda Vaccaro), who now works for him. As father and son clash with each other constantly, Molly becomes more attracted to Andy and, eventually, falls for him completely. All that waits to be answered is will Andy stay in the casino business or walk away from it, leaving it to his father to run as he did before. One of the most interesting things about Where It's At comes in the casting. David Janssen, born in 1931, plays the father of Robert Drivas, born a whopping seven years later in 1938. The other interesting thing about that is they almost pull it off. David Janssen, from The Fugitive to Harry O, his two hit TV shows, always seemed older than his real age. And Robert Drivas, despite not looking 22, is convincing enough for the part to work. And why not? He was only 30 at the time of filming, the same age as Dustin Hoffman when he played the title character in the seminal Mike Nichols comedy The Graduate (1967). Sadly, Drivas (who portrayed many memorable characters in movies from Cool Hand Luke (1967) and The Illustrated Man (1969) to 1974's Road Movie) and Janssen had something else in common as well. Both actors would die before reaching their fiftieth birthday. Janssen died of a heart attack at the age of 48 and Drivas died from complications due to AIDS in 1986 at the age of 47, one year shy of the age Janssen lived to be. Drivas led a very private life and while his death from AIDS is widely known now, at the time, whether by mistake or personal family request, the Los Angeles Times listed Drivas' death as the result of cancer. Brenda Vaccaro, providing one of the best performances in Where It's At, would have a big year in 1969, playing in both this feature as well as that year's Oscar® winner for Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy. Through television, theatre and film, Vacarro has remained active ever since. Also featured are Edy Williams, the former wife of softcore exploitation king Russ Meyer who became romantically involved with Janssen during the course of the film, and Don Rickles in what might be considered a dry run for his performance in Casino (1995) over twenty years later. And Garson Kanin, while not receiving the career boost his wife was getting for her return to film acting, revived by an Oscar® win for Rosemary's Baby (1968), would receive mildly good notices for Where It's At and have more successes to come with the novel and miniseries of Moviola just a few years later. But Where It's At's real strength comes from that other cast member, the one mentioned at the top of this piece, Caesar's Palace and, by extension, Las Vegas. Watching the scenes of the casinos and Vegas in the years just before it got taken over by corporations intent on turning it into a family fun park and international tourist destination is a pleasure in and of itself. It's a fascinating time capsule of sin city, when it was at the height of sinfulness, glitz and glamour and none of it was family friendly. Nor did it want to be. It was a place for grownups to smoke, drink, have sex and lose their money. By 1969 standards, the city of Vegas was truly where it's at. Producer: Frank Ross, Dick Ross (Associate Producer) Director: Garson Kanin Screenplay: Garson Kanin Cinematography: Burnett Guffey Art Direction: Albert Brenner Music: Benny Golson Film Editor: Stefan Arnsten Cast: David Janssen (A.C. Smith), Rosemary Forsyth (Diana Mayhew Smith), Robert Drivas (Andy 'A.C. Jr.' Smith), Brenda Vaccaro (Molly Hirsch), Don Rickles (Willie), Edy Williams (Phyllis Horrigan). C-106m. Letterboxed. by Greg Ferrara SOURCES: The Los Angeles Times, Obituaries, July 5, 1986 Wikipedia IMDB