What Happens in Vegas...
Tuesday, July 11th | 5 Movies
During the mid-20th century Las Vegas had an allure that made it a magnet for Hollywood. Not only did Vegas attract some of the greatest entertainers of the era, it also served as a dynamic backdrop for movies. Vegas had this veneer of glamor that distracted from the dangers of the city’s criminal underworld. That combination of sophistication and vulgarity made it all that more beguiling. Since its inception, Vegas has been an oasis for those seeking an escape from their lives and promises that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
TCM pays tribute to Sin City with five Las Vegas-themed movies.
The Las Vegas Story (1952) almost didn’t take place in Las Vegas. Based on a story concept by Laura (1944) screenwriter Jay Dratler, the film was originally a vehicle for Robert Ryan and to be called The Miami Story. However, due to delays and RKO chief Howard Hughes’ growing financial interest in Las Vegas, the setting was changed and the project was developed to highlight Hughes’ sultry leading lady Jane Russell. Directed by Robert Stevenson, The Las Vegas Story is a pulp crime drama with elements of film noir including voice-over narration by songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Jane Russell and Vincent Price play Linda and Lloyd, a pair of newlyweds whose visit to Vegas draws out figures from Linda’s shady past. Victor Mature stars as Lt. Dave Andrews, Linda’s former paramour and the lead investigator of the film’s murder mystery. Jane Russell and Hoagy Carmichael perform three song numbers including the melodious “I Get Along Without You Very Well.”
While the Las Vegas setting isn’t particularly strong in the movie, some of the filming did take place on location near Vegas. In particular, the film’s thrilling helicopter-car chase was filmed at a naval air base in the Mojave Desert. The Las Vegas Story is a minor entry into the Vegas-themed film canon but is notable for some controversy. The night before the film’s premiere, star Jane Russell was involved in a domestic violence incident with her then husband Robert Waterfield that left her face swollen and bruised. She was still required to attend the Las Vegas premiere the following day. Screenwriter Paul Jarrico, one of three writers who adapted Dratler’s story concept, was stripped of on-screen credit for his work. Howard Hughes demanded his credit be removed after it came to light that Jarrico refused to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) investigation on communism in Hollywood. Jarrico fought back in court but ultimately lost. His credit was officially restored by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in 1998.
Showcasing the glamor of mid-century Las Vegas at its best is director Roy Rowland’s glitzy musical Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). MGM went all out with Meet Me in Las Vegas with a big budget, an elite roster of players and high production value which included filming in Eastman Color and CinemaScope. Cyd Charisse stars as Maria, a ballerina hired to perform at the famed Sands hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. There Maria meets rancher and part-time gambler Chuck—played by Dan Dailey—who becomes convinced that she’s his lucky charm.
This musical includes Charisse in various elaborate modern dance sequences as well as Lena Horne, Frankie Laine and Cara Williams performing music by legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn. Meet Me in Las Vegas is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood and Vegas regulars. Charisse and Dailey were supported by an excellent cast of supporting players including Agnes Moorehead and Jim Backus. Fans of the era will have fun spotting well-known stars in a variety of short cameos including Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Peter Lorre and Charisse’s husband Tony Martin among others. If you listen closely you can hear Sammy Davis, Jr. in the number “Frankie and Johnny.” Meet Me in Las Vegas serves as a time capsule of Vegas in its heyday. The movie does much to showcase the world of casinos, nightclubs and resort splendor. The main characters take a brief foray to Chuck’s ranch—a reminder that just a short distance away from the neon lights of the strip was an expanse of good old-fashioned frontier land.
Nothing quite captures the mystique of mid-century Las Vegas like the Rat Pack heist movie Ocean’s 11 (1960). The Rat Pack were at the height of their fame in the early 1960s. In the previous decade, Frank Sinatra—the leader of the pack— joined forces with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. to put on what would become their famous Vegas nightclub act. The act evolved into a combination of music and improvisational humor with the addition of Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. The Rat Pack show offered casino audiences something they’d never seen before: a mix of sophistication and chaos.
The Rat Pack brought this same energy to Ocean’s 11—a project developed specifically with them in mind. Lawford had been presented with a story concept of WWII commando veterans who join forces to pull off a complicated casino heist. Lawford and Sinatra presented the idea to Warner Bros. Studio head Jack Warner who was eager to capitalize on Sinatra’s fame and the Rat Pack’s popular appeal. Directed by Lewis Milestone, Ocean’s 11 stars the Rat Pack, along with six more cohorts, including Richard Conte and Henry Silva to make the title 11, who organize and execute a five casino heist. Among the cast of players includes Cesar Romero, who plays a former gangster and the film’s main antagonist, Akim Tamiroff as the heist financier and Angie Dickinson as Sinatra’s neglected wife.
Ocean’s 11 is the quintessential Las Vegas classic. It showcases Vegas’ biggest talent as well as their most popular casinos: the Sands, the Flamingo, the Sahara, the Riviera and the Desert Inn. Each casino is spotlighted in such a way that the film serves almost as a travel brochure for the Vegas strip. The Rat Pack worked on Ocean’s 11 by day and performed their nightclub act by night. As a tribute to them, the final scene shows the members of the Rat Pack walking past a marquee with their names as the headliners.
Almost a decade later, Italian director Giuliano Montaldo’s mobster crime drama Machine Gun McCain (1969) focused on another Las Vegas heist but this time in a fictional casino. The film stars John Cassavetes as Hank “Machine Gun” McCain, a volatile gangster fresh out of jail who is sent on a mission by his mob boss Charlie Adamo (Peter Falk) to rob the newly constructed Royal Casino Hotel. When Charlie calls off the hit, Hank goes rogue and successfully pulls off the heist stealing $2 million as he distracts patrons with makeshift explosives. The film then follows the tortured Hank McCain who, along with his new wife Irene, played by Swedish bombshell Britt Ekland, are on the run from the law and the mob. During the film’s chase sequences, viewers are treated to shots of several well-known Vegas landmark casinos including The Golden Gate, the Fremont, the Flamingo and the Golden Nugget.
This is one of two heist movies Giuliano Montaldo made including the Paramount crime drama Grand Slam (1967). However, Machine Gun McCain has more hallmarks of being a Cassavetes movie. There are several Cassavetes regulars including his wife and frequent on-screen partner Gena Rowlands. Machine Gun McCain was the first collaboration between Cassavetes and Falk who would go on to have a fruitful working partnership in the 1970s with films like Husbands (1970) and Mikey and Nicky (1976).
The history and mythology of Las Vegas is closely tied to its most notorious figure: mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. Directed by Barry Levinson, Bugsy (1991) centers on Bugsy (Warren Beatty) and his volatile relationship with Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), the construction of the Flamingo casino on the Las Vegas strip and the events leading up to Bugsy’s murder in 1947. This was a passion project for Beatty whose dream it was to play Bugsy on screen. It was in development for eight years and writer James Toback created a 400-page biographical document on the life and times of Bugsy Siegel. The film is largely based on fact but took some liberties with chronologies and events. It’s notable for being the first biopic on Bugsy although various attempts had been made, including one by Jean-Luc Godard who wanted to cast Robert De Niro in the lead role.
Michelle Pfeiffer was originally cast as Virginia Hill but the part eventually went to Annette Bening when Pfeiffer dropped out. Beatty and Bening match each other’s intensity portraying the chaotic nature of Bugsy and Virginia’s relationship. Beatty conveys Bugsy as a self-assured, self-made man with an intense desire for respect and who will inflict violence on those who offend him. Other notable cast members include Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley and Elliott Gould. Joe Mantegna plays real-life actor George Raft, who had known connections to Vegas mobsters and was a stakeholder in the Flamingo. Raft himself also had a small role as a casino owner in Ocean’s 11.
Filming for Bugsy took place in Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. A makeshift Flamingo casino—depicted as being under construction—was built in the Mojave Desert. The lavish production and Beatty’s portrayal of the infamous mobster garnered much praise and the film did well at the box office. Bugsy went on to earn ten Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.
