Meet Me in Las Vegas

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Meet Me in Las Vegas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoy Rowland
Written byIsobel Lennart
Produced byJoe Pasternak
StarringDan Dailey
Cyd Charisse
Agnes Moorehead
Lili Darvas
Jim Backus
Oskar Karlweis
Liliane Montevecchi
Cara Williams
The Four Aces
Jerry Colonna
Paul Henreid
Lena Horne
Frankie Laine
Mitsuko Sawamura
CinematographyRobert J. Bronner
Edited byAlbert Akst
Music byGeorge Stoll
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • March 9, 1956 (1956-03-09)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,495,000[1]
Box office$3,714,000[1]

Meet Me in Las Vegas is a 1956 American

Eastman Color and CinemaScope, and starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. It was produced by Joe Pasternak for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.

The original story and screenplay is by

Hermes Pan and Eugene Loring. It was largely shot on location in Las Vegas
and several popular celebrities are featured as themselves.

Plot

Set in and around the

Sands Hotel, the film tells "what happens when a gambling rancher discovers that all he has to do to win at roulette is take hold of ballerina Charisse's hand". The film was tailored for the talents of Charisse, showcasing her skills with modern and classical ballet.[2]

Cast

There are brief appearances by The Four Aces, Jerry Colonna, Paul Henreid, Lena Horne, Frankie Laine, and teenage singer Mitsuko Sawamura. Cameos include Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Pier Angeli, Peter Lorre, and Tony Martin (who was married to Charisse). Jazzman Pete Rugolo plays the house band's pianist-conductor.

For the closing production ballet, Sammy Davis Jr. narrates and sings offscreen an updated "Frankie and Johnny", danced principally by Charisse, Montevecchi, and Brascia, with special lyrics by Sammy Cahn and arranged by Johnny Green.

Reception

According to MGM records, the $2.5M film earned $2,217,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,497,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $496,000.[1]

Critic Bosley Crowther wrote " ... the best thing, by far, is the finale — a gaudy, satiric ballet, done to the old "Frankie and Johnny" ballad, as arranged by Johnny Green. Miss Charisse is accompanied in this one by Liliane Montevecchi as "the other dame" and John Brascia as the luckless Johnny, and the ballad, with modern Bebop lyrics, by Sammy Cahn, is sung by the off-screen voice of Sammy Davis Jr. It's crazy, man! And cool!''[3]

Honors

The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Musical Score. The original songs were composed by Nicholas Brodszky and Sammy Cahn.

Home media

The film was released on DVD from Warner Brothers Archive Collection on July 8, 2011.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Clive Hischhorn, The Hollywood Musical
  3. ^ Crowther, Bosley (1956-03-14). "Review: 'Meet me in Las Vegas'". The New York Times.

External links