Watch The Las Vegas Story For Free

Wonderful character development!

That was an excellent one.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Las Vegas 1952 would have been the place to be so a film starring the beautiful Jane Russell being the affection of not one, not two, but three men made it a place that all men would want to visit. Jane Russell who plays a former Las Vegas lounge singer named Linda Rollins and is currently married to an addictive gambler named Lloyd Rollins (played by Vincent Price) who prefers the crap tables to bedding his gorgeous wife Linda.Linda would prefer to avoid Las Vegas all together since her past memories have her in the arms of a recent army veteran named Dave Andrews (Victor Mature) who she abruptly left Las Vegas apparently never to see him again. Now Dave Matthews is a Lieutenant with the Las Vegas police department and when Linda's expensive but insured diamond necklace goes missing and the slimy Fabulous Las Vegas casino owner is found murdered, it is up to Lieutenant Dave Matthews to find the killer and he has a couple of suspects in mind which include his former lover Linda Rollins and her husband Lloyd.I chuckled when I saw Victor Mature with his overly exaggerated broad shoulders (nothing that hidden shoulder pads under his suit jacket couldn't assist with) meeting his former lover the now unhappily married Linda Rollins. There is an insurance investigator named Tom Hubler (Brad Dexter) also trailing the Rollins couple to ensure her very expensive diamond necklace stays safe but needless to say it vanishes under mysterious circumstances and the Fabulous casino owner is murdered on the floor of his own casino.The film was novel for its time having the early Las Vegas strip as the backdrop, the gorgeous lounge singer Jane Russell with her piano playing Hoagy Carmichael having one or two numbers to shine, an insurance investigator, a lieutenant of the Las Vegas police department and what film would not be complete without a despicable addicted gambler like Vincent Price?It is a decent crime/drama/romance film which holds up pretty well for being 66 years old.

A Movie that should have been Titled "A" Las Vegas Story, but that's another Matter. This is such a Mess that there are only a few Minor things that can Escape its Drudgery. Jane Russell is OK to look at and Vincent Price gives a Good, if Typical, Villainous Performance. The Standout is perhaps the Final Chase Scene that is quite Entertaining.But the Film is all over the place in terms of Style and Substance. It veers Sharply between Heavy Melodrama, Love Triangle, Crime Drama, Murder Mystery, and Cabaret Crooning just in case a Flourish was Missed. None of it adds up to much. Victor Mature is as Stiff as usual, and the rest of the Cast seems to Walk through the Thing not knowing what kind of Movie it is.It is probable that no one knew except Howard Hughes and most of the Blame should be put on the Great Meddler. The Downfall of the Movie is, again, its Shifting Tone and Lackluster Exposition. A Mild Diversion and Star Search at Best.

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.

The historical aspects of this flick are fascinating. Mature is head-on one of the screens all-time great performers, and his deadpan expressions prove that an actor need not try to act, just be oneself. This movie was shot three years after he got his haircut from Delilah, and it shows the versatility of this guy with one of Hollywood's most ethnic faces. Jane Russell is smashing as the co-star here, and her close-ups have never been more telling as to her true beauty without zooming in on her bra; and like Mature, she too, is superb just non acting and being herself. Their kissing scenes come off quite authentically, too. Vince Price is perfect as the no-good gambling hubby, and Brad Dexter provides a top-notch lecher role. Hoagy is Hoagy as Hoagy always is in these adventure tales, playing his piano and weaving through the plot. A perfect escape movie.