Die Spielhölle von Las Vegas

A fizzled romance rekindles when the lady (Russell), now married (Price), returns to her old stomping grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada where the struggling husband hopes to beat the casino odds, she crossing paths with that former flame (Mature), now a Clark County Deputy Sheriff, before murder and aerial mayhem ensue.

A fabulous figure framed first in The Outlaw (43), it was Jane's pair of pretty, wide-set eyes that always had ME captivated. In her crime drama catalog (noirgesse), it's those gorgeous glims, long limbs and teamings with pal Bob Mitchum that typically starts the conversation (His Kind of Woman, Macao), but a couple can get along TOO well, for drama's sake, anyway, and Victor Mature is no downgrade, quite the contrary. I prefer their passionate, sometimes prickly pairing in this dicey drama and rate Vegas, Jane's best, while praising Price in a role better suited to his non-horror persona (vs Cardigan).

Directed by Robert Stevenson (Jane Eyre), a regular at Disney studio (Mary Poppins), noteworthy too is screenwriter Paul Jarrico (The Search) (Felton Essex / Dratler) whose blacklisted name was removed from premiere credits by producer Howard Hughes, even as the recluse retained his writing product. In support are ivory-tickler and narrator Hoagy "Happy" Carmichael, the jaunty Jay Flippen, blue eyed bad boy Brad Dexter, old timer Will Wright, familiar face Robert Wilke and real life Flamingo dancer Colleen Miller who'd quickly step up to leading roles at RKO and Universal (3/4).

I wasn't expecting much here but I must say I was most pleasantly surprised. For me, a film's success is measured by its capacity to keep me interested without going for a break and this one did just that from beginning to end. This isn't great cinema by any stretch of the imagination but it is great fun. I thought both headliners shone in their parts despite other reviewers' finding them wooden. You could feel their heat radiating every time they appeared together. You could see their eyes shooting daggers at each other. There was no denying their passion.

The story isn't the greatest but it's interesting enough and kept the surprises to the end. Quite a bit is thrown into it, drama, romance, murder and more, so it covers quite a few categories. There's some sleaze too, like when the insurance guy leers at Jane Russell's magnificent décolleté. I guess Howard Hughes just couldn't help himself. Yet Ms Russell is such a class act that her physical attributes are just icing on the cake.

There's also some nifty action scenes that I thought played out quite well, especially the desert sequence starting with the helicopter chase scene and ending with the air control tower. The whole thing had the feel of authenticity to it unlike the cgi stuff we're spoon fed today. These were real people working their craft, performing for the audience, and one hopes having fun at it. At least it seemed that way to me.

This is a 1952 film, and you can tell we haven't quite left the '40s. Jane Russell plays a former Las Vegas club singer who travels to Vegas with her wealthy. somewhat slimy husband (Vincent Price) - but she has a past with a local police officer (Victor Mature). And you just know what's going to happen.

Russell sings as well, she looks sexy, and does a great job with the snappy dialogue. Hoagy Carmichael is terrific, and the two of them make the movie. There's a huge chase on foot scene at the end that is quite elaborate.

This is a Howard Hughes production; because he interfered so much with the filming, it lost money.

This is a pretty good movie. Vincent Price and Jane Russell are great together, real screen magic. There is also a great character performance by Hoagy Carmicheal as the piano player Happy. This movie can be a little long and tedious at some parts, but the "chase" scene at the end is great! Therefore, I give this movie an 8/10.

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.