Noches de rumba

"Las Vegas Nights" is a rather poor film which you STILL might want to see. Why? Because it also happens to be Frank Sinatra's first movie...although I should warn you, his part is tiny and he only sings with a quartet...no real acting involved. You can also see Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra (Sinatra sang for them for a while).

The film finds three sisters in Las Vegas to take charge of a seemingly worthless piece of property. Along for the ride is a complete idiot (Bert Wheeler) who mostly makes a mess of things. How? Well, the property ISN'T worthless, as some developer needs the land for a big project...and some conniving no-goodnick lawyer is set on buying up the land for pennies...and the idiot seems to try his best to unintentionally help the guy even though he is married to one of the sister.

In addition to the weak story which occasionally annoys, the film has a lot of music...some of which has Sinatra. But you'd never know that he was destined for stardom with this performance. Overall, a tough film to love but an important one historically. It's just undone by weak writing and although it clocks in at 90 minutes (far too long to technically be a B-movie), it seems like a cheap B in many ways.

Mostly a waste considering the musical talent involved. Wheeler was right-- the film is poorly done, with a lot of second-rate comedy acts, not the least of which is Wheeler himself. The opening scene presents a tracking-down-the-main-street shot of 1940's Las Vegas, so we do get a sketchy view of what glitter gulch was like in those early days. Also, the funky version of the three sisters' "Mary, Mary" is nicely staged and a pleasant surprise. But once Wheeler's unfunny shenanigans take over, the movie heads downhill. Of course, there's a look at the Dorsey band, but except for their "Song of India", the rest of the selections are pretty mediocre, not counting Sinatra's dreamy version of "I'll Never Smile Again". My favorite scene is where Regan and Moore stand before a cardboard backdrop and declare it a "beautiful view". I know, I'm being severe on a B-grade movie that was never intended to be much more than a showcase for the Dorsey band. But , in my view at least, it's a pretty poor showcase.

Back in the days when the twenty-something Sinatra was a vocalist with the Tommy Dorsey Band, he made a brief appearance in this musical comedy, singing one of his best-known numbers from the era, 'I'll Never Smile Again'. The song largely is in the background though and Sinatra himself is only on camera for a blink, although historically the appearance is interesting.

Tommy Dorsey's band play several numbers in this fairly entertaining feature, which deals with a vaudeville act who inherit a run-down shack and try to transform it into a night-spot, while fending off the creditors (the oily Hank Ladd). The three girls in the act all have their chance to shine and all have well-defined roles in the back story (perhaps the best known of the three was the popular 1940s singer, Constance Moore, who plays 'lucky' Norma, who snares the rich ranger in a night of gambling). Virginia Dale dances with the pigeons (!) while Lillian Cornell does her high-pitched trilling as Mildred.

Best of all though is Bert Wheeler as Dale's husband and the comic of the act, who gets to sing 'Dolores', that song which rhymes Dolores with Doris, and generally be funny in the rest of the film. I read that he regarded the film as pretty poor, but that could be because it still required him to cavort about like a big kid when he was well into his forties. Still, it is always a pleasure to see him in a movie.

'Las Vegas Nights'/'The Gay City' doesn't get shown much and is rarely mentioned even in connection with Dorsey, but it worth a look if you get the chance.

Though many seem to view this now as a Dorsey/Sinatra effort, the top billed man in the film was Bert Wheeler, so he was the one the audiences were coming to see. The Wheeler/Woolsey partnership is now an acquired taste (thank you TCM for giving me the chance to acquire it!), though in the 30's they were one of the top ranked comedy duos. But their humor was more risqué than other teams of the times, so their films didn't get a chance to find new audiences through TV replay.

According to the filmography this is Bert Wheeler's second solo effort after the death of Woolsey. His role here has grown up a bit: he's now a married man instead of a young lover, but his charm still has the same boyish quality as in his previous films.

But the interesting thing for those who have seen the previous films is to note how much the writers here must have had Woolsey still in mind. Hank Ladd serves as Bert's foil in this film and tries to put his own stamp on the part by being slick and oily, but one can easily imagine Woolsey delivering the lines, and his style and timing fitting them better.

If you've seen many of the W/W films then you'll also notice the re-use of a number of their old routines, though Ladd isn't the partner in all of them. It's interesting to see them pop up, and note the alterations.

Wheeler has good chemistry with Virginia Dale, and also with Moore and Cornell. Their song "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" is a pleasure. And Dale's "Dove Dance" is a hoot (sic).

Connie Haines joined the Dorsey band at about the same time that Sinatra did. This may be her first film appearance: it predates anything else currently listed in IMDb. She's a charmer, singing (uncredited) on "The Trombone Man Is The Best Man In The Band".

.... Which tune also has the obligatory Buddy Rich solo.

No, not the best of Woolsey's work, nor particularly inspired Dorsey, but still pleasant enough viewing.