Las Vegas Hillbillys

"Las Vegas Hillbillys" (1966) is quite the movie. It features about twenty minutes of plot and sixty minutes of country singin'. I guess in the days before "Hee Haw," rednecks had to have some way to get their country music fix.

The movie is actually somewhat entertaining if you overlook the atrocious acting (with a hilarious scene featuring Jayne Mansfield talking on the phone), inane story, and thoroughly unimaginative camera-work. If you really enjoy classic country music, you may enjoy this film. If you generally enjoy cult films, you'll probably find this film fun and even somewhat endearing. But if you're not a fan of either of those two genres, steer clear, pardner!

This film begins in the backwoods of Tennessee with a hillbilly by the name of "Woody Wetherby" (Ferlin Husky) receiving word that his uncle in Las Vegas has passed away and has bequeathed him full ownership of a local casino. Considering that Woody aspires to make it big as a country-western singer, he quickly decides to drive to Las Vegas in his beat-up pickup truck to lay claim to it. Also riding with him is his friend "Jeepers" (Don Bowman) who considers himself to be Woody's manager. What neither of them realize is that the casino has fallen upon hard times and that some debts have accumulated rather quickly--and one of these debts belongs to a gangster who wants to be repaid immediately. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was basically an early version of the musical-comedy show "Hee Haw" which appeared on American television screens about 3 or 4 years later. The problem with this particular film, however, is that the comedy was almost negligible compared to the musical numbers--which crowded everything else out. Throw in an extremely thin plot and some rather weak acting, and the end result wasn't something that was all that entertaining. At least, I didn't think so. As a matter of fact, about the only thing that caught my eye was the performance of Mamie Van Doren (as "Bootsy Malone") who, along with Jayne Mansfield ("Tawny") and Arlene Charles ("Julie May"), at least added some nice scenery to what turned out to be an otherwise drab picture.

Hilarious and lovable this is the real bumpkin deal from the mid 60s....and the DVD I have here in Australia is just perfect, folks! LAS VEGAS HILLBILLIES is exactly the type of fun the movie industry forgot how to make (the big ol' cinemas were demolished and the drive ins went broke after video came in). The color is fantastic and the extras look like the real Tennessee dentists and supermarket managers and real estate agents who financed this film. No doubt a big fat money spinner in drive ins and lovely old small town cinemas (like the ones we see re created in Back To the Future streetscapes) LAS VEGAS HILLBILLIES hails from the days when someone with a few local business contacts (like Arch Hall's dad) could make a movie, show it in a few states (and in a few States) and make some money back....and there was still a few lovable Hollywood has beens willing to appear in spangled caftans to earn a few bucks to fend off the sheriff from their rented fibro home in Malibu. The reason why this was made and the way it was made is as honest on the screen as the story here. Just love it and show it to your friends. I did and they came back for more. This is Pettycoat Junction Big Time. Maybe we here in Oz still have a sense of humor. You should too. If all else fails, shock some 21st Century teenagers with it. ha-ha.

Las Vegas Hillbillys is a low-budget B-minus movie in all respects. Of importance to film buffs is the fact that Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, two rival big blonde bombshells, both star in this movie. Reportedly, the gals disliked each other so much that scenes in which they were both to appear together were shot with doubles so that they would not have to meet on the set.

The plot, if one could call it that, centers around a country-western singer (Ferlin Husky) from Tennessee who inherits a run-down Las Vegas nightclub. Mamie plays Boots Malone, the club manager and Jayne plays Tawny Downs, a Las Vegas entertainer and the dead uncle's "protege", a term used in 1950's movies for a mistress.

My sole intent in watching this battle-of-the-bosoms was to judge for myself, in head-to-head competition, which of the two blonde bombshells was 1.) the better actress, and 2.) the sexier on screen. My task was complicated by the fact that neither of the goddesses were showcased in particularly steamy roles, despite their reputations as among the hottest female stars of their era.

The results of my admittedly unscientific experiment: Jayne sweeps both categories. She wins the better actress category largely by default because Ms Van Doren is so horribly, horribly bad in this film. And in the sex appeal category, Jayne wins by a narrower margin not because of greater attributes, but rather because she simply struts her stuff more effectively. Even us gals who are not blessed with movie star quality looks can learn a lot from Jayne.

A word of warning - I bought this cheapo video as part of a two-pack set of Mamie Van Doren films distributed by Entertainment Programs International (EPI) in Marina Del Ray, California. The video quality was so poor as to almost make the movie unwatchable. They even misspell the film title on the box, which gives you an idea of their dedication to producing a quality product. You get what you pay for.

Claudia's Bottom Line: Painful to watch, but worth it if you care to catch a glimpse of two of Hollywood's biggest sex symbols of the 1950's and 1960's.

This B-Movie has an all-star cast, and it's about a backwoods hillbilly named Woody Weatherbee, (you never really know his last name!) he and his family inherit a casino in Las Vegas from his dead uncle. And they use it to their advantage to try to make it big in Vegas. This B-Movie is utterly annoying without a doubt, lame!

The scene where Woody sings, "Feel Better All Over" when he sings it, he looks like he's getting shot and having a dirreaha attack at the same time! This movie is just a kelidascope of senselessness and stupidity. Yet, this movie tends to be comical in an infamous way. It makes you feel sorry for Jayne Mansfield and the other all-star cast members for even participating in this ridiculous monstrosity of a B-Movie.

Another thing that makes the movie so stupid is it's stereotypes about Southern people being backwoods hillbillies. The dialogue was cheesy and lame as the songs in this movie that it just might give you an anyerism while watching! One of the stupidest scenes was when we see Woody running out of his gimpy-looking car that looked like a pile of garbage shouting, "Aunt Clam! Aunt Clam!" Be warned! MST3K would've had a field day mocking this movie! Believe me, it's that bad!