Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair.

[2] Lucky Jackson (Elvis) goes to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the city's first annual Grand Prix Race.

Lucky raises the necessary money in Las Vegas, but he loses it when he is shoved into the pool by the hotel's young swimming instructor, Rusty Martin (Ann-Margret).

"[3] In March 1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer president Robert O'Brien announced Viva Las Vegas would be one of 20 films made at the studio the following year.

The arguments reportedly concerned the amount of time and effort allotted by the cinematographer, Joseph Biroc, to the song and dance numbers that featured Ann-Margret, ostensibly on the orders of the director.

The film also includes a scene (Lucky and the Count looking for Rusty) with the showgirls of the Folies Bergere at The Tropicana Hotel Las Vegas.

[13] For his role in Viva Las Vegas, Elvis Presley received a third place prize 1965 Laurel Award for best male performance in a musical film.

Variety stated in its review: "Beyond several flashy musical numbers, a glamorous locale, and one electrifying auto race sequence, the production is a pretty trite and 'heavyhanded' affair".

The site's critics consensus reads, "Ann-Margret keeps Elvis on his toes and together they elevate Viva Las Vegas into a naughty and rockin' mild delight.

"[15] Filmink argued Ann-Margret "had so much energy and pep that she had blown her previous three male co-stars off screen, but Elvis could match her.

[19] This film is the first of only two Elvis movies (the other being Jailhouse Rock) to be officially released onto every home media format distributed in the U.S. (Beta, VHS, CED Disc, Laserdisc, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc) In 2001, Warner Bros. were developing a remake of Viva Las Vegas starring Ricky Martin as "a Puerto Rican singer who comes to Las Vegas to make it big", alongside Jennifer Lopez.