THE LAS VEGAS STORY (1952)

Howard Hughes puts his trademarks on this eighty-eight-minute RKO Radio Pictures film, what with the flying sequences and microscopic closeups of his leading lady. A hardly unknown film, it lost money at the box office. However, with the pairing of Victor Mature and Jane Russell, it is hard to ignore. Despite some inferior projects, Mature never embarrassed himself. He is his usual flawless self, yet his co-star, Vincent Price, takes a back seat to no one. Throw in Hoagy Carmichael and you have the potential for fine entertainment. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and required the trio of Robert Sparks, Howard Hughes, and Samuel Bischoff to produce it.

With similar “dangerous” facial features, testy pout, and a noteworthy sneer, Russell may remind one of the female Elvis. She could hardly be called flat except for her adequate acting and one-dimensional delivery here. Her eyes are generally expressionless and her potentially witty comebacks are not as pointed as in the superior, His Kind of Woman, a year earlier, with Robert Mitchum. Nonetheless, she had one of the most beautiful smiles in Hollywood. But lately, those smiles only happen when she is around Happy, played by Carmichael, the casino pianist. Thanks to his delivery, he lightens the film considerably, if not frequently. His opening narration sets up the background for the film's stars. Hoagy's folksy tone of a “country cool cat” is endearing. He performs an early “rap” song, “The Monkey Song.” The difference with his rap is that he uses an actual melody. The 1938 song, “I Get Along Without You Very Well” is reused for this film. Russell is filmed only from the waist up while singing, providing another comparison to Elvis. But with Hughe's opposite intentions.

Russell's husband, Price, insists on vacationing in Las Vegas, determined to play the tables in hopes of winning enough to pay his debts. He is decidedly a character with selfish motives. Russell preferred a flight anywhere else from fears of running into her old flame, Mature, now a lieutenant with the Sheriff's Department. Throughout most of the film, he and Russell get along without each other very well due to their parting years before, the result of poor communication skills. Russell's 100 grand necklace becomes Price's gambling collateral with the casino owner attempting to secure it. Getting off the same flight as the newlyweds is "Mr. Smarmy" himself, Brad Dexter. He has been assigned by his insurance company to watch Price and Russell's neckli...uh...necklace. Dexter slimes into the dark side about halfway through the film.

The climax, filmed at the former Tonopah Army Airfield, was the first car and helicopter chase sequence in a movie. Flying twice through an open hanger was a groundbreaking sequence and I imagine amazed the audience. Dexter's useless driving around in circles in his attempt to evade the helicopter is pretty silly. The foot chase between him and Mature is a high-wind final confrontation yet typical of the era. Price is no longer a murder suspect but is found guilty of embezzlement to please the audience. An appropriate wrap to the film. But wait. It is not quite over. After two murders, theft, and an extended chase scene, one might not expect to have another song thrown in. Written for this film and Mature's character, “My Resistance Is Low” is an okay Carmichael song but hard to sit through because of Russell's syrupy delivery and slurred esses. I digress. There will be divorce papers to sign and assuming they can keep their personal blowups restrained, Russell and Mature may roll the dice one more time. Viva Las Vegas!

DANGEROUS MISSION (1954)

There is no faulting the cast of this colorful B-movie with A-list actors produced by RKO Radio Pictures. Outside of these stars, its main claim to fame might be an early effort by disaster film giant, Irwin Allen. The other fame claim is its use of 3D processing which may have elicited a few oohs and ahhs. In whatever dimension it is not hard to recognize the early Fifties RKO touches. Back-projected scenes and less than realistic special effects. It would appear most of the money was doled out for the cast. Which was a wise move. At the peak of his career, Victor Mature gets top billing, followed by Piper Laurie, William Bendix and RKO's go-to man, Vincent Price.

While working in New York City, Laurie stumbles upon the murder of a mobster. She hits the rails to Chicago, and I assume transfers onto the Great Northern Railway's “Empire Builder” and gets a job at the Glacier National Park gift shop. Who could possibly find her there? Mature, for one, who descends rather quickly after her arrival. His suave demeanor, pants with no rear pockets, and those wonderful eyebrows are attractive to Laurie. She is also fond of Price, who is doing his best impression of a sincere amateur photographer. He arrived before Mature and has already established a budding relationship with Laurie. Both are gentlemen as each trade date nights with fairness and civility. Her dangerous mission is to stay alive until the end of the film as the authorities want her to testify. Never mind the silly subplot involving Price's ever-fawning Indian maiden, Betta St. John, who is evidently from the local "naive tribe."

The title is broad in meaning. Though there is really only one character who fits the title best, the dangerous moments do present some interruptions. All of which have more to do with the producer's plan than the plot. Like so many current movies or television dramas, Irwin Allen assumes the viewer has the attention span of a gnat. There is an avalanche during a party in the mountains. A party essentially intended to further introduce characters to square dancing. The crushing avalanche brings down a power line. Mature does not hesitate to climb one utility pole to curtail a dangerous live wire in the likes of Angus MacGyver. He did this frequently as a Marine. Apparently. Then there is a forest fire in which untrained civilians, Mature and Price, are forced into fighting by a stuffed uniformed ranger, Bendix. Though not particularly dangerous, there is a frame-eating Indian ceremony to perhaps capture Montana's heritage or bump up tourism for the coming summer.

Note: The opening and early scenes set the viewer up for a potential crowd-pleaser. The cast is entirely responsible for this potential, though I found Laurie rather one-dimensional and bland. Overall, the movie's pacing is good at holding your attention thanks to the "hair-raising" sequences. Outside of these scenes, it is a routine adventure/drama. The ending, amid sets with glacier paint and studio lighting, brings few surprises though it is fairly exciting with hidden, snow-covered, crevasses. By this point most viewers had already chosen the cast member they hoped would not survive a fall into an icy abyss.