Viva Las Vegas: Bloopers and mistakes you might missed

The 1964 film Viva Las Vegas is a classic, known for its energetic performances by Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. Like many films, especially those shot at a frantic pace, it has its share of bloopers, continuity errors, and moments that modern audiences might catch. Here are some of the most notable ones you might have missed:

Continuity Errors & Goofs

1. The Magically Disappearing/Reappearing Towel: This is the most famous blooper in the movie. In the pool scene where Elvis sings “I Need Somebody to Lean On,” he dives in and gets his hair wet. When he climbs out, Rusty (Ann-Margret) hands him a towel. In one shot, he’s drying his hair with a yellow towel. The camera cuts to Ann-Margret, and when it cuts back to Elvis, the towel is suddenly white. It switches back and forth between shots several times.

2. The Self-Parking Porsche: After the song “The Lady Loves Me,” Elvis’s character, Lucky, gets into his yellow Porsche 356. He is clearly shown driving away. However, in the next wide shot, you can see the car rolling backwards down a slight incline with no one in the driver’s seat before the scene cuts.

3. The Shifting Car Door: In the scene where Lucky and Rusty are racing in the desert, they stop and have an argument. As they get in and out of the car, the position of the driver’s side door changes inconsistently between shots—sometimes it’s open, sometimes it’s closed, with no logical sequence.

4. The Ever-Changing Cockpit: During the final Grand Prix race, the shots inside Lucky’s cockpit are inconsistent. The steering wheel and the dashboard behind it change appearance between close-up shots and wider angles, suggesting they used a static prop car for close-ups and a real moving car for action shots, and the two didn’t match perfectly.

5. The Teleporting Hair: During the “C’mon Everybody” number, the dancers are incredibly energetic. In one moment, a male dancer in the background slips and falls. He recovers so quickly it’s almost imperceptible at normal speed, but in slow motion, it’s a classic blooper.

Production & Choreography “Bloopers”

6. The Visible Director/Camera Crew: During the massive “Viva Las Vegas” production number at the end, if you look closely at the extreme edges of the frame in some of the wide shots, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of crew members or camera equipment that wasn’t cropped out.

7. Elvis’s Obvious Stunt Double: During the wide shots of the car race sequences, especially those inside the car, it’s very obviously not Elvis Presley driving. The stunt driver has a different hairline and facial structure. This was common for safety reasons but is noticeable to a keen eye.

8. Choreography Stumbles: The dance numbers are fast and complex. If you watch the background dancers closely, especially during “C’mon Everybody,” you can spot occasional missteps, off-beat moves, or dancers slightly bumping into each other as they try to hit their marks in the crowded frame.

Why These “Bloopers” Exist

It’s important to remember that films of this era were shot quickly and without the aid of modern digital editing technology.

• No CGI: There was no way to digitally erase a crew member or correct a continuity error in post-production.

• Rapid Shooting Schedule: MGM cranked out three Elvis movies a year at this time. Viva Las Vegas was shot in just a few weeks, leaving little time for perfect retakes.

• Single-Camera Setup: Unlike multi-camera TV shows, films were often shot with one camera, making it harder to maintain perfect continuity between different takes filmed at different times.

These little mistakes don’t detract from the film’s charm; for many fans, they add to it. They are a fun reminder of the pre-digital, energetic, and sometimes chaotic magic of classic Hollywood filmmaking. So next time you watch, keep an eye out—it’s like a fun scavenger hunt within a fantastic movie