The scene where Presley sings " Viva Las Vegas" is performed in one single unedited shot, the only known example of such a technique in Presley's film career. Ironically, Elvis was not happy at first to be teamed with Ann-Margret, although he was flattered that she was known as 'the female Elvis Presley'. Supposedly, someone on the production team of Viva Las Vegas had dated her during an earlier film venture and was still smitten by her charm and beauty. Location filming took place in Las Vegas area locations including: the parking lot of the Sahara Hotel, Lake Mead Marina, a drag strip in the suburb of Henderson, at the old frontier hotel on the las vegas strip, a skeet shooting range at the Tropicana Hotel, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas gymnasium, McCarran Airport and the swimming pool at the Flamingo Hotel. The wedding scene was shot at the Little Church of the West, which is a famous wedding chapel in Las Vegas listed on the U.S. National Registry of Historical Places as the oldest existing structure on the Las Vegas Strip. It has been the scene for many real celebrity weddings since the first one, the 1943 marriage of Betty Grable and Harry James. Elvis' long-time movied stand-in/double Lance LeGault played a Son of the Lone Star State in 'Viva Las Vegas'. And in the scene in which Ann-Margret's character pushes Elvis' characther off the diving board it's Lance who actually takes the fall, standing in for Elvis. He can be seen in the Elvis films ' Girls! Girls!Girls!', Kissin' Cousins' and 'Roustabout' and ringside with a tambourine in the 1968 TV special 'Elvis'. He can be heard today as the narrator in Graceland Mansion's audio tour presentation. Lance is a popular character actor and voice artist with a seemingly endless list of credits.

The chemistry between the two stars [7] was genuine during filming. Presley and Ann-Margret began an affair, and this received considerable attention from film and music gossip columnists. This reportedly led to a showdown with Presley's worried girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu. (Elvis and Priscilla married in 1967.) In her 1985 book Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley describes the difficulties that she experienced when the gossip columnists erroneously "announced" that Ann-Margret and Presley had become engaged to be married.Thompson, Howard (May 21, 1964). "Elvis-Presley Teams With Ann-Margret". The New York Times. p.42 . Retrieved May 31, 2016. The wife of prospective politician David Stratton ( John Forsythe) is away in San Francisco, visiting relatives there. David comes home one night but not to an empty house—a young woman, Jody ( Ann-Margret), is asleep in his daughter's bed. Elvis, a 2005 TV miniseries about the life of Elvis Presley, depicts the supposed Elvis/Ann-Margret affair during the filming of Viva Las Vegas. Vagg, Stephen (September 6, 2021). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Ann-Margret". Filmink . Retrieved March 9, 2023. Scheuer, P. K. (Oct 14, 1963). "Films for children urged by radnitz". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 168403562.

In addition, the filming of Viva Las Vegas reportedly produced unusually heated exchanges between the director, film veteran George Sidney, and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was not credited as a "Technical Advisor" in the film's credits. The suit Elvis Presley wears in the movie is depicted in Fallout: New Vegas (2010), worn by an Elvis impersonator who goes by the moniker "The King".Elvis was not restricted to working only for Hal Wallis and Paramount, since the contract he signed with them was not an exclusive one. Elvis also worked for other producers at other studios, including MGM, United Artists, and Allied Artists. Interestingly, the producers from these other studios tended to follow the musical comedy formula that Wallis had developed for Elvis, and occasionally even improving on it. Though Viva Las Vegas follows the familiar formula of the 'Presley travelogue', the inclusion of dynamic Ann-Margret made it a cut above the rest. Shot predominantly in Las Vegas, the film made effective use of such locations as the Flamingo and Tropicana hotels and the drag strip at Henderson, Nevada.

Scheuer, P. K. (Sep 21, 1964). "Director typing hit by producer". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155016764. The publicity surrounding the romance was a dream come true for the producers of Viva Las Vegas. Even Elvis' hometown newspaper, the Memphis Press-Scimitar, ran stories with such sensational headlines as 'It Looks Like Romance for Elvis and Ann-Margret' and 'Elvis Wins Love of Ann-Margret'. Wakin, Daniel J. (2019-05-24). "What They Left Behind: Legacies of the Recently Departed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023 . Retrieved 2019-05-27. Variety Staff (1964-01-01). "Viva Las Vegas". Variety. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023 . Retrieved 2023-06-25. Jorgensen, Ernst (1998). Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York City: St. Martin's Press. pp.172, 182, 183, 184, 199, and 416. ISBN 978-0312263157.

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a b Variety Staff (January 1, 1964). "Viva Las Vegas". Variety. Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved May 31, 2016. In her memoirs, Ann-Margret refers to Elvis Presley as her "soulmate" and stated: "We felt there was a need in 'The Industry' for a female Elvis Presley." [8] [9] Because the film went over budget, Parker would slash budgets for all remaining films in Presley's career.

The costumes were by Don Feld, who also worked on Elvis' movies ' Wild In The Country' and ' Double Trouble'. Feld received Academy Award nominations for his designs in 'Days of Wine and Roses', They Shoot Horses, Don't They?', Tom Sawyer', and 'Prizzi's Honor'. Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. The cinematographer was Joseph F. Biroc, who later won an Academy Award for his work in 'The Towering Inferno'. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work in 'Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte'.Kitten with a Whip is a 1964 American crime drama film directed by Douglas Heyes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Whit Masterson, a pseudonym for writers Robert Allison “Bob” Wade and H. Bill Miller, who also wrote the novel on which the film is based under the name Wade Miller. The film stars John Forsythe, Ann-Margret, Peter Brown, Patricia Barry and Richard Anderson.