Saturday, July 25, 2020

LAS VEGAS LADY (1975) **


Stella Stevens and her two gal pals plan to rob a crooked Las Vegas casino owner.  (Are there any other kind?)  Naturally, the heist goes wrong, and Stella and her associates are forced to improvise in order to make a clean getaway.  

Las Vegas Lady is watchable ‘70s junk, mostly because of Stella Stevens’ neckline.  It’s a Crown International flick, so you probably already know what (not) to expect.  I have to say, it might’ve earned some extra points had Stevens’ wardrobe had a malfunction or two.  I mean, most of the suspense comes from whether or not she’ll bust out of her form-fitting costumes.  Overall, there are some bare backs, one butt shot, and a little side boob action from one of the other shapely actresses, but it’s not nearly enough to put the PG rating in jeopardy. 

Things are extremely slow going for the first half of the movie as there’s way too much filler that clogs up the works.  Again, the padding wouldn’t have been so obvious if director Noel (Best Friends) Nosseck tossed in some T & A here and there.  The only thing that keeps the early scenes tolerable is the fact that the flick offers us a nice little snapshot of what Vegas was like in the mid ‘70s.  That’s the best thing I can say about it though.  The film does pick up a little bit once the heist finally gets underway, but Ocean’s 11 this is definitely not.  Although the heist scenes are competently executed by Nosseck, the various complications are predictable.  (Speaking of predictable, you should also be able to guess the identity of the “Mr. Big” character right from the first frame.)

Stella’s performance is pretty much the main draw.  I also enjoyed seeing Stuart Whitman playing her love interest.  It’s a shame there are no sparks between them. 

With the barest of expectations, Las Vegas Lady might fit the bill as lamebrained lazy afternoon fare.  Fans of Stevens will probably roll the dice on it just to see her in a series of revealing outfits.  Ultimately, the odds aren’t in the viewer’s favor.

AKA:  Raid on Caesar’s.  

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