Viva Las Vegas: Elvis starred in 1964 thriller with Ann-Margret
Swedish star Anne Margrethe is 82 years old and still as charming as the day she bewitched the hottest star on the planet.
It is known that the king favored women who were less assertive and more innocent (and often younger). Priscilla Presley was 14 when they met, and still 17, she found herself anxiously waiting to go home to Graceland while reports circulated that her husband was, once again, flirting with one of his co-stars.
Only this time it was not like the others. It was a love and bond that lasted throughout Elvis’ life, with Ann-Margaret being invited to his funeral.
From the moment they met, the actress charmed him — but he wasn’t the only one fighting for her affections.
Even worse, an enraged Elvis finds himself in the act on screen – including the famous final scene on Viva Las Vegas, which was secretly re-shot without his knowledge.
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Elvis and Ann-Margaret at Viva Las Vegas (Image: GETTY)
Sydney and Ann-Margit had already raised eyebrows on the set of their previous movie, 1963’s Bye Bye Birdie.
Coincidentally, the movie was based on a 1960 Broadway musical that was actually inspired by Elvis’ time in the army. King was offered the role of rock star-turned-J.I. Conrad Birdie but was turned down by his manager, Colonel Parker.
The movie catapulted Ann-Margret to stardom and Sydney’s fascination was evident from the way it expanded her character’s role. Dame Janet Leigh, who was a huge star after the 1960 Hitchcock thriller, angered Psycho so much that she slapped Sydney.
Ann Margaret charmed Elvis (Image: GETTY)
Fellow star Dick Van Dyke described one moment when he and Lee walked up to the stage and found Ann-Margret sitting on Sydney’s lap. They both looked at each other and said, “Oh oh.”
Lee was also incensed to discover a new title song shot at a secret Ann-Margret show (see below). This pattern would continue on Viva Las Vegas, much to Elvis’ ire.
Filming Viva Las Vegas was a hotbed of emotions, as Sydney continued her adoration of the actress, while in turn beginning her highly publicized relationship with Elvis.
She later said of King: “We both felt a current, an electricity that ran straight through us. It would become a force we could not control.”
Ann-Margret on April 15, 2023, on the Bye Bye Byrdie show (Image: GETTY)
Ann Margaret was a major sex symbol in Hollywood (Image: GETTY)
Friends Elvis and Ann Margit described sexually “cat dancing” across a room with him growling, “You made me run” and her growling, “You made me hide.” Elvis bought her a pink round bed for her Beverly Hills apartment.
While Ann-Margret embraced her romance with The King, she also enjoyed the devoted attention of Sidney who, once again, gave her opportunities for scene-stealers, favorable close-ups and extended musical sequences.
He even manages to squeeze it in in the final scene, stealing Elvis’ thunder. Scroll down to see exactly what we mean.
This led to major confrontations with Colonel Parker and even Elvis himself.
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Elvis and Ann-Margaret were mirror images (Image: GETTY)
The King was perfectly happy to follow the Swedish beauty off screen, but he didn’t appreciate being on screen.
Sidney later said: “We made that picture, no problem. The only problem was that Elvis didn’t want the Ann-Margaret girl to take any close-ups. He wanted all the close-ups. And he didn’t want her to do that. I had no numbers.” Well, I said, “No… I’m directing the picture.” I’ll do it my way.”
This spilled over into the famous split-screen final scene where Elvis comes out singing while Ann-Margret dances and pauses. They were apparently shot separately and it was reported that Elvis didn’t want to share the spotlight and expected it to be his solo scene. Instead, Sydney secretly portrayed and then inserted Anne-Margaret (see below).
The drama continued after the movie was released.
Sydney said:”Well, the photo came out in New York and they didn’t put his name above the photo. And they, his people, wanted to sue.
Ultimately, Viva Las Vegas was a box office hit and both Elvis and Ann-Margret were praised for their performances.
Meanwhile, their relationship continued, with the actress using the code name Thumper whenever she called Graceland. When the dalliance hit the gossip columns with reports of her engagement, Priscilla was so angry that she threw a pot across the room and finally confronted Elvis.
Even after the relationship ended, Elvis (or EP as she called it) continued to send Ann-Margret a guitar-shaped flower arrangement whenever she opened a nightclub in Las Vegas.
Elvis and Ann-Margaret Viva Kiss in Las Vegas (Image: GETTY)
Anne-Margret went on to marry film producer Roger Smith in 1967 and they remained faithful to each other until his death in 2017.
Meanwhile, Sydney soon retired from directing. His last film, the musical Half A Sixpence (1968), is famous for Tommy Steele’s stunning Flash-Bang-Wallop routine that celebrates photography.
He remained a major force in film and television. His first feature film, Anchors Aweigh in 1945, starred Frank Sinatra and saw the famous Gene Kelly dancing with the mouse from Tom and Jerry. This led to a lifelong involvement in animation and he founded the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1957.
Sydney was called upon by studios and directors to consult on film projects until his death in 2002.
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