Las Vegas Hillbillys - VCI Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1966
Director: Arthur C. Pierce
Writer: Larry E. Jackson
Cast: Ferlin Husky, Don Bowman, Jayne Mansfield, Mamie Van Doren, Billie Bird, Richard Kiel

Release Date: December 10th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: G
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"In the backwoods of Tennessee, country singer Woody Weatherby receives word that he has inherited a casino in Las Vegas. Elated, Woody and his buddy Jeepers head for Nevada in their dilapidated jalopy Lightnin'. When they arrive, they find that their bonanza is nothing but a debt-ridden dive. Enlisting the aid of Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, the boys are determined to make Woody's Golden Circle a success. Jayne is hired to manage the gambling concession while Mamie is supposed to be a singer, but most of the time they just hang around and look pretty (so what's wrong with that?). But it takes the shrewd business sense of Aunt Clem from back home to make the place really take off." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Hillbillys in a Haunted House comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 21.1 GB

The source looks great; cleaned up, free of any source damage. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. That said, this one of VCI’s stronger transfers, there does not appear to be any egregious digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in great shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, this track sounds very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a photo gallery with music from the film playing in the background (poster/lobby cards/stills), a theatrical trailer for Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1 minute 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Robert Kelly.

Summary:

Las Vegas Hillbillys was directed by Arthur C. Pierce, who is most known for Women of the Prehistoric Planet.

A singer whose family makes moonshine inherits a casino in Las Vegas and turns it into a country western bar.

Over the years I have seen some wild films that left me scratching my head. And yet nothing could prepare me for Las Vegas Hillbillys, a film that would spawn a sequel titled Hillbillys in a Haunted House. The thing that went through my mind while watching Las Vegas Hillbillys was that this would be a good idea for a film. Despite down-home folks being in vogue at that time, a film like Las Vegas Hillbillys lacks the charm and wit of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.

Though Ferlin Husky got the aw-shucks, down-home persona down to a tee, Las Vegas Hillbillys feels more like a showcase for him singing than his non-acting abilities. When it comes to the rest of the cast, the only ones that fare well are Mamie Van Doren (Teacher’s Pet) and Jayne Mansfield (The Girl Can't Help It). An interesting side bar, both of these actresses were groomed to be Marilyn Monroe-like clones. Another cast member of note is Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me), who portrays Moose, an enforcer for a man who the protagonist owes a large sum of money.

It's very clear that Las Vegas Hillbillys is a film with limited resources. At just under 90 minutes, things are slow-moving; there are many lulls and not many bursts of momentum. The musical numbers excessively pad the narrative, the humor frequently fails to connect with the audience, and the premise comes across as silly. Ultimately, a pie fight finale perfectly sums up Las Vegas Hillbillys.

Las Vegas Hillbillys gets a good release from VCI Entertainment that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary.

Written by Michael Den Boer