The Only Game in Town (1970)

You won't be disappointed!

So much average

Good movie but grossly overrated

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The backstory of this movie is even more dramatic than the plot! Frank Gilroy adapted his play for the screen, and George Stevens was set to direct. While the original play was a flop, the film was given an $11 million budget. Elizabeth Taylor was cast in the lead, since Stevens had successfully worked with her twice before, and she wanted the film to be filmed in Paris so she could be close to her husband Richard Burton, who was also making a film in Paris. Frank Sinatra was set to play the male lead, but when Liz got sick and filming got delayed, he had to bow out. He was ironically held to a previous contract in Las Vegas and Warren Beatty replaced him in the role. In the end, the movie was a total flop. George Stevens never directed again.That being said, I actually really liked this movie! It's a love affair between a Las Vegas former showgirl and a gambler, and with two beautiful people up on the screen, it's easy to forgive their character flaws. I would have been perfectly happy with the original casting, but Beatty's youth changes the character's motivations. An older Sinatra's performance would have been different, but I thought Beatty did a great job.The Only Game in Town is a perfect title for the drifting, slow burning film that truly shows the sickness of gambling. It's really lovely to watch, and at the start of the famously slow slew of 1970s movies, it's not that dated or boring. Rent it with your sweetie-pie (it's a little too heavy for a first date) and curl up with a bottle of champagne. When in Vegas. . .

A comedy/drama/romance that can't quite make up its mind as to which facets to emphasize, this stage play seems to stretch out for an inordinate length on the screen, despite Henri Decae's lush color photography and some stunning location scenery in Las Vegas. The play has been opened out a bit. The character play by Hank Henry sees to be a cinematic addition, although the role is small. However, the movie is still basically a three characters study, actioned in just the one setting. I must admit that the first two- thirds of the movie are agreeable enough – thanks mostly to the charm of the three principals – but the last third in which the movie finally comes to its foregone conclusion, seems to drag on and on and on. From a director's angle, the film is disappointing. Despite the reunion with Liz Taylor, this is not another "Place in the Sun" for director George Stevens. In fact, the old master seems to be losing his touch. The crude studio insert of Liz pretending to dance in the Las Vegas line-up will fool no-one. True, Liz is carefully groomed, made up and costumed and has obviously been taking elocution lessons as her voice is nowhere near as grating as it was in some previous blockbusters such as Cleopatra. On the other hand, despite all Liz's careful make-up, Beatty still looks about ten years her junior.

A very pudgy, 40 year-old Elizabeth Taylor, wearing way too much mascara and some god-awful wigs, plays (unconvincingly) Las Vegas chorus girl, Fran Walker.If you want a real good laugh, just wait till you see Taylor trying to kick up her legs and blend in with the rest of the show girls, who were all much leaner and considerably taller than her, and obviously about half her age. Yep. It's a hoot and a half.Anyways - In between appearing in a Las Vegas show, Fran finds herself drifting into a rocky affair with a mediocre lounge pianist/loser/gambler named Joe Grady.Fran, like a total fool, has been waiting in Las Vegas for her married lover, San Francisco businessman, Tom Lockwood to finalize the divorce he's been promising to get for the past 5 years. (Uh... 5 years!!?? Like, give me a break, already!!) Trust me - Even though this one stars the likes of Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor, it all gets real tiresome, real fast.The Only Game In Town was originally a Broadway flop that only played for 16 performances and, then, the show closed for good.This film's whopping $11 million budget was all due to that spoiled, demanding witch, Elizabeth Taylor, who insisted that the entire picture be shot in Paris, France (even though its story was set in Las Vegas), so that she could be near her then-husband Richard Burton, who was working on some film in that city at the time. (Sheesh! If Taylor couldn't trust Burton to be out of her sight, then why the hell did she marry him?) The Only Game In Town was (thankfully) George Stevens' last film as a Director.

This is a pretty bad movie, but hard to look away from the pretty people inhabiting it. Warren Beatty was unbelievably gorgeous in his younger days. He also was a surprisingly effective and poignant actor. His performance elevates an otherwise pedestrian movie. It really is on par with a television movie, down to the cheesy soundtrack music. Elizabeth Taylor is incredibly miscast. She is lovely to look at, though rather old-looking, for some reason. She couldn't have been more than five years older than Beatty, but looks at least ten years his senior, in spite of being filmed in soft focus. She also is quite zaftig, though it's refreshing in light of the anorexic actresses one sees now. She's totally unbelievable as a showgirl. The average showgirl is tall and slender; the tiny, curvaceous Ms. Taylor would never have even gotten an audition. She also phones in her performance, which doesn't help her rather poorly-drawn character. The film is a series of relationship and situational cliches. You can predict the dialogue before it's spoken. You have to wonder, too, why a stalwart such as George Stevens would choose such a flaccid script as his final project. Someone must have waved a lot of money under these big names' noses to get this made. It's a shame to waste such directing and acting talent. But if you start watching, you probably won't be able to take your eyes off it. They don't make beauties like Beatty and Taylor in Hollywood anymore, at least with as much charisma to go with the looks.