HotToastyRag 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. . .

Shilpot7 I recorded this off of the TV years ago & I must say I really like it more as the years go by.When I first saw it about 25 years ago I didn't get it at all & was very disappointed by the cheap setting etc...it felt very much like a filmed play.But now I really appreciate it as very sensitive film about two lost people who find each other at lonely points in their lives & hook up to conquer the boredom and loneliness, take each other for granted and then realise they actually love each other.Liz could be a very sensitive, emotional & witty performer. She's often at her best in little movies and I think this is one of her most touching and emotional performances. She gives this picture wit and soul which make up for the cheaply put together locations.Warren Beatty, who I usually find quite 'blah,' is also good as the guy with a gambling habit who falls for a lonely dancer.

harry-76 The superficial values and emotional anguish that often permeate the world of gambling is captured by George Stevens in his final film.Maurice Jarre's "bluesy" score (punctuated by a sorrowful trumpet) enhances the "downer" quality of this mundane drama. It's understandable why Stevens saw something in this Frank D. Gilroy script, based upon his play. During this general period there were some pretty stark two-character plays being produced.There was, for example, "Two for the Seasaw," "Silent Night, Lonely Night," "Husbands," and "Scenes from a Marriage." In this last film Ingmar Bergman laid bare a vacillating marriage-on-the brink, creating heart-breaking experience.In "The Only Game in Town," two very good-looking actors try their hand at a challenging duo-character piece. It is said that "one-take" Frank Sinatra declined the role because he felt it might clash with Stevens' perfectionistic "multiple-take" approach. He was probably right.The part then went to Warren Beatty, who tries very hard in what almost sounds like a Sinatra imitation (close one's eyes and listen to his timing and inflection). Elizabeth Taylor was apparently a favorite of the director, having utilized her talents successfully twice before. She invests her role with much energy and feeling.However, the two, for all their earnest effort, create only a medium degree of "chemistry." Part of their lack of connection is in the script, which saddles Beatty's "ring-a-ding" character with an unrelenting degree of flippancy, right up to the last line. Taylor's role doesn't break any fresh dramatic ground, either. Most people agree, though, that it's pretty hard to stop watching this, once one gets past the [characteristically slow Stevens] "late bedroom" -"morning after" scenes. While the presentation didn't exactly turn out to be the consummate emotional experience Stevens was obviously striving for, "The Only Game in Town" is still a most respectable piece of work. With this opus, a great film director bid his final farewell to the medium.

notrlred This movie has a nice feel to it. It takes you back to an era when women looked like women, curvy and wearing dresses as Elizabeth Taylor does in this picture. Warren Beatty is most handsome and is totally smitten with Taylor's character, which makes this movie seem like a fairy tale since men like him usually go for the model thin women. After viewing this movie late at night, I realized I truly enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind having a video of it. Although, they may seem unrealistic, these are the kind if movies that keep hope alive for true love.