Obligatory Road-Trip Vegas Scene #2: HARRY & TONTO

It’s now time for #2 in my 5-part series focusing on those scenes in cross-country road-trip movies in which Las Vegas makes a brief cameo appearance. This series was inspired by my wife Jill’s trip to the Nevade gambling mecca over the last week for the NAB Show.

Obligatory Road Trip Scene #2: HARRY & TONTO (Dir. Paul Mazursky, 1974)

Art Carney won an Oscar for his part as a retired widowed schoolteacher who takes a trip across country when he's evicted from his Upper West Side apartment in New York City. Carney's best friend in the world is an orange tabby cat named Tonto, who he walks on a leash.

In this charming road-trip movie's Vegas scene, Carney visits a casino (one that's not identified) has a few drinks and is accused of being a “cooler” by a guy at a Blackjack table who loses everything. After exiting the establishment a drunk Carney gets arrested for urinating on the casino's wall.

It's a good thing this will stay in Vegas because it's hardly anything to write home about.

The highly recommended HARRY & TONTO is currently available on Netflix Instant.

More later...