When clicking on the launcher it goes to the 1.7.4 game window, that disappears, then the launcher reappears. In the Development Console tab it reports a Fatal error outside of the Java Runtime Environment. I have attached a text file of the contents of that tab.
Please note that I last used the game when we were at 1.6.4... Took a bit of time off... Today was the first attempt after downloading the new launcher.
The Intel 4 Series (and older) video cards are unable to play 1.7.4 and future versions of Minecraft. You will need to buy a new video card or computer to play new versions.
For now, you can still play 1.7.2 or older versions of the game. To change your game to a different version, start the launcher. Select Edit Profile. In the "Use Version" dropdown menu, select the game version you want. Then click Save Profile.
You can try your luck and update your Graphics Card Drivers as some chipsets are still supported. If that doesn't work, then the first part of this applies.