Party Girl (1958)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Leo Katcher (story)
George Wells (writer)

Release Date:

28 October 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

ROUGH AND READY! THE TRUTH ABOUT THE 'MODELS,' 'ACTRESSES' AND 'DANCERS' WHO PLAY WITH FIRE...AND OFTEN GET BURNED! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career defending crooks in trials. He has never realised that there is a downside to his success...

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Dancer | Beautiful Woman | Cripple | Gangster

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	Thomas 'Tommy' Farrell
Cyd Charisse	...	Vicki Gaye
Lee J. Cobb	...	Rico Angelo
John Ireland	...	Louis Canetto
Kent Smith	...	Jeffrey Stewart
Claire Kelly	...	Genevieve, Farrell's Wife
Corey Allen	...	Cookie La Motte
Lewis Charles	...	Danny Rimett, Golden Rooster Mgr.
David Opatoshu	...	Lou Forbes, Farrell's Assistant
Kem Dibbs	...	Joey Vulner, Rico's Mgr.
Patrick McVey	...	O'Malley, Detective
Barbara Lang	...	Ginger D'Amour, Party Girl
Myrna Hansen	...	Joy Hampton, Party Girl
Betty Utey	...	Cindy Consuelo, Party Girl

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Australia:G (TV rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Euterpe

Trivia:

Director Nicholas Ray was certainly impressed with Robert Taylor's commitment. "He worked for me like a true Method actor," said Ray, who remembered Taylor going to an osteologist, poring over X-rays and asking probing questions so that he would have an understanding of where in his body the pain would be from his character's crippled leg.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Perras callejeras (1985)

Soundtrack:

Party Girl

Neat Ray Film

Most any film directed by Nicholas Ray is usually worth watching, and "Party Girl's" no exception. Ray took here what might have been a quite routine movie under another director and turned it into something quite interesting.

He extracted an unusually strong performance from Robert Taylor, who celebrated his final MGM film here, and drew equally effective work from Cyd Charisse, who also demonstrated her formidable dancing skills.

Then there was that burly "brute" Lee J. Cobb doing his no-nonsense "gangster thing," which always rang true. Yes, "Party Girl" had lots of bite.

A bit of age comparisons are interesting here. Would you believe the actors playing the "handsome leading man" and "sinister character villain" were both born the same year? It was 1911 when Taylor and (gulp) Cobb entered this world. Adding to the mix, Ray was also born the same year, making for a perfect triumvirate. (Trivia note: Taylor and Ray both expired of the same terminal illness.)

Charisse showed what a 37-year-old-dancer-in-shape can do. Dig those mobile movements: cool hip action, fast torso turns, strenuous leg extensions and fantastic full-bodied falls. Cyd seemed one of the last holdouts as the film musical glory days "bit the dust."

The post-Lewis B. Mayer period allowed for more violence than ever before at MGM, and "Party Girl" had its abundant supply in the final gangland sequences.