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Party Girl More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 29 reviews in total |
27 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
A Revelation, 24 January 2000
Author:
Eric Chapman (caspar_h@yahoo.com) from Pittsburgh, PA
Interesting movie. Very interesting, though the title is inexcuseably
misleading. Nicholas Ray directs and, not surprisingly, makes novel use of
shadows, bold colors and wild camera angles. There is a bravura montage of
an explosion of mob violence which is sudden and startling. Ray, best known
as the director of "Rebel Without a Cause", takes a smart, tough script
and;
unlike many crime movies which contain similar ingredients but fail to
resonate, gives the movie a soul. There's something about its tone and
feel,
some simmering menace and creeping regret that reminds one of another mob
movie which would be released 15 years later: "The Godfather". And as in
that classic, the Lawyer/Mob Boss relationship is complex and
fascinating.
While much of the credit deservedly goes to Ray's maverick methods and
genius, the cast is also very good. Robert Taylor never developed the kind
of easily identifiable screen persona of a Bogart or Jimmy Stewart, but he
was a sturdy leading man who usually served the material and could be
depended upon to anchor a film. He pours his heart into this part, his last
as an MGM contract player. Cyd Charisse was never known as a great actress
but she is capable in her role as a feisty Show Girl, and she gets a good
opportunity to show off perhaps the most eye-popping, perfectly sculpted
figure in the history of motion pictures. And of course, nobody was better
at playing hot-tempered thugs than the great Lee J. Cobb.
Turner Classic Movies is such a goldmine. It's so satisfying to see movies,
such as this one, that know how to introduce plot points and convincingly
tie them up and bring things full circle. "Party Girl" may not be quite a
great film, but it is very, very good.
13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Mobsters in Chicago, 9 November 2005
Author:
jotix100 from New York
"Party Girl" is a rarely seen movie directed by Nicholas Ray. This 1958
picture mixes styles, and at times, it achieves an originality that
only a director like Mr. Ray could give any movie he directed.
Basically, we are given a situation in which a lawyer who defends the
criminal element is caught in the way he must deal with a situation
where he has to turn against his loyalty to his mobster employer
because, at last, he sees the light and the consequence of his actions.
Robert Taylor plays the lawyer, Tommy Farrell. This was his last film
that marks the end of his long and successful association with MGM.
Robert Taylor makes an appealing Farrell, and even though one realizes
he is defending people that are at the margin of the law, his character
shows redeeming qualities that make him merit our sympathy. The actor
is perfect in the role.
Cyd Charisse playing a dramatic role is a surprise. In fact, she was
always seen in musical roles because of her talent as a dancer. In the
film she plays a chorus girl that suddenly is elevated to a starring
role in front of her former colleagues because of the influence Tommy
Farrell had in those circles. Ms. Charisse holds her own against an
accomplished actor like Mr. Taylor. This is one of her best
opportunities in the movies.
Lee J. Cobb is seen as the criminal boss Rico, who has a tremendous
power over Tommy Farrell. Mr. Cobb shows he could do anything in movies
as well as on the stage. John Ireland plays the evil Louis Canetto.
This is a film that fans of the work of Nicholas Ray shouldn't miss.
13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Neat Ray Film, 30 July 2004
Author:
harry-76 from Cleveland, Ohio
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.
14 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
In Defense of Party Girl, 4 September 2008
Author:
artihcus022 (artihcus022@gmail.com) from India
''Party Girl'', Ray's final film for a major Hollywood studio(after
this he worked with independent producers) is a highly baroque work.
Screechingly mannerist in places, occasional head-first dives into camp
but also remarkable instances of poetry and subtlety and a highly
charged social portrait. It is a very discordant work which is to say
that it deliberately skewers audiences expectations of a genre film by
working as a genre film but stylized in a manner that the clichés and
conventions look highly abstract, not unlike a film by Douglas Sirk.
''Party Girl'' is shot in CinemaScope and Metrocolor, is produced by
Joe Pasternak who was in charge of the second-tier MGM unit. The
Leonine studio had by the mid-50's devolved into an organization of
penny-pinchers and according to Ray, the only reason this film got made
was because it's backers wanted to get rid of it's two stars...Cyd
Charisse and Robert Taylor so as to exhaust their run of contracted
films as quickly as possible. This explains the fact that more than
''Johnny Guitar''(with it's superlative cast of actors), ''Party Girl''
is the closest Ray came to make a B-Film. The storyline is a
standard-issue crime drama and it is by a safe distance the most
generic of Ray's major films.
That it's still a major film is for me little doubt. Though lacking the
strength of his early crime films and his 50's melodramas, ''Party
Girl'' is still a deeply compelling film about the universality of
compromises in society. The title ''Party Girl'' is essentially a slang
for prostitute or for being under someone else's thumb. It refers to
Cyd Charisse's character Vicki Gaye, a showgirl who works part-time as
escort to various underworld types alongside other gals who work at the
''Rooster Folliers''(no joke). But it also includes mob lawyer Tommy
Farrel(Robert Taylor) and applies to everyone else.
Ray's distaste for plot apparent in all his films is full in abundance
here as the generic outline of this story of crooked lawyer turned
straight through the power of love takes on several asides. Like the
one-scene appearance of a fellow showgirl who's waiting for her man and
whose depression, Vicki stifles as a result of habit and accord over
the years. The scene where she walks into her roommate's bathroom and
finds her swimming literally in a pool of her own blood in a bath-tub
is one of Ray's most embedded images even if(in accord with then
censorship) the image lasts only a few micro-seconds before a quick
fade-away. Much of the secondary section of the film centers on Tommy's
relationship with Rico Angelo(Lee J. Cobb in a towering performance)
and there's very little plot driving their very powerful scenes.
Tension arises from flaming egos by a mob underling played by John
Ireland over Tommy's relationship with Vicki.
The film's sense of decor and colour is what we'd call now
Fassbinderesque. It's pictorially fascinating and the colours are very
eye-catching but the underlying design behind it is a sense of
decadence of vulgarity. This reflects perhaps that the underlying
subtext of this film is less about gangsters than about Hollywood. With
Lee J. Cobb's mix of charisma(like Vito Corleone in ''The Godfather'')
and crass vulgarity(like Joe Pesci in his films with Scorsese) stand-in
for many studio heads of that period and the two musical
interludes(numbers is the wrong word for it) by Cyd Charisse while
visually striking is poorly choreographed and seems like a parody of
the dying MGM Musicals.
''Party Girl'' is a reflection ultimately of what are the results when
a great artist and a few good actors are working with conventional
plots can achieve. It's a work that's of it's own kind. Not a gangster
film entirely, mostly a Film Noir though in colours, visually creative
but mostly functional. The decor of the film makes it's genre trappings
apparent and obvious revealing and critiquing it's functions yet the
scenes between Taylor and Charisse are very much played straight
conveying genuine compassion between two characters who have long lost
their innocence and are merely doing their best to survive and find a
semblance of happiness, a happiness that's threatened not only by the
mob but also by the cops who want to use them to catch the bad
guys(which has much benefits for their own political careers).
What may put off most fans of Nicholas Ray is the graphic violence of
the film which is quite unexpected and strong for a film of the 50's.
Plenty of bloodletting is on display on this film...of course Ray would
say "that's not blood...that's red."
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
An unbalanced movie; all in all, not bad, 6 May 2004
Author:
pzanardo (pzanardo@math.unipd.it) from Padova, Italy
"Party girl" is a peculiar movie, starting with its title. In fact, the
title recalls a light comedy in
the style of the 1930/1940s. On the contrary, we deal with a
drama/gangster-story of rare
toughness (for the standards of the 1950s). The violence of some scenes is
really scary. We
recognize the hand of director Nicholas Ray. We even have an excellent
action sequence
which anticipates a famous sequence of "The Godfather". The story is
interesting, the
cinematography is good and accurate.
Unfortunately, this is an unbalanced movie. Vicky, very well played by
beautiful Cyd
Charisse, is a rather innovative character. But her dance numbers, so
patently instrumental to
show Cyd's legendary legs and phenomenal dancing skills, are just stuck to
the film. A
thorough and interesting psychological study of Thomas Farrell (Robert
Taylor) is made. But
the film is nearly marred by a huge flaw. The badly crippled Farrell has a
miracle-surgery in
Europe (?) and returns perfectly healed! (alas! that's not yet possible in
the 2000s, let alone in
the 1930s). And then the formerly crooked corrupt lawyer Farrell turns into
the noblest
possible person. Come on! At any rate, Taylor gives one of the best
performance of his
career. John Ireland is a great thug. Lee J. Cobb (as usual looking twenty
years older than his
actual age) makes an outstanding job as the suave, cruel gangster Rico. The
action scenes,
though well-filmed, are too scarce for a gangster movie. Besides the magical
surgery, other
twists of the plot are unlikely.
You see, "Party girl" has remarkable merits and flaws, as well. All in all,
not a bad movie.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
I know a girl a girl called Party, Party Girl., 2 April 2010
Author:
JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom
Crippled Lawyer Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor) has made a career
defending crooks in trials, so much so he's now the front line defender
for the Chicago mob. But into his life comes dancer Vicki Gayle (Cyd
Charisse), who as he starts to fall in love with her, makes him see
that his life is worth so much more than that. However, mob king Rico
Angelo (Lee J. Cobb) is keen to retain Farrell's services, at any price
it seems.
There's no getting away from it, Party Girl (a euphemism for a
prostitute) features a very standard formulaic plot. It's also a very
misleading title in that it doesn't scream out this is a crime picture.
Directed by Nicholas Ray for MGM (his last for one of the big hitting
studios), it's adapted by George Wells from a story by Leo Katcher.
Supporting the three principal actors are John Ireland & Kent Smith.
Robert J. Bronner (Jailhouse Rock) provides photography and the film is
a CinemaScope/Metrocolor production.
Set as it is in prohibition Chicago, it allows Ray to rise above its
simple formula and blend his knack for visual touches with interesting
characterisations. If we really are going to cement this in the film
noir genre? then it's more down to the director than anything in the
story. Yes there's theme's such as alienation, vulnerability and the
core essence potential for tragi-love-born out of two characters stuck
in differing forms of prostitution. But the script is so weak it needed
Ray to put an almost surreal sheen over it. There's exotic dancing
featuring prominently, some what a given with the weak Charisse
starring {in fairness to her it's one hell of a cliché riddled role},
but again Ray crafts in such a way it doesn't let the film feel too
sprightly. Something that this lush production is in danger of being at
times. Yet line those dance numbers alongside scenes such as a portrait
of Jean Harlow being shot to pieces, or of Charisse being questioned by
a policeman's Silhouette; and you get an oddity. But a very enjoyable
one.
This was Taylor's last contract film for MGM, and fittingly it's one of
his very best performances. Again one tends to think this is probably
down to Ray's coaxing, but regardless, Taylor plays Farrell with
vulnerable elegance and a steely eyed determination that carries
Charisse along with him. Thus the romance is believable, and yes,
engaging. Cobb does another in his long line of larger than life
characters. Chewing the scenery as much as his Rico character chews on
his cigars. While Ireland is a by the numbers thug for hire and Kent
Smith a talking prop. There's a fleeting performance from Corey Allen
as baby faced psychopath Cookie La Motte, a character that the film
could have definitely done with more of. Here's the main problem with
Party Girl, it's just not edgy or dangerous enough. Which in a film
involving gangsters, murders and crooked court cases, is an issue is it
not? But thanks to Ray and Taylor the film overcomes its many flaws to
wind up being a very enjoyable crime-love story based picture. But film
noir? Well that's debatable really. But lets not get into that........
7/10
7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
No longer considered as trash - but art!, 17 August 2003
Author:
eva25at from Vienna, Austria
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
(Contains spoilers)
Chicago, the early thirties. The film starts with a flesh parade. Dishy
dames are singled out for a gangster party. When Rico Angelo (Lee J. Cobb)
entertains his fellow gangsters an accommodating girl can expect a hundred
dollar bill for her sympathy, and when the evening is drawing to a close the
crooks are often too plastered to ask for more. Vicki Gaye (Cyd Charisse) is
an old hand in this business and a cynic when it comes to love: " I was
taken in once. At fifteen with a neighbor in a dark barn. It was very
romantic". Vicki is helped by Rico's lawyer and protege Thomas Farrell
(Robert Taylor) when her fellow-lodger cuts her wrists: She should not take
this occurrence to her heart, suicide among party-girls happens, he comforts
her before limping out of her apartment on his walking-stick.
Tommy handles his foster-father's business matters and acts as defense
counsel for his crooks. Before court, he makes shameless use of his physical
disability to raise the pity of the jurors. ("If pity is what you want, you
certainly have mine", Vicki tells him with disdain). But they have a strong
attraction for each other and the old "I work in a rotten business, but I'm
better than the rest of them" cliche works: Tommy defends gangsters but
declines to dine with them, Vicki, on the other hand impresses him when she
returns the $400 present of a murderer.
Tommy owes his handicap to a foolish boyish prank. Rico is like a father to
him and he is still married to a woman who found the sight of his crippled
leg so unbearable that she left him. Meanwhile Rico becomes more and more
power-mad: When Tommy witnesses Rico slashing another gangster in a fit of
rage, Vicki implores him to get out. But he is unwilling to settle down,
because he feels that his reputation is as crippled as his leg. When he
learns of a new, long and painful treatment that could cure his leg, he
leaves for Sweden. The operation is successful. Tommy's brand-new hip-swing
is so attractive, that his wife has even the face to claim him back - guess
what Vicki tells her! The lovers tour Europe, but their happiness is
short-lived: Rico orders Tommy to defend a young psychopath in a seemingly
easy case: All the witnesses for the prosecution have already been
eliminated, the state's attorney will be next... Tommy revolts, but Rico
threatens to smash his artificial hip-joint to pieces and demonstrates the
effect that hydrochloric acid could have on Vick's face...
The plot in itself - the minion of a gangster-boss bites the hand that fed
him - could fill any episode of THE UNTOUCHABLES, but director and stars
give it the "A" film treatment, and the cinematography exceeds all
expectations. The dominant colors are red and black, except for Charisse's
two show-numbers, one in pink and one in a leopard-design dress. The look is
rather fifties than thirties, the score is rock-and rolly, but it is a posh
film. The moment when Taylor and Charisse enter a bathroom and discover a
dead girl in red water is a shocker, and Lee J. Cobb is magnificently
repulsive in his over-the-top performance as acid-brandishing villain. The
handicapped attorney is probably one of Taylor's most memorable
performances, and Charisse was one of the most impressive dancers on screen.
PARTY GIRL has something that other films about organized crime usually
lack: a strong role for a woman. A frequent guest on tv, it was recently
shown by ARTE: Dear viewers, this is no longer considered as trash - it is
art!
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
The Most Colorful Film "Noir" Ever, 20 November 2006
Author:
ragosaal from Argentina
This is a late 50's gangsters movie in the line of the classical film
"noires" of the 40's. The remarkable aspect here is that "Party Girl"
is perhaps one of the most colorful movies ever made in the genre and
perhaps out of it too. Right from the start and as a background for the
titles there's an all color dancing sequence and from them on color is
all around including bright red dresses Cyd Charisse wears throughout
the entire film.
But beautiful color aside, Nicholas Ray ("King of Kings", "55 Days in
Peking") delivers an interesting and entertaining gangsters movie about
a crippled "Mafia" lawyer (Robert Taylor) -a sort of predecessor of
"The Godfather"'s Tom Hagen- gets involved with a cabaret dancer (Cyd
Charisse) and they try to start a new life together far from the man's
dangerous clients; but the big man (Lee J. Cobb) is not willing to set
Taylor free because he is a genius in his work that can keep him away
from the electric chair and also because the lawyer "knows too much".
There's a fine performance by Taylor as the bitter-ed attorney and also
by beautiful and "classy" Charisse who also has the chance of
exhibiting her undeniable dancing skills (and her famous legs too).
Cobb is perfect in a role with no secrets for him pretty much like the
one he played before in the classic "On the Waterfront" and a year
later in "The Trap". John Ireland and Kent Smith complete the main
cast.
Though not perhaps a great film -not much action sequences for the
genre- "Party Girl" stands as a good one in its line worth watching no
doubt.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Taylor/Charisse Surprise, 26 October 2011
Author:
misctidsandbits from United States
Having passed up this movie many times, I decided to check it out when
it came up again on TCM recently. Now that you can tape something and
scan through, it is easier to evaluate before you waste your time.
Going through, I noticed Robert Taylor coming across better than I've
ever seen him. He was the main deterrent before. I've never thought him
good enough looking to put up with, especially when the main lead. But
seeing Lee J. Cobb in it and really liking the deep color, I became
interested. Also, have always liked Cyd Charisse's dramatic persona –
generally smooth, no overstatement. Her musical numbers were rather
enlarged for the type of film, but guess they couldn't resist. And, MGM
could really come up with some odd titles.
Taylor proved to be convincing and capable throughout. Enjoyed him and
Charisse together and definitely the visual. Cobb seems to have been
used a lot for the more gregarious type, like the crime boss here. I
initially saw him in roles as the no nonsense good guy, and I think I
prefer him as that. He played that very effectively in "The Virginian"
television series. He was the strong guiding hand, somewhat a father
figure, who could bring up the volume when needed and take care of any
foolishness, with dispatch. His screen time as such was my favorite
part of that interesting series.
Hey, it's a Hollywood movie, which is going to have some form of the
Hollywood treatment, both good and bad. If you can anticipate and
accept any given film's set of excesses and idiosyncrasies, it's easier
to enjoy what is enjoyable to you. This one is liberally laced with
improbables, for one thing. Again, expect that and other unrealities
from old Hollywood. It's the nature of the genre. I certainly prefer it
to where they've gone now. For this one, I could ignore the improbables
and move along with things. The relationship of Taylor and Charisse
(and the quality of the visual) captured this movie out from the ranks
of ones I would usually pass over.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Weird but worth it, 16 January 2010
Author:
calvinnme from United States
This movie makes more sense if you watch the documentary MGM: When the
Lion Roars, about the history of MGM. According to the documentary,
1936-1946 was MGM's Golden Era. However, after the war, tastes in film
changed, but MGM refused to change with the times or the tastes of
post-war America. By the 1950's MGM was a Lion in Winter. Thus this
rather split personality film begins to make sense from the context of
its manufacturer. It can't decide what kind of film it wants to be,
going back and forth between the big musical spectacles that MGM was
famous for since the dawn of sound, to hard-hitting gangster characters
and antics in the Warner Brothers tradition, to social commentary on
the plight of the disabled in modern times and a beauty and the beast
romance. If you know the chaos into which MGM is plunged by 1958, this
enables you just to sit back and enjoy the film, which does have a
great deal to offer.
The movie is badly mislabeled, since it really is not that centered on
party girls at all. Instead it is basically a prohibition era romance
between a beautiful showgirl played by Cyd Charisse and a lame mob
lawyer played by Robert Taylor. Already dumped by one glamor girl who
just wanted his money but was repulsed by his misshaped body, Taylor's
character is understandably reluctant to get involved again. However,
soon the pair are in love and Taylor's character gains the confidence
to want to stop being the mob's mouthpiece. However, leaving the mob is
not such a quick and clean business, whether you are an attorney or
just a muscle man.
Taylor gives a very good performance in this one, and Lee J. Cobb's
performance as a mobster looks like it was the inspiration for Robert
De Niro's portrayal of Al Capone in 1987's The Untouchables, in at
least one scene anyways. This one is definitely worth your time if it
comes your way.
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