The Wild Party (1975)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

James Ivory

Writers:

Walter Marks (screenplay)
Joseph Moncure March (narrative poem)

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Hollywood in the '20s...Gin, Sin and a Night they're still whispering about!

Plot:

Loosely based on the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, an aging silent movie comic star tries for a comeback by...

Plot Keywords:

Wild Party | Party | Beautiful Woman | Film In Film | Lesbian Kiss

Cast

James Coco	...	Jolly Grimm
Raquel Welch	...	Queenie
Perry King	...	Dale Sword
Tiffany Bolling	...	Kate
Royal Dano	...	Tex
David Dukes	...	James Morrison
Christina Ferra-Gilmore	...	Nadine (as Annette Ferra)
Eddie Lawrence	...	Kreutzer (as Eddie Laurence)
Bobo Lewis	...	Wilma
Don De Natale	...	Jackie
Dena Dietrich	...	Mrs. Murchison
Regis Cordic	...	Mr. Murchison (as Regis J. Cordic)
Jennifer Lee	...	Madeline True
Mews Small	...	Bertha (as Marya Small)
Baruch Lumet	...	Tailor

Runtime:

95 min | France:100 min (director's cut) | Germany:88 min (video version) | USA:108 min CORRECT: (DVD) REPLACE WITH: (DVD) (director's cut) | USA:108 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Mission Inn - 3649 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

During the shooting of the film, James Ivory called one of the takes of a scene with Raquel Welch "a bit dull" and asked for a retake. Because of this, Welch walked off the set and refused to return until Ivory apologized to her in front of the entire cast and crew. Ivory capitulated and they continued with the scene.

Quotes:

Jolly Grimm: [referring to Dale Sword, who is upstairs with Queenie] That son-of-a-bitch had better come down here and watch a great actor doing a great scene!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Dispensing Morality/Paul Barresi/Twist of Faith (#7.19)" (2005)

were the 1920's really this dull?

I was looking forward to a sort of Fatty Arbuckle scandal on which this film is supposedly based, but my interest waned with each passing minute and each extended song. This has a great cast but it just kind of meanders along and just isn't very good. James Coco plays a fading star who is looking at making a comeback, and he throws a "wild" party at his place, but apparently most of the wildness took place off screen and in private rooms, away from the camera. Instead we have lots of singing and dancing which is fine, if that's what you like, I guess, but not I. There is sort of a build-up as Coco is attracted to a young innocent woman who was sent there to become a star, but by that point I couldn't take anymore and had stopped the film and placed it gently in the trade-in pile. VERY disappointing, 4 out of 10.