The Wild Party (1975)

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 (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:

[Dale is leading Queenie out to the garden to dance, James catches Queenie and pulls her aside]
Dale Sword: For God's sakes, Queenie, you're asking for trouble, don't you know that?
Queenie: [She places her finger on his mouth] Oh hush, honey, Queenie knows what she's doing.
Dale Sword: She's got my name in her little book for this dance, old man. You can have the next one.
James Morrison: I just want to talk to her.
Dale Sword: My God, look at the glint in his eye! En garde, monsieur! En garde!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Wandering Company (1984) (TV)

very good though not widely seen

Unforgettable, very well done depticition of decadent 1920s Hollywood. Raquel Welch is superb as the desperate, sweet mistress of a deeply disturbed overweight and washed up comic named Jolly Grimm, ably played by James Coco. To resuscitate his career, Jolly throws a party that ends in tragedy. Very loosley based on Fatty Arbuckles story, this unforgettable and devastating film features fine support from Perry King as a Valentiniesque actor, and especailly from Miss Tiffany Bolling, as a lovely but unhappy film starlet. All in all, a class A effort that should have gotten a better recption at the time, but may well emerge as a cult classic. It is newly released on DVD , which should add to the fine film.