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:

Various newspapers initially indicated that Robert Wise was to direct the film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Perras callejeras (1985)

Soundtrack:

Party Girl

Would Be Better With More Gangster Material (And A Widescreen DVD Option)

The first third of this classic-era film was pretty good. Robert Taylor does an effective job of playing a lawyer for the mob. Some think Taylor was too much of a "pretty boy" but I thought he always was good as a tough guy (i.e. "Bataan," "Johnny Eager," etc.). Besides, he was past 45 years of age when he made this.

The story loses its edge when "Tommy Ferrell" (Taylor) falls for dancer "Vicki Gaye" (Cyd Charisse) and the film turns into a love story. It tries to recapture its spark with a few gangster/action scenes later but it is too little0too late and the story really never recovered. Having Cyd dance a few numbers is one example of why this film lost its gangster feel. I have no complaints looking at this woman and her great legs, but something is not right here. I hate to say this but the story needed more action scenes and less of our girl Cyd, less melodrama.

Speaking of "looks," this movie was shot in 2.35:1 widescreen and is still available in that format. I saw it on the formatted-to-TV style of the VHS and I am sure this would be much more watchable in its original ratio. With the cinematography and wide-angle shots, this is crying out for a DVD release, even if the story is disappointing. I blame that on the overly melodramatic script, not the performances of Charisse or Taylor, or Lee J. Cobb, who plays his normal thug role, and does it well.