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:

James Morrison: They were there for kicks, or bucks, or laughter... but Queenie, what was Queenie after?

Movie Connections:

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

Unintentionally hilarious!!!

One critic said it never had a release in the states which is wrong. I saw it in a theater in Princeton, N.J. It was long before the Merchant/Ivory rep kicked in. James Coco was probably the closest they could come to a Fatty Arbuckle look-a-like, but his performance is miserable. When he realizes that he has no backers for his new film and his mistress Queenie has run off with Perry King, he stands on the landing of his staircase and drunkenly berates the remaining guests at his party. The funny thing is that the camera never moves, nor are there any cutaways from him. He just goes on and on when someone should have yelled cut. Raquel Welch's musical numbers were, I suppose, meant to entice lusty revelry among the guests, but she's not that talented. Leave that sort of thing to Mae West. The whole project smacks of Golan-Globus amateur theatrics. Bad writing, bad acting, bad lighting, bad cinematography.