Party Girl (1958) Nicholas Ray

[Ann Harding]

The debate about Johnny Guitar spurred me to create a special topic about another great picture by Nicholas Ray: Party Girl (1958). This is one of my favourite films ever. It's a real cult picture, over here in France, while I know that in the US or UK, it's considered a bog-standard gangster production. As a result, the film has been released on DVD only in France.
I must have seen the film about 10 times on a big screen where its fantastic Cinemascope cinematography is best appreciated. Its appeal to me is on several levels. Its aesthetics, the quality of the acting and its lyricism.
From a fairly trivial script, Ray manages to inject a real atmosphere and some wonderful heartfelt performances from his two lead players, Cyd Charisse and Robert Taylor. The film was produced by MGM when the company was finally collapsing. This was both for Charisse and Taylor, their last film under their 7-years contract. The film certainly marked the end of an era. It's a nostalgic look at the Chicago of the 30s with its gangsters. It's also a Technicolor (that is Metrocolor) film noir.

The film takes place in the Golden Rooster, a nightclub owned by Rico Angelo (Lee J. Cobb) the mob boss.

Cobb offers a wonderfully hammy performance as Rico. But, it's not just complete spoof on his part. His relationship with his lawyer, Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor) are explored at a deeper level than in any other gangster picture.

Cyd Charisse is a show girl in the Golden Rooster where she meets crooked lawyer -with a heavy limp- Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor). Their meeting will help them to regain their self-respect.

The cinematography by Robert Bronner (who hasn't got a great reputation) explores colors intelligently with virtually no cold colors, always red and gold dominate. The film uses Cyd Charisse's dancing brilliantly. Her two numbers are exteremely well integrated in the film, helping to move the story forward. Having watched Little Caesar recently, it's fairly obvious that Ray was inspired by E.G. Robinson for his Rico Angelo and for several scenes. The interactions between the various characters are very sophisticated which might explain the appeal the film has over here. Anyway, I can only advise you to try to see this beautiful film noir and believe me, you won't be disappointed.
Here is the link to the R2 DVD: here

[ChiO]

With the exception of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, the few movies I had seen by Nicholas Ray did not do alot for me. I didn't dislike them; worse, I was ambivalent toward them. But when I saw PARTY GIRL on the big screen, I was so enthralled by it that I had to do a major re-evaluation. Suddenly what he was doing (or, what I thought he was doing) started to make sense and now THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, JOHNNY GUITAR, A WOMAN'S SECRET and IN A LONELY PLACE became new and startling movies (BORN TO BE BAD is still a bit of an outlier for me). For grabbing one by the collar and shattering any sense of comfort or complacency, I put Ray right there with Samuel Fuller and John Cassavetes.

A separate category called Garish Gangster Film Noir Musical Comedy Melodrama has to be created to capture PARTY GIRL. How I wish it would be released on R1 DVD.

[charliechaplinfan]

I was lucky enough to see this film. I can certainly see it's charms. It's vibrant, it gives Cyd Charisse a bigger part than she usually gets and she makes the most of it. Robert Taylor a much better actor than I'd ever thought. I love it.

Of his other films I've seen In A Lonely Place and Rebel Without A Cause. The former was one of Bogie's best roles.

[moira finnie]

Good screen caps, Ann. Thanks!

I enjoy the older Robert Taylor's nuanced performance in Party Girl as the mobbed up lawyer, and think that the Robert Bronner cinematography is magnificent, (his cinematography of Charisse is exceptionally good in Silk Stockings too). I also think that the use of bold yet subtle color is one of the hallmarks of Nicholas Ray's films, (i.e. Johnny Guitar, Bigger Than Life & Rebel Without a Cause). It would be great to know how much creative collaboration occurred between the cinematographer & the director.

In terms of acting, I particularly liked the sequence when Robert Taylor expresses disgust with himself and the new breed of coarser, more violent gangster who's succeeding Lee J. Cobb, one Cookie La Motte (played with considerable Actor's Studio brio by Corey Allen, who'd recently worked with Ray in "Rebel Without a Cause"). Then again, maybe Taylor just looked cheesed off because I believe that this was the last film he made for poor, bedraggled Leo the Lion at MGM after three decades riding that studio's gravy train. I'm very fond of the work that Taylor did from the '40s on, and still remember his rather realistic cop show, The Detectives, with affection. Two films of his that deserve an occasional airing might be Rogue Cop and Tip on a Dead Jockey. He's very good in both.

However, one big fly in the ointment that sort of pushes Party Girl into the parody stratosphere for me are the musical sequences that were clearly injected into the story. Featuring long, lavish shots of the gorgeous and lithe Cyd Charisse strutting her stuff to a modern musical arrangement, (not '20s period music), these parts of Party Girl are pretty jarringly from another time and place (say, a Las Vegas revue in the late '50s, maybe?). I like Ray's films very much, but wonder about what may have been some behind the scenes studio influenced shenanigans to juice up the movie in the hope of attracting a broader audience. Your mention of this film and all the questions it evokes for me, makes me want to read Nicholas Ray: An American Life by Bernard Eisenschitz. Has anyone read this one?

I read I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies when it came out about 12 years ago and found it terribly sad (Mr. Ray was clearly ill when this compilation was made). Here's an interesting appreciation of Nicholas Ray from Senses of Cinema that some may enjoy too.

[Ann Harding]

Well, Moira, I completely agree, I think Robert Taylor is truly underrated as an actor. When you look through his filmography, he worked with Wellman, Cukor, Stahl, Minnelli, Ray, Borzage, Mann, Brooks, Sturges! Quite impressive! I have seen many of his pictures and he was a much better actor than he even thought himself. He was incredibly dismissive: 'The worst actor in the world'. You're right he is very good as the crooked policeman in Rogue Cop (1954). I also value very highly his tremendous performance in Anthony Mann's Devil's Doorway (1950) where he plays a native indian back from the Civil War. This is one of my favourite westerns. He was one of the few movie stars to accept villains part. You just need to watch Brooks' The Last Hunt (1956) to discover that he could be convincing as a totally evil buffalo hunter.

Regarding the Bernard Eisenschitz, Nicholas Ray: An American Life, I borrowed it from a library and read bits of it. It's certainly the most comprehensive study and biography of Ray you can find at the moment.

As for the two numbers danced by Charisse (Dancing Doll and The Beat), I admit that I absolutely love them being a great fan of Cyd. They were shot by the choreographer Robert Sidney (not by Ray) and the music is by André Previn (uncredited). They are probably not quite 30s as they should be, but, I think they fit perfectly well with the rest of the story.

[MikeBSG]

I like "Party Girl." I've only seen it once on TV about 20 years ago. To me, it is like an episode of "the Untouchables" in color.

[Alan K.]

Nick Ray helmed some distinctive films that are among my favorites: IN A LONELY PLACE, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, THE LUSTY MEN come to mind.

His personal life was a slow-motion train wreck, but what is interesting about Ray as a director is that he struck several of his actors as being non-communicative to the point of muteness.

Robert Mitchum dubbed him the Mystic; he was amused by Ray who seemed to get his inspiration from some sort of inner force or mysterious diety, but who couldn't or wouldn't explain anything to his actors.

A friend who worked on a Ray project as a young actor told me the director walked him around the entire set with his arm around his shoulder. My pal waited for some sort of mentoring, directorial wisdom from Ray who continued to walk him around for 15 minutes then when they arrived back where they started said, "You'll be fine" and walked away. That insight was the sum total of guidance he received from Ray for the balance of the film.

On Knock on Any Door, Ray grabbed a very young and insecure John Derek by the face and said, "Look this way at the camera, stupid!"

And yet... look at the films he made. Must have known what he was doing.

More Ray: He was in France, stone broke , but trying to get something going so he hit up Zanuck for $200,000. DFZ told him, "Write me a page or something, so I can justify it and you got it." And Ray got his cash.

[Ann Harding]

Thanks for the very interesting insights into Ray, Moxie! All directors have their way with actors, sometimes really quite bizarre.....but like you say, it was effective!