Tommy Farrell is a leading criminal lawyer in Prohibition-era Chicago who specialises in defending gangsters. He has a particularly close relationship with leading Mafia boss Rico Angelo, loosely based on Al Capone. Farrell's practice is a lucrative one, but when he falls in love with Vicki Gaye, a beautiful showgirl, he tries to cut his ties to organised crime. Angelo, however, is not a man to take "no" for an answer, and Farrell quickly realises that by leaving the racket he could be placing both Vicki and himself in danger.
That sounds like the plot of a standard film noir. "Party Girl", however, does not really fit into that category. For a start it was filmed in colour, which makes it unusual among fifties crime dramas and rules it out from being considered as film noir. The use of low-key black-and-white photography is generally regarded as an essential noir characteristic, and director Nicholas Ray had earlier made a number of successful films of this type, most notably "In a Lonely Place", but in the later part of his career he became known for his skillful use of colour in films like "Johnny Guitar". Vicki's profession is used as an excuse to introduce extended dance sequences of a type not normally associated with serious crime drama and more reminiscent of scenes from musicals such as "Singin' in the Rain" or "Silk Stockings", both of which also starred Cyd Charisse. Even the title "Party Girl" seems more suited to a comedy than to a serious drama.
As a crime drama the film is nothing out of the ordinary, certainly not in the same class as "In a Lonely Place" or Ray's great melodrama, "Rebel without a Cause". Lee J. Cobb as Angelo makes an effective villain, as he normally did, but Robert Taylor is rather staid as Farrell. As for Charisse, although she was one of the most beautiful actresses in the Hollywood of the 1950s, few people would have regarded her as one of the most talented, and she doesn't do a lot here to contradict that opinion. Except, of course, in dance sequences, where she gets the chance to show yet again that although her acting skills may have been limited, there were few leading ladies of the period who could dance so well or who could look so sexy while doing so.
It is, in fact, these scenes which make "Party Girl" still watchable today; they were not only those superbly choreographed but also superbly photographed, allowing Ray to make good use of his gift for colour. He is generally associated with serious films, but on the evidence of this one he could perhaps also have had a career as the director of more light-hearted fare. 6/10
That sounds like the plot of a standard film noir. "Party Girl", however, does not really fit into that category. For a start it was filmed in colour, which makes it unusual among fifties crime dramas and rules it out from being considered as film noir. The use of low-key black-and-white photography is generally regarded as an essential noir characteristic, and director Nicholas Ray had earlier made a number of successful films of this type, most notably "In a Lonely Place", but in the later part of his career he became known for his skillful use of colour in films like "Johnny Guitar". Vicki's profession is used as an excuse to introduce extended dance sequences of a type not normally associated with serious crime drama and more reminiscent of scenes from musicals such as "Singin' in the Rain" or "Silk Stockings", both of which also starred Cyd Charisse. Even the title "Party Girl" seems more suited to a comedy than to a serious drama.
As a crime drama the film is nothing out of the ordinary, certainly not in the same class as "In a Lonely Place" or Ray's great melodrama, "Rebel without a Cause". Lee J. Cobb as Angelo makes an effective villain, as he normally did, but Robert Taylor is rather staid as Farrell. As for Charisse, although she was one of the most beautiful actresses in the Hollywood of the 1950s, few people would have regarded her as one of the most talented, and she doesn't do a lot here to contradict that opinion. Except, of course, in dance sequences, where she gets the chance to show yet again that although her acting skills may have been limited, there were few leading ladies of the period who could dance so well or who could look so sexy while doing so.
It is, in fact, these scenes which make "Party Girl" still watchable today; they were not only those superbly choreographed but also superbly photographed, allowing Ray to make good use of his gift for colour. He is generally associated with serious films, but on the evidence of this one he could perhaps also have had a career as the director of more light-hearted fare. 6/10