Patrick McGilligan's biography of Nicholas Ray is pretty dismissive of 'Party Girl', and apparently Ray himself thought little of the film. A throw-back gangester picture, it was a "director for hire" job, the studio system was slowly dying and MGM was squeezing out a final movie on stars Cyd Charisse and Robert Taylor's expiring contracts. I entered with rather low expectations, but as the film went on I found myself getting involved.
I don't think I'd seen quite this story before, but somehow its premise still seemed tired. It's depression era Chicago and a skilled but self hating lawyer (Taylor) finds in the love of an aging party girl (Charisse) the inspiration to set his life aright and buck the mob. Charisse is fine, pretty and there, Lee J. Cobb solid as always, but it's Taylor (along with some tight direction) that sells the show.
I simply hadn't paid much attention to Robert Taylor before, I'd seen him in a few things though he hadn't left much of an impression. Here Taylor is world weary, an idealist at heart who hasn't lived up to his own standards, it's cost him a marriage and much of his his self respect, he's a bit of a drinker but well compensated by his criminal employers. Cid Charisse in her mid 30's is an aging club performer (giving her an excuse to show off her famous legs in some dance numbers), she supplements her income as an escort, yet atypical of that trade she refuses to put out. Not giving up on her small town values inspires Taylor, in time he stands up to mob boss Cobb, whose chief henchmen John Ireland abducts Charisse from the supposed protection Robert had negotiated with politically ambitious DA Kent Smith. With acid to face threatened against his love, Taylor must figure out how to save both her, and his newly restored self respect.
This worked for me. Started kind of slow and not all that interesting, but the cain sporting Taylor has presence from the get go, and as I got to know him and see his relationship with Charisse grow, I found I cared. Ray allows for a slow buildup and then rings plenty of tension out of the final act. Somehow new life is brought to a genra a quarter century past its heyday. Not the most original but surprisingly solid. ***
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