Party Girl

Released Oct 28, 1958

1h 39m

Crime

Drama

List

83%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

57%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Deft lawyer Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor) has found himself a role successfully defending the crooked goons of crime boss Rico Angelo (Lee J. Cobb). When Thomas meets glamorous dancer Vicki Gaye (Cyd Charisse), he falls in love with her. Vicki makes Thomas realize that he should stop representing criminals, and he tries to break ties with Angelo. However, the mobster will not let Thomas free and kidnaps Vicki in order to keep the lawyer in his employ.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 28

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Party Girl on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Ray's direction, with its garish, searing streaks of color (red has rarely slashed the screen so violently), sharp diagonals, and quickly lurching wide-screen views, reflects its characters' raging energies and inner conflicts.

Aug 19, 2019

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Taylor and Charisse have never been better, and rarely has Ray's theme of two flawed individuals trying to strike a symmetrical balance achieved a more beautiful and convulsive expression.

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

TIME Magazine

Unfortunately, the picture's plot (good girl helps bad guy go straight) fits the mood like a concrete overshoe, and the more than generous serving of cheesecake is pretty soggy stuff.

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

A big-budget modern version of the old-fashioned gangland melodrama, made quite tolerable by some good performances and the addition of two musical numbers starring the lustrous Cyd Charisse.

Nov 14, 2019

Full Review

Phil Hall

Film Threat

The CinemaScope and Metrocolor production gives the film a regal feeling that is at odds with the edgy, dangerous setting.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jun 29, 2009

Full Review

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

MGM exploitation flick starring Robert Taylor and Cyd Charisse near close of their careers.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 8, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

An interesting blend of MGM musical and film noir. Film is another one of Hollywood's "could have been great, if only ..." and in this case it's too bad the studio didn't give filmmaker Nicholas Ray complete control of this unique film. Nonetheless this is worthy of your eyes if only to see Cyd Charisse and her stunning wardrobe.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Made in 1958, supposed to be the 20's? Costumes from 1958. Awful acting, sad that these stars would have to do this film for the money.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Robert Taylor gives one of his finest performances as a lawyer for the mob. Things get hairy for him, however, when it comes time for him to turn on his mob boss (Lee J. Cobb). The dilema puts Taylor's girlfriend (cyd Charisse) in danger. The story has as many holes as the shot up bodies, but the characters are layered pretty well and it has some exciting moments.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Expensive merchandise. Lawyer Thomas Farrell has lived a very interesting and rich life as a lawyer for criminals. He is now separated, divorced in a way, and drinks alone and watches shows. One day he is introduced to a beautiful showgirl and wants to settle down, but he'll find his past may come back to haunt him and derail his desires for happiness... "You know what a bottle of acid could do to a face like that?" Nicholas Ray, director of Rebel Without a Cause, 55 Days of Peking, We Can't Go Home Again, Born to be Bad, In a Lonely Place, and On Dangerous Ground, delivers Party Girl. The storyline for this picture is very interesting, unpredictable, and contains interesting and unique characters. The cast delivers solid performances and includes Robert Taylor, John Ireland, Lee Cobb, Cyd Charisse, and Corey Allen. "Don't make me get tough." I came across this some time ago on cable and had to DVR it. It was very interesting and a unique classic picture that is a bit underrated and very well done. It isn't perfect, is dry in spots, and maybe a bit unrealistic, but still very entertaining and worth at least one viewing for fans of the classics. "Honey, you're just married to him." Grade: B

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not one of Ray's best films...and there isn't much of the party girl in Party Girl at all. In fact, while this seems like a film built around Cyd Charisse, she is just a side character in the main plot.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With Cyd Charisse in the lead, of course there must be dancing in the plot - even in a gangster flick (1950s gazing back at 1930s here). So, she's a showgirl and she falls for Robert Taylor's mob lawyer (the kind of mob lawyer who is ashamed of what he does...or she makes him feel that way). Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum suggests that this film fits in with director Nicholas Ray's penchant for featuring flawed people learning to cope with life (and often coming together in the effort) although perhaps the widescreen technicolor presentation and Lee J. Cobb's usual scenery-chewing distracted me from the smaller story. Taylor is a fine actor but Charisse seems, um, less so ... except in those dance sequences where suddenly her character seems to embody all of the intensity that is otherwise lost on the screen. If only there were more of these sequences, the film might have become something stranger and more compelling. As it stands, it's enjoyable but doesn't levitate you.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Nicholas Ray

Director

Robert Taylor

Thomas "Tommy" Farrell

Cyd Charisse

Vicki Gaye

Lee J. Cobb

Rico Angelo

John Ireland

Louis "Lucky Louie" Canetto

Kent Smith

Jeffrey Stewart

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

96%

92%

The Killing

100%

86%

Grisbi

93%

75%

The Wrong Man

96%

90%

Breathless

67%

55%

Tight Spot

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Deft lawyer Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor) has found himself a role successfully defending the crooked goons of crime boss Rico Angelo (Lee J. Cobb). When Thomas meets glamorous dancer Vicki Gaye (Cyd Charisse), he falls in love with her. Vicki makes Thomas realize that he should stop representing criminals, and he tries to break ties with Angelo. However, the mobster will not let Thomas free and kidnaps Vicki in order to keep the lawyer in his employ.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Production Co: Euterpe
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 28, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2009
Runtime: 1h 39m

Most Popular at Home Now