Party Girl

Not a bad film by any definition, but a disappointment coming from Nicholas Ray. While it has some great moments, it never finds its groove. The romance is believable, but uninspiring. The gangster elements are done well, but a little too familiar. The color photography is eye-popping, but interferes with the noir mood. There's a pair of impressive dance numbers, but they definitely feel tacked on. In other words, the movie doesn't really get anything WRONG, but it failed to grab hold of me.

Viewed November 17, 2016. A frustratingly shapeless candy-colored gangster movie that doesn't always feel subversive enough, yet still allows Nicholas Ray to stretch a lot of his best visual muscles. There are two dance numbers shoved in there, and they're so perfectly orchestrated that you can't help but wish Ray had dove headfirst into a full-on noir musical, rather than the relative smattering we get here.

watched: 2016, 2023

Not even close to Ray at his best, but it still looks gorgeous.

Ray seeks for the damaged little children beneath these jaded lovers, and Taylor and Charisse reveal them to us in surprisingly vulnerable performances. But Ray doesn't seem all that interested in the gangster story they inhabit, and that's a big problem. (Lee J. Cobb, as the mafia don, overacts as usual.) The technicolor is lush and Charisse has never looked more lovely or more voluptuous.

A fairly straightforward romantic melodrama about two individuals who find love, despite each being trapped by their own dubious professions. Plot-wise, it goes how you'd expect it to go, but the colour photography is bold and vibrant and the pacing is brisk and economical. Cobb is delightfully sinister as the mob boss, but all the other actors put in strong performances too.

The technicolor undermines the seediness and occasional bleakness turning a lot of it into a standard romantic drama where the tension seems more a plot device than an overwhelming presence. What works is due in large part to Taylor who delivers some magnificent scenes, and Cobb. Things turn up a notch in the second half and particularly the final 10 minutes when things finally come together. Ending aside, it didn't wow me much, and Charisse feels like dead weight, but it's still entertaining.