Party Girl is a 1958 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse and Lee J. Cobb. Filmed in CinemaScope, it was the last film Charisse did for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the next-to-last film Taylor did for the studio; they were MGM's last two remaining major contract stars.
Plot
Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending Chicago mobsters in court. At a party for mob boss Rico Angelo, he meets chorus girl Vicki Gaye, who accepted $100 to attend the party and another $400 from another gangster, Louis Canetto, from his gambling winnings.
Farrell gives her a ride home, each expressing disapproval at the way the other makes money. Vicki finds her roommate Joy dead by suicide, pregnant by a married criminal. After a long night of questioning by police, Farrell asks that Vicki be given a raise and featured number on stage at the Golden Rooster club, which Rico owns.
The lawyer and Vicki begin a romance. She's struck by the way Farrell, who is lame, uses his disability to manipulate jurors while getting Canetto off on a murder charge. A surgeon is found who might be able to properly mend Farrell's hip, so he goes to Stockholm for the operation.
A cold-blooded killer, Cookie La Motte, is coming up for trial, but Farrell's frame of mind has changed and he would rather not defend such a man. Rico threatens violence against Vicki if the lawyer doesn't do his job. Cookie jumps bail, tired of the long wait in court, and plans to eliminate prosecuting attorney Stewart while at-large. Cookie and his men are gunned down by other racketeers, however, at an Indiana diner.
Stewart decides to pressure the mob by going after anyone connected to it. He begins by placing Farrell under arrest. Canetto goes to Vicki offering to protect her, but takes her prisoner instead. The district attorney releases Farrell, hoping to smoke out the mobsters who employ him. Canetto, caught in a crossfire, is killed.
Farrell then confronts Rico, but the gangster picks up a bottle of acid that he intends to disfigure Vicki with if the lawyer refuses to do what he says. A fight erupts, with the bottle smashing into Rico's face. Eyes and face burning, he plunges from a window to his death.
Cast
Cast notes
Gloria Wood providing the singing voice of Cyd Charisse
Erich von Stroheim Jr., the son of the noted director, has a bit part as a police lieutenant, and was also the assistant director on the film. Party Girl was Cyd Charisse's last film for MGM after 14 years at the studio. It was also Robert Taylor's next-to-last film in his 25 years at the studio, although it was the last to be shot in Hollywood: his final film, The House of the Seven Hawks was shot in England. Charisse and Taylor were the last two contract stars at MGM.
Production
The song under the opening credits, "Party Girl", was written by Nicholas Brodszky (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics), and was sung by Tony Martin, who was Cyd Charisse's husband.
Robert Taylor's character, Tom Farrell is loosely based on Dixie Davis, who was a lawyer for mob boss Dutch Schultz and later became an informant, although film noir historian Eddie Muller claims that Louie Cuttner, a lawyer for Al Capone, was the model. Coincidentally, director Nicholas Ray would end up hiring Cuttner some years later, having no idea of the connection. Ray was impressed with the way Taylor worked, comparing him favorably with Method actors, citing Taylor's conferring with an osteologist to gather information on how Tom Farrell's limp could be realistically portrayed.
According to Eddie Muller, Lee J. Cobb's character, Rico Angelo, is a "not too veiled caricature of Al Capone". The scene where Angelo beats up Frankie Gasto – played uncredited by former wrestler Aaron "Lord Spears" Saxon – was based on an incident supposedly involving Capone; it was also used by David Mamet in his screenplay for the 1987 film The Untouchables.