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The Classics: Bogart's Nights and Nicholas Ray's Party Girlby Ari
There’s a comedic pleasure to All Through the Night that makes it a mostly entertaining distraction, never resorting to serious drama except for the obvious scene that has Bogart explain the dangers and threats of a fascist society with a powerful speech that underlines its importance. It’s always amusing to see films of the period insert strong, pivotal messages on bizarre occasions, especially in films meant purely for pleasure and fun. These messages usually appear towards the end of the second act, right before the huge, epic climax that sees the villains defeated or destroyed and the heroes living happily ever after with cheers, smiles, and kisses. It’s not exactly revealing to say All Through the Night ends on such a note, since the happy, heroic conclusion is just another point to this standard, but fun formula. All Through the Night is by all means a lesser Bogart effort, but that doesn’t keep it from being entirely worth watching, especially with an audience who appreciates classic Hollywood entertainment. I can easily see this going over extremely well at a revival house filled with enthusiastic film-lovers.
Bogart plays wealthy Broadway gambler Gloves Donahue, who spends his day with his group of tough, but likable friends. One of Donahue’s favorite things are the delicious cheesecakes made from Miller’s bakery, a small place run by a humble and sweet German man. Donahue’s mother helps out at the bakery, good friends with the Miller family. One morning Miller goes missing, and Donahue’s mother has a feeling something terrible has happened. And when she has a feeling, she has a feeling, meaning that Donahue takes it onto himself to inspect the mystery. He finds Miller’s dead body in the basement to everyone’s shock and dismay. Earlier in the morning, a small German killer called Pepi (the great Peter Lorre of M fame) entered the bakery and did the job - seemingly upset at Miller for not cooperating with some secret plan. At the scene of the crime, a young woman shows up only to discover the horrible news, quickly disappearing afterwards. Bogart begins his investigation by finding her at the nightclub in which she sings, also meeting Pepi the killer who happens to work as the club's piano player. After introducing himself to the girl, Leda Hamilton (Kaaren Verne), Pepi intrudes and takes her away. Something is clearly peculiar about the situation, and Bogart is determined to find out what it is. His investigation eventually takes him to an antique store that acts a front for a Nazi spy ring conducted by Franz Ebbing (Conrad Veidt). What follows is a series of set-pieces that sees Bogart fighting desperately to prevent a major Nazi attack on American soil. Some of these set-pieces are done well, while many are silly and nonsensical. The actors are great, though. Bogart is charming and cool, even hilarious at moments. The best sequence is when he and his friend pose as Nazi ammunition experts who are told to make a report to a gathering of officers and spies. It’s well written and very well acted, a genuinely hilarious segment of comedic performance. For a simple entertainment, All Through the Night gets the job done. Party Girl is one of Nicholas Ray’s lesser known films that seems to have developed a cult following over the years. Released in 1958, the film represents an intriguing, if sometimes odd clash of cinematic ideas for the purpose of honoring the types of films that inspired it. This is Ray’s throwback to the gangster films, noirs, and musicals of the 1930’s, a sort of dazzling technicolor showcase of what made those genres so enjoyable while managing to be true to the director’s trademark sensibilities. It’s a flawed film, awkwardly paced for the first half and unintentionally amusing at the end, but the overall result is still sort of fascinating, especially when compared to Ray’s other works. The director is obviously known best for the great Rebel Without A Cause, but I personally enjoy his smaller films such as In a Lonely Place or Knock On Any Door (both with Humphrey Bogart) much more. No matter what the film, Ray demonstrated a deep and rich film literacy to his work. His films are visually masterful, detailed, and usually performed, paced, and constructed with a skill that was clearly ahead of his time. While In a Lonely Place is very much a film of the 40’s, its sophistication, humor, and thrills still hold up extremely well today. There’s no doubt Ray brought a considerable skill and craft to his films. Party Girl, while probably the least of his works I’ve seen, is still an example of his value as a filmmaker. I had the pleasure of seeing a fairly gorgeous print of this at the Egyptian Theater here in Los Angeles in all its technicolor, cinemascope glory. The one area Party Girl is without fault is in its cinematography, a great example of the beauty of cinema during the 50’s. The cinemascope visuals give the film a sharp, colorful richness that provides a sense of theatricality and extravagance. The entire film basically looks like the “Girl Hunt” number in The Band Wagon - vibrant, meticulous, and beautiful. This also greatly helps when the film struggles to maintain interest in its slow first half. The visuals keep you invested, as do the completely unnecessary, but fun musical numbers. Party Girl sort of dwells between genres, experimenting with different ideas at different times. The first half deals largely with romance, before shifting to a more entertaining, if straightforward gangster film. Just in case you’re tiring of either situation, Ray throws in a couple nifty song and dance numbers with star Cyd Charisse to increase your level of enjoyment. The combination never quite balances itself out, but that doesn’t stop if from being amusing and entertaining.
Robert Taylor plays criminal defense lawyer Tommy Farrell, the brains behind Chicago gang boss Rico Angelo’s (Lee J. Cobb in a scene stealing performance) organization. Tommy falls in love with a performer at a nightclub he frequents, the beautiful Vicky Gaye (Charisse). She wants him to quit the organization and leave with her, something Farrell considers and eventually decides is right. Of course, his plan to go legit doesn’t quite please his boss, so Rico naturally threatens to hurt or kill his girl if he betrays him. Farrell has all the information needed to put Rico behind bars, and district attorney Jeffrey Stuart (Kent Smith) is eager to do so. If only he can somehow get Farrell to spill all the details..... The screenplay is nothing complex or deep, but the excellent actors make it count. Taylor is perfect as the intellect of the criminal unit, while Cobbs is great as his ruthless, maniacal boss. Memorabe sequences include Cobbs unloading his pistol into a photograph of Jean Harlow after he finds out she got married, an Untouchables-like dinner/celebration scene that ends with Rico beating one of his men silly, and the unforgettable, hilarious conclusion where he accidently spills acid all over his face, is shot several times, and falls out the window of a building. The ending is positively ludicrous, and must be seen to be believed. Charisse is there to look good and dance well, which is obviously no problem for her. Party Girl may not be the best Nicholas Ray film I’ve seen, but it’s certainly one of the most unusual and interesting. Now where’s that dvd?
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