he had little input into the writing of the script, which was already finished when he signed on, by comedy specialist George Wells. Ray was barred by MGM's protocols from being involved in the direction of the musical numbers, even to the extent of discussing Charisse’s character in relation to the numbers. Ray also wanted to use period music to help recreate the era, but MGM, concerned that it would limit the film's public appeal, rejected that idea. Ray had also planned on three days of location shooting in Chicago, but when the film went past its schedule – partly because of the musicians' strike, partly due to Charisse's long illness – these days were cancelled. In the end, Ray had limited input into the film, besides personal directorial style. Ray said about the film: When I couldn't contribute as much as I wanted to the script, I tried to do the next best thing in color and performance, to [capture] the kind of bizarre reality [of the time], which permitted people who lived that life to believe that theirs was the only reality. Film noir historian Eddie Muller called Ray's use of color in Party Girl "nothing short of dazzling". Musical numbers The musical numbers were choreographed by Robert Sidney, who was forced to rehearse in Mexico with stand-ins because of a musicians' strike which ultimately caused the studios to disband their in-house orchestras. When Charisse filmed her numbers, she danced to a pre-recorded drum track in one case, and to performers who were miming in the other. After the strike was settled, Andre Previn composed the music, uncredited. Director Ray was not allowed to direct the musical numbers, because MGM's policy was that musical numbers were directed by the choreographer. He was not even allowed to talk to Charisse about her acting when it concerned the numbers. Box office According to MGM records, the film earned $1,130,000 in the US and Canada and $1,250,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $454,000. Critical response At the time of its release, critical response to Party Girl in the United States was generally dismissive, but European critics saw it as confirming their view that director Nicholas Ray was a master of "mise-en-scene". A. H. Weiler, film critic for The New York Times, gave the film a mixed review: "Party Girl, it should be noted at once, is handsomely accoutered in color