and CinemaScope and professionally handled by Nicholas Ray, director, and Joe Pasternak, producer, who approach their subject as if the explosive Chicago of the early Thirties was something they had just discovered. The fact is that Party Girl, like the Charleston, is old hat, an old hat that would be amusing if it weren't so frighteningly reminiscent of a past best forgotten ... There is little that is novel or exciting about this Party Girl, despite her trappings or the occasional gunplay that surrounds her. TV Guide'''s review praised the performances: "Party Girl offers only a standard story, but director Ray makes more of it through clever setups and inventive techniques, drawing forth excellent performances from Taylor (who is playing a role loosely based on Dixie Davis, lawyer for mob boss Dutch Schultz of New York, who later turned informant and married a beautiful showgirl). Cobb turns in a "Wild-Man-of-Borneo" performance wherein he not only eats the scenery but spits it out and chews on it again and again. Charisse, who performs two sensuous nightclub dances, does a commendable job with her cliché role." Film critic Bruce Eder liked the film and wrote, "Party Girl'' is regarded by many Nicholas Ray fans as the most beautiful looking of all of his films. Shot in CinemaScope and color, and starring Cyd Charisse (with Robert Taylor), it gave cinematographer Robert J. Bronner one of the best showcases he ever had for his work, and was a treat to the eye of the viewer, a veritable explosion of color and motion for many of its best sequences." Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote, "Ray does wonders with George Wells' slight script through his masterful use of the camera to evoke the characters' alienation and vulnerability, and by also including exotic dance numbers and diverting costumes he creates some stunning visuals that have an eye-catching surreal look ... It's a honey of a film, never mind the superficial flaws." The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on ten reviews. DVD This film has been released on DVD in the Warner Archive Collection (individual DVDs). Novelization Slightly in advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the film was published by Gold Medal Books. The author was renowned crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert, who also made