6/10
The ‘70s were filled with tales of Hollywood debauchery set in the 1920s and 30s – movies that met with highly mixed results. Rod Steiger stumbled through “W.C. Fields and Me,” James Brolin and Jill Clayburgh headlined “Gable and Lombard,” Richard Dreyfuss played a washed-out director slumming in porn in the X-rated “Inserts,” and director John Schlesinger presented a horrifyingly downbeat take on “Tinsel Town” through his filming of Nathanael West’s book “The Day of the Locust.”
Director James Ivory added another log onto the fire with “The Wild Party,” the only time “Merchant/Ivory” would ever be associated with Samuel Z. Arkoff’s American-International – but unlike those other films, this 1975 period drama at least paints a more sincere portrait of its troubled celebrities during the late era of silent movie making.
James Coco plays “Jolly Grimm,” a silent comedian on his last legs whose latest film is already problematic since the era of sound has dawned in Hollywood. Grimm opts to throw a lavish party in a last-ditch effort to show the picture and net some backers – which sadly culminates in a tragic orgy wherein Grimm, his girl (Raquel Welch), a rising leading man (Perry King) and others find their fates tied together.
Merchant/Ivory’s brand name would seem to be a mismatch with American-International, and the two entities indeed clashed in 1975 when the film was released. AIP cut the film down to 91 minutes and it subsequently bombed, though James Ivory’s original 107-minute cut was released a few years later in 1981 where it met with still-mixed – but at least comparatively more positive – notices.
Even in its longer cut, “The Wild Party” is a problematic picture since the audience is keenly aware what’s about to transpire dramatically – as a result, Ivory and writer Walter Marks never establish a real sense of tension or foreboding that the material requires. Welch is quite good here though Coco is miscast in a role that finds him alternately groveling with would-be investors or growling at his guests – the shifts in his personality seem too mechanical, too much “acting!” to come off as believable, while there’s just not enough sympathy generated for Jolly’s sad state of affairs.
Yet the movie manages to provide a compelling viewing just the same, mainly because of its interesting peripheral players – roles belonging to David Dukes, Tiffany Bolling and Royal Dano among others – and Walter Marks’ songs. These original compositions from the songwriter of “I’ve Gotta Be Me” evoke the era perfectly and nearly turn “The Wild Party” into a full-blown movie musical. Certainly the picture perks up whenever they’re on-screen – it’s unfortunate this movie wasn’t made a decade earlier (or even a decade later) when the musical itself wasn’t so out of fashion.
MGM debuts “The Wild Party” on Blu-Ray for the first time later this month in Ivory’s preferred 107-minute version. The 1080p (1.85, mono) transfer is excellent with fine grain visible and the sound in likewise healthy shape.