The Party's Over

The opening bars of the jazz-style theme alerts us to the likely seedy nature of this gritty tale of a young woman who arrives from a wealthy upbringing in the USA in 1960s London. She falls in with a rather Bohemian band of reprobates known as the "Pack", a group of young people who live a pretty disparate existence - sex, drugs, rock and roll - you know the story - and Oliver Reed is quite effective as their leader "Moise". Tragedy ensues, though, and the group must face up to some of their excesses with varying degrees of honesty and success. It's trying to be visceral, this film - it swipes at the tribal, almost feral nature of relationships amongst the group who have a moral compass all of their own. Although Guy Hamilton spares us the worst of the physical manifestations of their behaviour, our imagination is quite capable of plugging the gaps. The censors had a whale of a time with this - and even now, it isn't hard to see why - some of the taboos it addresses would still be treated gingerly even today - 55 years later. The photography does much to enhance the earthiness of the production, close ups proving particularly effective alongside the score. Reed really steals the film, too - with the young Louise Sorel "Melina" - the aforementioned daughter; and Katherine Woodville "Nina" - maybe the only one of them with any semblance of what we might call decency - adding (gunpowder) to the mix too. It's nowhere near as potent as it was, but as an example of groundbreaking cinema it has to be worth a watch.

I've got a soft spot for British B&W films from the late 50s & early 60s, just before London was set to swinging. It was the era of kitchen sink, Angry Young Man realism. When the opportunity to catch this film came along, I jumped.

Like its later, mid-to-late 60s American counterparts, Party's Over tries to capture an emerging counter culture, but fails. Clunky dialogue - although quick, clever and sprinkled with slang - isn't enough to prop up a story based on a group of dissatisfied folks who do nothing but talk, smoke, drink and 'groove.' We see them walking home the next morning, like vampires from a night of blood-letting.

There's a peppy soundtrack by John Barry and, as others have noted, Reed's performance dazzles. Almost everyone else makes the most of their parts; it's not their fault that their characters are so shallow.

The reviews here mentioned an event that is a turning point in the story. I'm glad they did because the version I saw on Tubi completely cut the scene.

That did it for me. Plus, the Carson character as the Yank was very annoying and was an instant buzz kill every time he'd crash a groovy scene. Grateful to have experienced what I did, but I wouldn't recommend the Tubi version to anyone. I guess you get what you pay for.

The party may have been over for the beatniks who form the centerpiece of this strange but compelling film, but for the rest of London it was just beginning. Unusually for a British production of this vintage (1963) it doesn't fit easily in any genre. An American girl who has been hanging around with the 'beats' goes missing amid lurid rumours of rape and even necrophilia. The atmosphere is one of existential angst laced and a fin de siecle fatalism, all conveyed by way of some studiously framed b&w photography. Aside from some clunky dialogue and plumy accents this could easily be French, perhaps because the story is by Marc Behm an American expat based in France who wrote Eye of the Beholder, later transposed by Claude Miller into the excellent thriller Mortelle Radonnee starring Isabelle Adjani.

Oliver Reed plays the leader of the 'beats' in such manner that you feel the void each time he's off-screen, he really is terrific and makes the rest of the cast look like the b-movie stalwarts they were. Particularly dreadful is Mike Pratt who plays Geronimo, an artist/drummer. The party scenes with all the beats lounging around or trying to twist to modern jazz are great,as is the jazz itself with John Barry and Annie Ross contributing.

Quite splendid London based film containing a towering performance from Oliver Reed amidst his fellow 'beatniks'. Interesting time capsule affair coming as it does as The Beatles break and before the so called 'swinging London'. Dream of an opening with the cast lazily/drunkenly and seemingly aimlessly walking across Albert Bridge in the early morning. Like the film generally, a beautifully shot sequence that clearly references European cinema despite the subsequent American references and cast inclusions. Much troubled history with heavily cut version being released two years after completion and only now available uncut on DVD. Surprisingly frank portrayal of sex and rock 'n' roll without the drugs and even the rock 'n' roll being replaced by jazz. Evocative, illuminating, unnerving and enjoyable with much London location exteriors.

This dark and disturbing drama of the '60's is notable for two reasons.The first is the very taboo nature of the storyline.Hardly surprising that it had problems with the British Board of Censors.The second is Oliver Reed's performance has the leader of a group of disillusioned young people,none of whom seemingly have any particular aim in life.These people do not seem to show any emotion or compassionate,even toward each other,something which is very evident in their attitudes towards the deaths of two of their number. I have read somewhere of this film being described as "Oliver Reed meets Necrophia".Watch this film,if you are a fan of Oliver Reed and if you can obtain it,but be prepared to feel depressed afterward.