Party Girl

At a party for mob boss Rico Angelo, slick lawyer Thomas Farrell meets Vicki Gaye, a chorus girl who accepted money to attend. They exchange a rough critique of how money, crime, and show business fuel their worlds. Farrell then gives Vicki a ride home, and the uneasy encounter foreshadows a complex attraction.

Vicki returns to her apartment to find her roommate Joy dead by suicide, pregnant by a married criminal. The shocking discovery underscores the deadly consequences of the criminal underworld surrounding them. The moment intensifies Vicki's entanglement with Farrell.

After a long night of police questioning, Farrell asks Rico Angelo for a raise for Vicki and a featured number at the Golden Rooster club. He uses the negotiating moment to secure Vicki's position in the show and to keep his leverage in court matters. The move ties Vicki's fate to Farrell's ambitious defense of mob interests.

Farrell and Vicki begin a romance, drawn together by shared cynicism about money and power. They navigate their growing attraction amid Farrell's dangerous profession and the mob's reach. The relationship adds a personal stake to the legal battles at the center of the plot.

Vicki is struck by how Farrell, who is lame, uses his disability to sway jurors and gain favorable outcomes. He helps get Canetto off on a murder charge by presenting himself as a sympathetic, impaired authority figure. The tactic highlights Farrell's manipulative skill and moral compromises.

A surgeon might mend Farrell's damaged hip, prompting him to travel to Stockholm for the operation. The trip signals a potential escape from the courtroom battles and a shift in Farrell's priorities. His absence from Chicago will test loyalties around the mob case.

Cookie La Motte, a cold-blooded killer, is about to go on trial, but Farrell's mood has shifted; he would rather not defend such a man. Rico's power remains a shadow over the proceedings as Farrell wrestles with his conscience. The tension sets up the collision of personal ethics and legal necessity.

Rico Angelo threatens violence against Vicki if Farrell does not do what he is told. The mob boss uses intimidation to pressure the lawyer into protecting his interests. The threat underscores the personal stakes of the legal battles surrounding the case.

Cookie La Motte jumps bail, impatient with the long wait in court. He plans to eliminate prosecuting attorney Stewart while he is at large. The move escalates the mob conflict and intensifies the DA's crackdown.

Cookie and his men are gunned down by rival racketeers at an Indiana diner. The violent hit abruptly reshapes the mob's power dynamics and foreshadows the downfall of several figures. The incident triggers a broader police crackdown.

Stewart decides to pressure the mob by going after anyone connected to it. He begins by placing Farrell under arrest, turning the tables on the lawyer who was once his ally. The crackdown widens the net and tests Farrell's loyalties.

Canetto goes to Vicki offering to protect her, but instead takes her prisoner. The abduction heightens the stakes for Farrell as he tries to navigate allegiance, love, and law. Vicki's safety becomes a focal point of the conflict.

The district attorney releases Farrell, hoping to smoke out the mobsters who employ him. The tactic relies on Farrell's leverage and the mob's fear to reveal connections and expose the network. The release complicates the power struggle between prosecutors and criminals.

Canetto is killed during a crossfire, removing another key mob figure from the deadly feud. The violent end demonstrates how quickly danger escalates in Chicago's criminal underworld. The incident tightens the noose around the remaining players.

Farrell confronts Rico, but the gangster grabs a bottle of acid to disfigure Vicki. In the ensuing fight, the bottle smashes into Rico's face and he, blinded and furious, tumbles from a window to his death. The climactic confrontation resolves the power struggle but at a heavy personal cost.