Set in New York in the early years of the 20th century, a stunning Joan Collins plays the title role, in which there are actually two scenes where she is the girl in the red velvet swing, both of which are fantastic. Both scenes give a lot of credit to the director, cinematographer, set designers, and art director. The film is beautiful to watch throughout, mixing sets from early Broadway stage to crowded fancy New York restaurants. Collins' part as a teenage chorus girl whose beauty is such that she bowls over both Ray Milland who plays a wealthy and well-established New York architect and Farley Granger an heir to a fortune from Pittsburgh, who both throw tons of money her way. What starts off looking like it's going to be a musical comedy actually gets fairly involved and intense, leading to a great and ironic ending.

This is a good example of an over-produced film, much too lengthy (109-min.) and gaudy for the slender material that doesn't engage until the last 10-minutes. I expect TCF saw anti-TV potential in a wide-screen Technicolor treatment of true-life scandal among the rich and famous. The trouble is that neither the acting nor the script is able to carry the needed momentum, despite the wide-screen spectacle. After all, stretching a single theme of forbidden love to a two-hour time slot is challenging even for the best screenplay, which this definitely is not.Then too, the real life Nesbitt was apparently involved in the production, along with wealthy family heirs to White and Thaw in the background, resulting, I expect, in an overly cautious portrayal of events. That's reflected, I think, in Collins' curiously dull portrayal. Logically, I would have expected some change in Nesbitt's demure demeanor over the years, especially after entering the high life. Instead, there's hardly a hint of the high life's affecting her throughout the movie's course. (And we know what an edge actress Collins can bring when called upon.) In fact, the nature of her relationship with White is so sanitized, it's hard to know what to make of it.Ace director Fleischer also appears unengaged with the material, filming it in straightforward, unimaginative style, unlike many of his other projects, e.g. The Narrow Margin (1952). Speaking of B-movie gems like "Margin", I wish the expert budget crews at Columbia or RKO had gotten hold of this material first. After all, hot-blooded romance and cold-blooded murder are prime stuff for B-movie treatment, where reputations and big audience appeal are not so much at stake and risks can be taken. Too bad that what we're left with instead is an under-nourished and over-stretched slice of 50's eye candy.

The story of the love triangle of Stanford White, Evelyn Nesbit and Harry Thaw was a HUGE story back in the early 20th century. The resulting trial was dubbed 'the trial of the century'...that is until the NEXT trial of the century occurred soon after!!! The story had it all--sex, insanity, jealousy, a beautiful young nymph and murder! And, as a result, the story really could not have been adequately told until more recently--mostly due to the Production Code which forbade a frank discussion of the sex lives of these folks. So, when I watched "The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing", I realized that it was so sanitized that it was practically a work of fiction--after all, the real story never would have passed the censor boards! In the early 1980s, the film "Ragtime" explored this sensational crime, but only on the periphery. The sensational murder was portrayed, but the lives and personalities of those involved were pretty much a cypher. You can't entirely blame the film makers, as the trial and murder were not the main focus of the film. So, because of a sanitized and sketchy version of this affair, you are left wanting more--the true and complete story--a story that I still do not fully understand."The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing" is mostly told from the viewpoint of Stanford White and Nesbit. While Harry Thaw is definitely in the film, he's mostly shown as a quick-tempered and one-dimensional nut. While this might just be the real Thaw, it just seemed a bit vague. And as for White and Nesbit, you'd think that their relationship was 100% platonic...which it wasn't. In fact, no real hint of sex between ANYONE is really evident in the film! As a result, the actors all seemed a bit flat--like there was so much more that was unsaid. Joan Collins (Nesbit) was very pretty and did fair in the film but not much more. Ray Milland (White) was rather gallant...too gallant. And, Farley Granger (Thaw) was mostly angry and nutty throughout! None of these characters were written well and the actors had little with which to work. As a result, the looked pretty but was pretty empty as well. It's actually pretty remarkable how dull this story was considering how exciting the actual tale was! By comparison, the story of Leopold & Loeb (in "Compulsion"--the next 'trial of the century' that took place in the 1920s) was fascinating, deep and involved (with a hint of a homosexual undercurrent)--even though it, too, was made in the 1950s. This movie is aching for a complete remake. In fact, it might even do well as a mini-series--as there is a lot to this weird story.This film is like a pie made entirely of meringue. It looks nice but is too sweet and not particularly filling.

An age-old tale, based loosely on fact, where a young and innocent girl gets taken up by older man purely on her beauty and allure. Evelyn Nesbit was still alive when this film was made, which presumably accounts for the fact that she comes out of it very well - causing the death of one man and the internment of another for insanity just looks like carelessness! Joan Collins was not the first choice for Nesbit - that was Marilyn Monroe, but she was on suspension and out of favour, allowing the British starlet to step in. There's no denying she's pretty, but she doesn't have Monroe's mix of wide-eyed innocence and plain sex appeal. You kind of understand why Ray Milland's architect gets distracted, but not enough to become an obsession.Meanwhile, pouting Farley Granger, never the world's greatest actor, is jealous and unhinged as Henry Thaw, who goes from giving flowers to showgirls to brandishing a gun in Madison Square Gardens as if it is the most natural thing in the world.In support as Nesbit's mother is spiky Glenda Farrell, who at least is a distraction from the humdrum storyline. There's nothing special here, 'The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing' is simply a time-filler with nice colour and a nice line in showgirls.