Loosely based on Joseph Moncure March's narrative poem of the same name, the screenplay is written by Walter Marks, who also composed the score.

The plot follows an aging silent movie comic star of the 1920s named Jolly Grimm (James Coco) attempts a comeback by staging a party to show his new film.

[3] Once a great star of the silent era, Jolly Grimm has wealth, a mansion, a manservant, Tex, and a beautiful and faithful mistress, Queenie, but no longer Hollywood's interest.

He desperately tries to get studio executives interested in his self-financed latest project, so he decides to throw a huge party at his house and show the film footage to the attendees.

Jolly is unable to impress a Hollywood mogul, eager to move on to a more important social engagement, with the outdated humor and pathos of his work.

The arrival of an underage girl brings out a protective, possibly perverted interest on Jolly's part, while the attention paid to Queenie by virile young actor Dale Sword ignites a jealous fury in the sad comic that leads to violence and tragedy.

The script was based on Joseph Moncure March's 1926 narrative poem about a party given by a vaudeville comic in his walk-up apartment in Greenwich Village.

[2] Ivory later said "the egos and temper tantrums in the heat of May and June, the large crowds of extras, the festering atmosphere reminded me of working among those tempestuous movie stars in Bombay.

"[9] Two test screenings in Santa Barbara and San Diego in late January-early February 1975 went badly; the Santa Barbara preview audience consisting mostly of University of California students reported liking the orgy and fight scenes but hated Perry King and the new "serious" Raquel Welch, while the San Diego audience of mainly middle-class people had the exact opposite reaction.

[10] Ivory said the main changes were softening Coco's character, adding discarded sex scenes, and introducing flashbacks and flashforwards.

[3] Variety published a fairly positive review, calling the film "overly talky" but "a magnificent showpiece for Coco's talents.

He successfully covers a spectrum from silly comedy, warm humor, sober anger, maddening frustration and drunken psychosis.

"[3] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times stated, "It is impossible to know exactly what Merchant, Ivory and scriptwriter Walter Marks had in mind for 'The Wild Party.'

"[13] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 star out of 4 and noted in a brief review that "Collectors of trash movies" might want to catch it while it played town.

[14] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that the film "can be recommended with a fairly clear conscience to connoisseurs of bad movies, but anyone looking for a serious night's entertainment will have only himself to blame.