Pal Joey (1957)

O.K., so alterations had to be made to some of them, and with his death over a decade before, much of the wit is gone from them. But what remains is a clever update that will upset theatre purists (like myself) but ultimately satisfy those searching for a fun musical time (like myself). Frank Sinatra's Joey is as far from his former co-star Gene Kelly's Joey (and Harold Lang's in the 1952 smash hit revival), but he is still a cad, using women to get ahead, if not as voraciously as the Broadway version. He's basically been tossed out of every city he's been to, most recently for breaking "legal age" laws. Now in San Francisco, he sets his sights on two beauties: a shy chorus girl (Kim Novak) and a wealthy socialite (Rita Hayworth) whose past Sinatra knows a thing or two about. This gives Hayworth the chance to take on the altered lyrics of "Zip!", initially sung by a reporter as a parody of Gypsy Rose Lee, but here made to be the former theme song of Hayworth's stage career.Of course, the older socialite makes demands of Sinatra, funding a nightclub for him to host, but will Frankie boy remain true to purse strings or his heart? If he could write a book, it wouldn't probably be about the lady who's a tramp, most definitely more open to the one with the funny valentine. Interpolated Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs from other shows ("Babes in Arms", "On Your Toes") replace many cut from the show that was fresh to many filmgoers in 1957 because of the recent hit Broadway revival which toured for years afterwards.As film entertainment, this is totally acceptable, but for representing a Broadway musical that was initially ahead of its time, forget about it. Sinatra is a bit of a ham here, trying to steal scenes every chance he gets, and the role of the blackmailing Gladys (here played by sex-pot Barbara Nichols) has been watered down to practically nothing. She had more to do in the same year's "The Pajama Game". Hayworth, dubbed by Jo Anne Greer, is still a beauty even if now a 40-something "has-been", yet at the end of her Columbia years, is still a sight to behold, especially as she sings "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in her bedroom and shower. When she joins Novak with long tresses for the fantasy number, "What Do I Care For a Dame?", it appears that the hands of time have rolled back the clock. As for Novak, she would go on to better performances, but it is apparent that here, having risen to stardom several years before, she's still a novice compared to the company she keeps. Her shy, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth routine is never fully believable, and when she does a striptease to "I Could Write a Book", it is obvious that this is where it's at for this former model who was Harry Cohn's last shot for stardom . Elizabeth Patterson is witty in a small role as Novak's landlady. The direction by George Sidney is as crisp as anything he did over at MGM, but the truth of the matter is that this isn't anywhere near the classic it could have been had it stuck closer to the original intentions of John O'Hara from his scandalous book which later scandalized Broadway and made Gene Kelly a star.

Anybody who loves Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Richard Rodgers will be in their element here. Sinatra is the standout of the film, Joey was more cynical in the original stage version but Sinatra still brings a caddish persona and does so with great charm and energy. And of course his singing is divine, of the mellow and rich kind- most lovely to listen to- and with great circular breathing technique. Hayworth is not at her best but she is still breathtakingly beautiful, one of the most beautiful actresses on film, and sassy. And the songs are great, Pal Joey like most Richard Rodgers scores is one of those musicals where every song works but Lady is a Tramp is a real standout here. Sinatra, Hayworth and the songs are not the only things to enjoy. Pal Joey also has opulent production values, Hayworth's figure-hugging dresses are to die for, fluid photography, George Sidney's enigmatic and not heavy-handed direction, a witty script, a charming if watered-down story and smart energetic choreography. For this viewer the only things that came across as flaws were the out-of-kilter happy ending and while beautiful Kim Novak's performance is rather pallid. All in all, a very good underrated film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Date: August.12, 2012 -First Time Watch- Continuing my journey through Frank Sinatra films I watched 'Pal Joey' next. In it Sinatra plays Joey Evans, a lady's man who wants nothing else then to run his own joint. He soon finds himself in the middle of two women, Linda English (Novak) a show girl and Vera Simpson (Hayworth) a wealthy widow. If you ask me, you couldn't go wrong with either women. I'm not a big musical person but I rather enjoyed this one. It didn't have too many musical numbers and the acting was really good. I especially love the scenes between Joey and Linda at the house where they're renting rooms right next to each other. Also a nice touch was the little dog that becomes Joey's after Linda pulls a bad trick on him. I really did like this movie and Frank Sinatra is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.

I hadn't seen this movie for decades. But it was remembered (pretty vaguely) with affection. However, I recently purchased the DVD, and whilst even a large-screen television doesn't really do justice to some of the more expansive older movies, I confess to being a tad disappointed even so.The songs were great, pretty much as I remembered them. Frank Sinatra was on top-drawer sparkling form. Hayworth and Novak were all you could expect from the so-called screen-goddesses of the 1950's. Yet something was missing. There were shortfalls in between songs, during story development, that seemed to cause the whole plot to languish briefly. I confess to finding myself bored. It didn't happen very often. But it happened. Maybe the director imagined that the three leads, and the great songs would be enough to carry the production and so it wasn't necessary to try too hard with anything else. I don't really know.'Pal Joey' isn't remembered half so well as some other 1950's musicals. And perhaps there's a reason for that. I suspect it needed a couple more songs - good songs - and maybe a bit more excitement to the story-line. Fans of 'ol blue eyes will still be enchanted, but without him and the songs this would have been a complete non-event.