ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Ploydsge just watch it!

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

HotToastyRag While this isn't my favorite musical, Pal Joey is definitely a must-see for fans of musicals or Frank Sinatra. Dozens of famous songs—okay, not really dozens—came from this musical, including "Bewitched," "The Lady is a Tramp," "My Funny Valentine," and "I Could Write a Book". Although both Kim Novak's and Rita Hayworth's singing voices were dubbed, the matches are pretty good. I didn't know Kim had been dubbed until I read the trivia.Frankie plays Joey, a charmer with a bad reputation. Kim Novak, a chorus girl with a heart of gold, knows he's a player and tries to stay away. Rita Hayworth is a former chorus girl whose marriage has landed her in high society; an affair with the notorious playboy could damage her own reputation. While Frankie pursues both girls, all three sing the very memorable songs of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. If you like the songs, you'll probably like the movie. I don't happen to like Rita Hayworth very much, but since I like the other two, the movie wasn't ruined for me.

jhkp Every time I watch Pal Joey, it hooks me by its interesting beginning, but I get bored around the time Joey starts planning his new night spot on Nob Hill with the help of his wealthy, older benefactress, Mrs. Simpson (Rita Hayworth), which messes up his budding relationship with a much younger "mouse," Linda English (Kim Novak).Up to that point, it's been a pretty fun show. Joey wangling his way into a nightclub job, chasing the girls at the club, exchanging barbs with one of the dancers (Barbara Nichols). His cynical friendship with an old friend, the back-and-forth with the club manager, his cute one-on-one with the landlady (Elizabeth Patterson). Etc.It's also been a treat to see Frank take the stage at the club and do one of the best numbers he ever did on screen (even if he's clearly way too talented to be scrounging for jobs as a girlie show MC).If only the breezy, atmospheric tone had continued for another few reels. But it's amazing how lugubrious the film becomes once Joey gets in with society dame Rita and starts getting his nightclub plans realized. And the delightful relationship with Novak bogs down into slush right around the same time.The three central performances are good. Sinatra's is the most three-dimensional and real. He walks a fine line, being able to make a jerk likable and attractive. (It's when we're being asked to love the jerk that the film gets a little messed up). Hayworth, 39 years old, tries and almost succeeds at being a believable cougar. But Sinatra at 38 is too old to be her boy toy. Novak is good in her attempts to do musical comedy and good in her role in general.Former MGM director George Sidney (Holiday In Mexico, Bathing Beauty, Anchors Aweigh, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate) gets some but not all of it right. A former MGM screenwriter, Dorothy Kingsley, adapted Pal Joey for this version.

mark.waltz 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.

MartinHafer When I read up on the original play for "Pal Joey" (1940), I was surprised how much it differed from this 1957 film. In fact, instead of a film version, it's more like the play was used for a starting point and that is all. Some of the songs have been retained but many were omitted and some were included from other plays! In addition, in the play, Joey was a heel from start to finish and his girlfriend was STILL married! Nice guy, huh? And, he was a dancer (Gene Kelly) not a singer. Here, Frank Sinatra sings beautifully in the lead but doesn't dance. And, while he is a womanizer and a bit of a jerk, he has buried deep within some decency--but he does a good job of hiding it through most of the film! Joey is a lounge singer and emcee at a San Francisco nightclub. There, he chases the nice girl, Kim Novak, and when he's just about won her heart, he drops her like a hot potato for a rich widow (Rita Hayworth). At first, Joey seems very happy--he gets to run his own club and is on top of the world. But this dream isn't all it's cracked up to be. What's next? See the film! Whether you like this film's plot or not, it's well worth seeing the picture because of its songs. Sinatra is in his prime and belts out some nice songs like "The Lady is a Tramp" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered". And, the lip synced songs by both female leads (Novak and Hayworth) are quite nice as well. As for the story, it's nice but I would wonder what a movie more like the play would have been like. The main character sure would have been a whole lot less likable! As it was, I liked the film and thought it an interesting character study for Sinatra--combining SOME of his real-life persona with Joey's. Well worth seeing and very well made.