Pal Joey

1957

Action / Drama / Musical / Romance

9
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 60% · 8 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 60% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.6/10 10 6263 6.3K

san francisco, california nightclub singer nightclub singer

Plot summary

An opportunistic singer woos a wealthy widow to boost his career.

Director

George Sidney Photo
George Sidney

Top cast

John Roy Photo
John Roy as Guest at Charity Ball
John Hubbard Photo
John Hubbard as Stanley
Pierre Watkin Photo
Pierre Watkin as Mr. Forsythe
Robert Reed Photo
Robert Reed as Boy Friend
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
912.03 MB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 1
1.73 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Doylenf 7 / 10

When old blue eyes sings, all is forgiven...

George Sidney may not be one of Hollywood's best-known or most appreciated directors, but he does turn PAL JOEY into an enjoyable viewing experience by releasing it from stagebound sets and giving it an open air look that is refreshing and watchable, especially since the scene has been transferred to San Francisco rather than Chicago.Some of the songs are borrowed from other Rodgers and Hart musicals, but when FRANK SINATRA sings standards like "There's A Small Hotel" and "The Lady Is A Tramp", he can do no wrong. He plays a no-good piano lounge lizard who has the world on a string as long as he stays one step ahead of the nightclub owner that he keeps making deals with.The "mice" are played by RITA HAYWORTH and KIM NOVAK, Miss Hayworth making up for the badly-in-need-of-acting-coach Novak, who really stumbles in this one. Apparently George Sidney couldn't give her any guidance on how to play any of her scenes--the way Hitchcock did for "Vertigo". Their confrontation scene has no ooomph because Novak is simply not there and thus there are no real fireworks. Even so, Hayworth makes her character strong and possessive.It's really Sinatra's show all the way and he delivers a solidly engaging performance, even though his character is lacking in what we might call integrity.Enjoyable musical--Hayworth's "Zip" and "Bewitched" are nicely done even if she doesn't do her own vocals. The dancer magic is still there in the way she moves through any number she does.Summing up: worth a look if you like musicals.
Reviewed by movibuf1962 6 / 10

"Confidentially....I'm stacked."

Now that I know the back story on Pal Joey, I can sort of appreciate the film a bit better. I didn't like it for years because of Frank Sinatra. Suppose I'm in the minority on that one, but I just didn't like the character leading so many women astray- young, old, rich, poor, etc. Two things made me reconsider the story: (1) The girls allow themselves to be played, and (2) PJ originated from a stage musical almost 20 years earlier, with much of the original story intact. The character *is* a heel- 'nuff said. It was created by, of all people, Gene Kelly-- whose screen characters often included a touch of the larcenous in the first place. And apparently, Columbia tried to film PJ with Kelly waaay back in the 1940's when he was the right age to do it-- but the Hays censors raised too many red flags on the film's decidedly 'adult' content to let it be filmed. By the time it was cleared for film, 17 years had passed and Joey's heel had become a Sinatra crooner rather than a Kelly dancer, and much of the book and lyrics had been watered down. (When you think about it, JOEY needs to be re-filmed today, but with its original stage content. Can you imagine?!)Anyway, now that I look at Sinatra, the-cynical-50's rat-packer playing Joey, the-cynical-50's-womanizer, I have to conclude that he got it exactly right, culminating in one perfect scene in the film: his piano-playing, spotlight croon of "The Lady Is a Tramp" to socialite Rita Hayworth. Just like Astaire seduced women with dance, Sinatra completely breaks down the icy Hayworth through the clever arrangement and performance of the song. At the end of it, THEY are slow-dancing. Wicked!! Other fine moments include Sinatra's treatment of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," the breathtaking ballad "My Funny Valentine," and the smoky-voiced Hayworth in two numbers: a pretend striptease to the very clever song "Zip" and waking up in the most luscious state of drunken love to "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." (No one but Hayworth could make rising out of bed- in a sun-colored nightgown- a thing of sexy beauty.)Unfortunately, this is where the parts do not equal a decent sum. The book has Joey caught between *two* women, and Kim Novak, for all of her traffic-stopping sex appeal, seems out of place as the second girl in the equation, perennially starry-eyed for a man more than twice her age and more of a doormat than a 'mouse,' as she is referred. If that was the original book, then I demand a rewrite. I was under the impression that the virginal ingénue was supposed to resist Joey and his charms, which made him want her all the more. (Once again, the idea of doing JOEY with a modern cast and sensibility seems irresistible today.) Novak does a very funny drunk scene on a boat, and her Victorian striptease is smoldering, to say the least. But an 11th-hour fantasy number called "What Do I Care for a Dame" is silly looking because it features too many people who can't dance. And I've heard other legends about the story's change from the stage: It's supposed to be set in Chicago, not San Francisco; the older woman is married, not widowed; and no one ends up with anyone at the end. For a story with an almost flawless musical score, it is one of the bumpiest films I've ever seen. But I'm glad I saw it.
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