The Pajama Game (film)

The Pajama Game is a 1957 musical film based on the stage musical of the same name. The principal cast of the Broadway musical repeated their roles for the movie, with the exception of Janis Paige, whose role is played by Doris Day, and Stanley Prager, whose role is played by Jack Straw. The choreography is by Bob Fosse, who also did the choreography for the stage production.

This article is about the 1957 film. For other uses, see The Pajama Game (disambiguation).
The Pajama Game
Directed byGeorge Abbott
Stanley Donen
Produced byGeorge Abbott
Stanley Donen
Written byGeorge Abbott
Richard Bissell
StarringDoris Day
John Raitt
Carol Haney
Eddie Foy Jr.
Barbara Nichols
Music byRichard Adler
Jerry Ross
CinematographyHarry Stradling, Sr.
Edited byWilliam H. Ziegler
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • August 29, 1957 (1957-08-29)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (US rentals)[1]

Plot

Sid (John Raitt) has just been hired as superintendent of the Sleeptite Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He soon falls for Babe (Doris Day), a worker in the factory and member of the employee union's leadership. At the company picnic they become a couple, but Babe worries that their roles in management and labor will drive them apart. She is correct. The union is pushing for a raise of seven-and-one-half cents per hour to bring them in line with the industry standard, but the factory's manager is giving them a runaround. In retaliation, the workers pull a slow-down and deliberately foul up the pajamas, but when Babe actually sabotages some machinery, Sid fires her.

Meanwhile, Sid has been wondering what secrets the manager is hiding in his locked account book. To that end, he takes Gladys (Carol Haney), the boss's assistant, on a date to the local hot spot, "Hernando's Hideaway", despite her insanely jealous boyfriend "Hine-sie" (Eddie Foy, Jr.). He gets Gladys drunk, and in this state, she lends him the key to the locked book. Returning to the factory, Sid discovers that the manager reported the raise as having been instituted months ago. He has been pocketing the difference himself. Sid threatens to send the book to the board of directors if the raise is not paid immediately.

At the union meeting that evening, the manager agrees to the raise. When Babe realizes that it was Sid who engineered the raise and that he has only been attempting to avoid labor strife, she returns to him.

Cast
Character Performer
Katherine "Babe" Williams Doris Day
Sid Sorokin John Raitt
Gladys Hotchkiss Carol Haney
Vernon "Hine-sie" Hines Eddie Foy Jr.
Mabel Reta Shaw
Mae Thelma Pelish
Prez Jack Straw
"Poopsie" Barbara Nichols
Myron Hasler Ralph Dunn
Max Owen Martin

Production

As recounted in 2016 by Janis Paige, the studio desired to use as many members of the Broadway cast as possible. But one of the leads had to be a movie star. She said that the male lead, played by Raitt, was originally offered to Frank Sinatra. Had he accepted the role, Paige said, she would have played the part that was given to Doris Day.[2]

In this film, the calendar behind Sid Sorokin's desk, while he sings "Hey There" shows July, 1954.

Songs
  1. "The Pajama Game" – Ensemble
  2. "Racing With the Clock" – Ensemble
  3. "I'm Not At All In Love" – Babe and Ensemble
  4. "I'll Never Be Jealous Again" – Hines and Mabel
  5. "Hey There" – Sid
  6. "Once-A-Year-Day" – Babe, Sid, and Ensemble
  7. "Small Talk" – Babe and Sid
  8. "There Once Was a Man" – Babe and Sid
  9. "Racing With the Clock" (reprise) – Ensemble
  10. "Steam Heat" – Gladys
  11. "Hey There" (reprise) – Babe
  12. "Hernando's Hideaway" – Gladys and Ensemble
  13. "7½ Cents" – Babe, Prez, and Ensemble

Reception

The film has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[3]

At the time of its release, it received a favorable review by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times. He compared the film favorably to the Broadway stage version, and said the film is "as good as it was on the stage, which was quite good enough for many thousand happy customers over a period of a couple of years. It is fresh, funny, lively and tuneful. Indeed, in certain respects—such as when they all go on the factory picnic—it is even more lively than it was on the stage."[4]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

See also

References
  1. "Top Grosses of 1957", Variety, 8 January 1958: 30
  2. Rothaus, Steve (11 March 2016). "Musical star Janis Paige, 93, recalls her career in movies, stage, TV". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. "The Pajama Game". www.rottentomatoes.com. 29 August 1957. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  4. Crowther, Bosley (30 August 1957). "Movie Review - - Screen: 'Pajama Game' at Music Hall; Stage Hit Re-Created as Tuneful Film". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  5. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  6. "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
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