ekennedy421

Pal Joey (1957)

Pretty Good Frank, Very Bad Theatre History

I like Sinatra as much as the next girl and then some. Probably the best thing about this film is the numbers The Chairman does alone onstage. However, I'm also well acquainted with PAL JOEY in its stage form, and this watered down film doesn't serve it well. As is so often the case with film musicals, it bears very little resemblance to the show it purports to represent.

First of all, like many other movie musicals this one is rife with interpolations. Viewers should realize that both "My Funny Valentine" and "The Lady is a Tramp" come from Rodgers and Hart's BABES IN ARMS (though, ironically, both were cut from the film version of that musical). "There's a Small Hotel" is from ON YOUR TOES and TOO MANY GIRLS gave us the haunting "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (probably the interpolation that works best). Secondly, most of the songs they did keep don't remain intact. For instance, when they moved the setting from Chicago to San Francisco the song the club girls sing went to pot. Also, the lyrics to "Bewitched" had to be sanitized for popular consumption, which is a pity because they're some of Larry Hart's best. "Zip" was also revised and given to Vera. The witty "Take Him" was cut, which is a real pity, and several other numbers are gone entirely or reduced to underscoring.

PAL JOEY was one of the first shows to bring cynicism to the musical stage. The second you inject romance into it, you've killed what it's about. If I was just looking for a lightweight love story, I might enjoy this film. Knowing what I know now, I find it a bit tough to take.