Pal Joey (film)

Plot summary

The setting is San Francisco; Joey Evans (Frank Sinatra) is a second-rate singer, a heel known for his womanizing ways (calling women "mice"), but charming and funny. When Joey meets Linda English (Kim Novak), a naive chorus girl, he has stirrings of real feelings. However, that does not stop him from romancing a former flame and ex-stripper (Joey says, "She used to be 'Vera Vanessa the undresser...with the Vanishing Veils'"), now society matron Vera Prentice-Simpson (Rita Hayworth), a wealthy, willful, and lonely widow, in order to convince her to finance his dream, "Chez Joey", a night club of his own.

Soon Joey is involved with Vera, each using the other for his/her own somewhat selfish purposes. But Joey's feelings for Linda are growing. Ultimately, Vera jealously demands that Joey fire Linda. When Joey refuses ("Nobody owns Joey but Joey"), Vera closes down "Chez Joey". Linda visits Vera and agrees to quit in an attempt to keep the club open. Vera then agrees to open the club, and even offers to marry Joey, but Joey rejects Vera. As Joey is leaving for Sacramento, Linda runs after him, offering to go wherever he is headed. After half-hearted refusals, Joey gives in and they walk away together, united.

Cast

Notable changes

The happy ending of the film contrasts with that of the stage musical, where Joey is left alone at the end.

The transformation of Joey into a "nice guy" departed from the stage musical, where Joey's character was notable for being the anti-hero.

The film varies from the stage musical in several other key points: the setting was changed from Chicago to San Francisco, and the stage Joey was a dancer. The plot of the film drops a blackmail attempt and two roles prominent on stage were changed: Melba (a reporter) was cut and Gladys became a minor character. Linda became a naive chorus girl instead of an innocent stenographer and some of the lyrics to "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" were changed. Also in the film, Vera Prentice-Simpson is a wealthy widow and former stripper (billed as "Vanessa the Undresser") and thus gets to sing the classic song "Zip". (As that number required an authentic burlesque drummer to mime the bumps and grinds, the extra playing the drums is disconcertingly switched with a professional musician in a jump cut).

Song list

Of the original 14 Rodgers and Hart songs, eight remained, but with two as instrumental background, and four songs were added from other shows.

1. Pal Joey: Main Title
2. "That Terrific Rainbow" - chorus girls and Linda English
3. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (introduced in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls) - Joey Evans
4. "Do It the Hard Way" - orchestra and chorus girls
5. "Great Big Town" - Joey Evans and chorus girls
6. "There's a Small Hotel" (introduced in the 1936 musical On Your Toes) - Joey Evans
7. "Zip" - Vera Simpson
8. "I Could Write a Book" - Joey Evans and Linda English
9. "The Lady Is a Tramp" (introduced in the 1937 musical Babes in Arms) - Joey Evans
10. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" - Vera Simpson
11. "Plant You Now, Dig You Later" - orchestra
12. "My Funny Valentine" (introduced in the 1937 musical Babes in Arms) - Linda English
13. "You Mustn't Kick It Around" - orchestra
14. Strip Number - "I Could Write a Book" -Linda English
15. Dream Sequence and Finale: "What Do I Care for a Dame"/"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"/"I Could Write a Book" - Joey Evans

Soundtrack

Some of the recordings on the soundtrack album featuring Sinatra only are not the same songs that appeared in the film. "The Lady Is a Tramp" is a mono-only outtake from Sinatra's 1957 album A Swingin' Affair!, while three others ("There's a Small Hotel," "Bewitched," and "I Could Write a Book") were recorded in mono only at Capitol Studios. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" appeared in an odd hybrid: The first half of the song was recorded at Columbia Pictures but differs from the version used in the film, while the second half is the same as used in the film, also recorded at Columbia. "What Do I Care for a Dame" is the film version, as recorded at Columbia. The Sinatra songs as they appear in the film as well as those performed by Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak (both were dubbed), Jo Ann Greer (Hayworth) and Trudi Erwin (Novak) were recorded at Columbia Pictures studios in true stereo.

Critical reception and box office

Opening to positive reviews on October 25, 1957, Pal Joey was an instant success with critics and the general public alike. The Variety review summarized: "Pal Joey is a strong, funny entertainment. Dorothy Kingsley's screenplay, from John O'Hara's book, is skillful rewriting, with colorful characters and solid story built around the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs. Total of 14 tunes are intertwined with the plot, 10 of them being reprised from the original. Others by the same team of cleffers are 'I Didn't Know What Time It Was', 'The Lady Is a Tramp', 'There's a Small Hotel' and 'Funny Valentine'."

The New York Times commented, "This is largely Mr. Sinatra's show...he projects a distinctly bouncy likeable personality into an unusual role. And his rendition of the top tunes, notably "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "Small Hotel," gives added lustre to these indestructible standards."

With box office receipts of $4.7 million, Pal Joey was ranked by Variety as one of the ten highest earning films of 1957.

Awards and honors

Academy Awards

Golden Globes

Writers Guild of America

Other honors

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