I have to admit that I’m reviewing the film “Pal Joey” because it was released in 1957. I’ve reviewed films for every year since 1954 to 2023 with the exceptions of the years 1956 and 1957. “Pal Joey” is a decent film starring Frank Sinatra (although Rita Hayworth received top billing), but it was a choice driven by date rather than interest. My review of “X-Men” from 2000 (click here to read it) was put together as kind of a joke to cross “X” off of my last-remaining alphabet letter-titled movie. It was a review of a film, but I didn’t watch it. So, thankfully, I found “Pal Joey” from 1957 and will most likely next review a film from 1956 … then it’s just a 2024 film away from covering every year since 1954. BTW … I’m glad I chose “Pal Joey” since it is watchable.
‘Pal Joey’
(1957; 111 minutes; rated ‘Approved;’ directed by George Sidney and starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak)
SINATRA’S A ‘PAL’ ALL RIGHT!
I’ve typically written reviews about films that I like; or ones that have some of my favorite actors; or just a neat action flick. However, I selected “Pal Joey” with Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak because it came out in 1957 – a year from which I’ve yet to review a movie. Despite its age and production values of the soundstages on which it was filmed, I like “Pal Joey.”
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A lot of films through the end of the 1950s and into the mid- to late-1960s featured music tied into comedy or drama. Take “Pillow Talk” with Doris Day and Rock Hudson (click here to read my review). It has musical numbers from the cast and is light-hearted even though some characters get their feelings hurt. “Pal Joey” is just this kind of film – Sinatra, Hayworth and Novak all sing and dance, but that’s only one component to a basically light-hearted film that would, because of societal norms of its day, totally piss off the PC police (such as Sinatra calling women “mice” and an individual woman a “mouse” and comments pretty much only on their beauty and “build”).
“Pal Joey” offers a neat look back at the 1950s when: folks dressed up to go out; men wore hats and ladies wore dresses; folks had manners; and few harsh words were spoken. By contrast, the filmmakers of “Pal Joey” would probably stroke-out if they saw 2016’s “Deadpool” with its vile, vulgar and snarky script, sickeningly graphic yet humorous violence and enough sarcasm to have sunk the Titanic (so, I have to say that I really, truly enjoyed that film and it is one of my five favorites over the past 10 years – click here to read my review). It was a different day-and-age in 1957.
With “Pal Joey” you get Sinatra as the title character “‘Pal’ Joey Evans” returning to San Francisco and he’s been “out of the country” … and that would be to Hawaii, which wouldn’t become our 50th state until just shy of two years after the film’s premiere in October 1957. He hooks up at a quietly downtrodden club with a former friend who’s a bandleader heading up the music and the dancing girls.
Sinatra immediately gets a job at the club; meets the young, beautiful Novak, who’s the innocent member of the chorus line; and is reunited by chance with an old flame: Hayworth, who has gone from former exotic dancer “Vera Vanessa the undresser” to rich widow in San Franciso.
The heart of the story is that Sinatra wants to open his own club; Hayworth has the money; and Novak is the emotional monkey wrench with which the other two have to deal. Sinatra gets, then loses, his club; Hayworth gets her previous flame and then loses him; and Novak rides an emotional roller coaster until the final credits.
Now, let’s take a look at the top of the cast …
An Oscar winner with two honorary Oscars and another nomination (not for this one), Sinatra plays Sinatra in PJ. He’s the fun, randy womanizer whom everyone enjoys spending time with … but he ultimately makes himself a bit more at the end of the film as he tosses away his cherished fantasy future to keep his dignity. He pretty much plays this one as did with the original “Ocean’s 11” (click here to read my review). How he presents his character here is pretty much his trademark in film from, my experience. He has nice scenes each with Hayworth and Novak, however, “Joey” isn’t one of his more memorable efforts. He on his Oscar for “From Here to Eternity” and was in a World War II thriller that I truly enjoyed called “Von Ryan’s Express” as well as notching credits with “Cast a Giant Shadow” and another “Rat Pack” effort with “Robin and the 7 Hoods.” Sinatra was also solid in 1980’s “The First Deadly Sin” with Faye Dunaway. He was nominated for best actor for 1955’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” and he got a humanitarian honorary Oscar in 1971 and one in 1945 for a short focusing on religious tolerance called “The House I Live In.” Sinatra died in 1998 at 82 of cancer and heart and kidney disease.
A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), Hayworth does a really nice job with being “Mrs. Vera Prentice-Simpson,” but doesn’t manage to elevate her character to be more memorable. Hayworth has a couple of nice scenes with Sinatra and, while her singing voice was mostly dubbed, knocks out her musical scenes with aplomb. Hayworth was best remembered for her signature title role in “Gilda” and was also in film from “The Money Trap” to even three episodes on TV’s cult favorite “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” She died at 67 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in 1987l.- A two-time Golden Globe winner (not for this one), Novak is just OK in the role of “Linda English,” who is a performer on the rise and whose youthful beauty catches the eye of Sinatra. Novak is smooth here, but she could have brought a lot more heat to the role. Of course, this is Sinatra’s film and Novak couldn’t overshadow him or Hayworth, but she still could have done a better job (I haven’t seen much of her work to judge if she had the talent to elevate the character). Novak won her Globes for “Phffft” as “Best Promising Newcomer” in 1955 and “World Film Favorite – Female” in 1957 just before the premiere of “Pal Joey.” She was also in the classic “Vertigo” with James Stewart the year after PJ and hasn’t notched an acting credit since 1991.
- Bobby Sherwood plays bandleader “Ned Galvin” and Hank Henry plays club manager “Mike Miggins.” Both do a solid job in support of Sinatra with Sherwood doing a slightly better job. However, neither one manages to elevate his character. Both actors had fewer than 15 credits each in their respective careers. Henry was in several Sinatra efforts including the original “Ocean’s 11” (click here to read my review) as well as “Robin and the 7 Hoods.” Sherwood was in a handful of films including “Campus Sleuth.” Henry died at 74 of cancer in 1981 and Sherwood died in the same year at 66 and also of cancer.
I know it’s because of the age of “Pal Joey,” but only one name stands out in the extensive supporting cast of more than 90. I’m sure many did excellent work and, back in the day, they would have extensive CVs because very, very few actors could afford to do just one film a year (and it was the age of the “under contract” actor).
A rundown of “Pal Joey’s” extensive cast (including 65 of 96 as “uncredited”) includes future “Brady Bunch” father Robert Reed (uncredited as “boyfriend”). So, other than Reed, if you are under the age of 50, none of the names will be recognized.
The production of “Pal Joey” is again typical of the soundstage era of Hollywood. You can tell everything was done on soundstages and backlot streets save for a few scenes “on location.” However, since the production was a factor in the story, filmmakers were good in seamless transitions and using quick “exteriors” to segue to scenes.
All-in-all, “Pal Joey” is a nice way to spend just under two hours. It has music, dancing and is a glimpse of how Hollywood told stories in the 1950s. I’m sure you’ll at least enjoy it because it is enjoyable. I caught “Pal Joey” via Amazon’s Prime network. It’s easy to find and you’ll really have a nice time with it.
OK, here’s my boilerplate explanation about the “approved” rating for movies of that era: It comes from Hollywood’s rating system known as the “Hays Code” from the name of its chief censor, according to Wiki. From 1938 through 1968 films were evaluated and either deemed approved or disapproved (“moral” or “immoral”). Although officially abandoned in 1968 in favor of the start of the initial version of the rating system you see today, the “Hays Code” had pretty much disappeared in the 1960s due to the influence of television, edgy directors and U.S. Supreme Court rulings, according to Wiki.
For 1957, “Pal Joey” was ranked outside the top 10 films at the U.S. box office and I couldn’t find any box office total for it. The No. 1 film was the now-classic World War II film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” with $33.3 million; at No. 2 was “Sayonara” with Marlon Brando at $26.3 million; and you’ll find “Peyton Place” was third with $25.6 million, according to The Numbers website. “Pal Joey” is the only film from 1957 that I’ve reviewed for my blog.
Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com and Wiki):
- Hayworth’s birth name was Margarita Carmen Cansino and her nickname was “The Love Goddess;” and Novak’s birth name was Marilyn Pauline Novak and her nickname was “The Lavender Girl.”
- Unlike movies today that can have more than a dozen producers, executive producers, co-producers and more collecting checks for doing very little, “Pal Joey” has one producer.
- Directly from Wiki: “Robert Reed made his unbilled feature film debut as the boy friend sitting at the front couple’s table while Sinatra sang ‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.’”
- In real life, Hayworth, who played the older woman to Sinatra’s character, was three years younger than Frank.
- PJ is one of the few films after 1953 that Sinatra took second billing. Asked about his name coming after Hayworth on posters, Sinatra replied, “Ladies first.”
- Hayworth’s own voice was used in the introduction of her musical numbers, but the bulk was dubbed. All of Novak’s singing was dubbed.
- Directly from IMDb.com: “When Kim Novak fell in love with black entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957 while making this film, head of Columbia Harry Cohn ordered a Mob hit on Davis unless he left Novak and immediately married a black woman. Arthur Silber Jr., Davis’ best friend and business partner, told Vanity Fair that Davis paid an African-American woman to marry him within hours.”
- Barbara Stanwyck was considered for the role given to Hayworth, while the producer said if Sinatra couldn’t do the film, he wanted Kirk Douglas.
- Finally and directly from Wiki: “The happy ending of the film contrasts with the conclusion of the stage musical, where Joey is left alone at the end.”
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