Pal Joey [VHS]: Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Barbara Nichols, Bobby Sherwood, Hank Henry, Elizabeth Patterson, George Sidney: Amazon.co.uk: Video

Product details

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

First born in the pages of The New Yorker, then translated into a hit Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, the title character of Pal Joey had undergone quite a transformation by the time he hit the movies in 1957. He was a singer, rather than a dancer, but more importantly he'd had his rough edges sweetly softened; the callous heel dreamed up by novelist John O'Hara was more of a naughty scamp in the film version. However, Pal Joey remains delightfully watchable for two very good reasons: a terrific song score and a surplus of glittering star power. Frank Sinatra, at the zenith of his cocky, world-on-a-string popularity, glides through the film with breezy nonchalance, romancing showgirl Kim Novak (Columbia Pictures' new sex symbol) and wealthy widow Rita Hayworth (Columbia Pictures' former sex symbol). The film also benefits from location shooting in San Francisco, caught in the moonlight-and-supper-club glow of the late 50s. Sinatra does beautifully with the Rodgers and Hart classics "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "I Could Write a Book" and his performance of "The Lady Is a Tramp" (evocatively shot by director George Sidney) is flat-out genius. Sinatra's ease with hep-cat lingo nearly outdoes Bing Crosby at his best, and included in the DVD is a trailer in which Sinatra instructs the audience in "Joey's Jargon", a collection of hip slang words such as "gasser" and "mouse." If not one of Sinatra's very best movies, Pal Joey is nevertheless a classy vehicle that fits like a glove. --Robert Horton

Amazon.co.uk Review

The eponymous Pal Joey, born in the pages of The New Yorker then translated into a hit Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, had undergone quite a transformation by the time he hit the movies in 1957. By then he was a singer rather than a dancer, but more importantly he'd had his rough edges sweetly softened; the callous heel dreamed up by novelist John O'Hara was more of a naughty scamp in the film version. However, Pal Joey the film remains delightfully watchable for two very good reasons: a terrific song score and a surplus of glittering star power. Frank Sinatra, at the zenith of his cocky, world-on-a-string popularity, glides through the film with breezy nonchalance, romancing showgirl Kim Novak (Columbia Pictures' new sex symbol) and wealthy widow Rita Hayworth (Columbia Pictures' former sex symbol).

The film also benefits from location shooting in San Francisco, caught in the moonlight-and-supper-club glow of the late 1950s. Sinatra does beautifully with the Rodgers and Hart classics "I Didn't Know What Time it Was" and "I Could Write a Book", and his performance of "The Lady is a Tramp" (evocatively shot by director George Sidney) is flat-out genius. Sinatra's ease with hep-cat lingo nearly outdoes Bing Crosby at his best. If not one of Sinatra's very best movies, Pal Joey is nevertheless a classy vehicle that fits like a glove. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

Prime Sinatra 7 Jan 2005

By Alejandra Vernon TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

This film is worth watching over and over again, if only to see Sinatra's rendition of "The Lady is a Tramp", which he sings with riveting style and musical finesse.
Based on a book and play by John O'Hara, it boasts some snappy dialogue and a fabulous Rodgers and Hart score, with songs like "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "I Could Write a Book", "What do I Care for a Dame ?", "Plant You Now, Dig You Later", "Happy Hunting Horn" and "That Terrific Rainbow". Rita Hayworth does a sumptuous "Zip" (I love the way she uses her lavish Jean Louis gown in the number), and Kim Novak is absolutely stunning singing "My Funny Valentine". Novak was one of the loveliest and most underrated stars to ever grace the silver screen, and this was her second film with Sinatra, having done the dramatic "The Man with the Golden Arm" two years earlier.

The film only received some Oscar nominations (Art/Set Direction, Costume Design, Editing, Sound), but Sinatra did pick up a 1958 Golden Globe Best Actor/Musical-Comedy for his part as Joey, the womanizing, fast talking, con-man singer, who goes from town to town, leaving debts and broken hearts behind; Sinatra makes the most of the part, and one cannot imagine anyone else that could have played Joey to such perfection.
Terrific direction by George Sidney and choreography by Hermes Pan complement this trio of great stars and splendid music, with the backdrop of San Francisco and Harold Lipstein's cinematography.
Total running time is 109 minutes.

2 Comments |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

"She gets too hungry for dinner at eight..." 1 July 2011

By Kona TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Joey Evans (Frank Sinatra) is a two-bit night club singer, womanizer, and cad. He lands in a San Francisco saloon and starts romancing a wealthy older woman (Rita Hayworth) and sweet chorus girl (Kim Novak).

When I saw this movie in 1957 I fell head over heels for Frank and the sophisticated night club scene, but now Frank's Joey seems like a heartless sleaze, the clubs are cheap, and the movie is hopelessly dated. It was made at the height of Frank's ring-a-ding-ding movie popularity, though, and he still charms despite playing a mean-spirited and selfish loser who is outweighed by both of his co-stars.Poor Rita looks drab and tired, a far cry from her earlier glory days. Kim is lovely (without those thick eyebrows from "Vertigo"), but her singing voice is a disaster and she isn't much of a dancer. A beatnik-style dance featuring both ladies is just embarrassing.

On the plus side, the songs are terrific. The show is filled with memorable Rodgers and Hart tunes such as "The Lady is a Tramp," "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," "I Could Write a Book," "There's a Small Hotel," and "My Funny Valentine."

The movie is glossy and pretty with lavish gowns and furs and picturesque San Francisco as a location, but is definitely a product of its time. What was once ultra-cool and sophisticated now seems tawdry and pathetic. Good songs, though.

1 Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Ring a ding ding, Sinatra is Pal Joey 29 Nov 2000

By barker_andrew@hotmail.com

Format:VHS Tape

The genius of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart is amplified in this spellbinding musical.After this role, Sinatra became Pal Joey with his trademark hat,suits and mac.With the best nightclub scene ever laid down on celluloid, Sinatra serenades Hayworth with The Lady is a Tramp, whilst Kim Novak is left to muse over her "Funny Valentine" as she attempts a striptease. The plot? Boy sings in club, scores with older woman, sees sense and goes back to young woman has been done before and since, but rarely with this panache, and never with songs like these: zip, bewitched, bothered, and bewildered and I could write a book all make this film a five star experience. Ring-A-Ding- Ding indeed!

1 Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes