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The Pajama Game (1957)
Review: I have a new favorite! I loved how this movie felt like going to a Broadway show. I don't recall ever seeing a move that was literally lifted from the stage, and put onto film. Even most of the original cast and production crew came along to make the movie.
I'm so enthusiastic about this movie, that I did something I normally never do...I watched it twice, two nights in a row. You know what? It's much better the second time around, as I knew the songs and the characters and the story line..so I could focus more on the sheer fun of the movie. And this is a fun, splashy movie, with simple but very efficient sets, that adds to the Broadway feel of the movie.
The Pajama Game does something I've never seen in another movie, it uses lighting fixtures as part of the set decor. Think about it, when is the last time you seen a light bulb in a movie, on, and being deliberately used as part of the set decoration. Almost every scene in this movie includes ceiling lights, desk lights and neon signs! The neon is everywhere and adds a brilliant splash to the film.
What's more splashy in a 1950s movie than neon? The costumes! Just look at the women and what they are wearing. They're very colorful, with stripes and patterns and polka dots. They're wearing contrasting color as accents and they're chic and at the same time frivolously riotous looking. Lots of visual eye candy in this film.
I loved all the numbers especially Racing With the Clock done at the start of the film in the factory and later reprise during the work slowdown. It's a great song and the choreography with the movement of the workers, was neat to see.
Loved the big splashy picnic scene and the song Once A Year Day. Carol Haney is a real stand out in this number and in the show stopper Steam Heat, and in Hernando's Hideaway, which is so creatively choreographed by Bob Fosse, the silhouetted chorus lit by matches was brilliant. Carol Haney is such a talent, she's funny as heck and the liveliest character around, she's a superb dancer and while she might not match Doris Day's silky voice, she has a presence to her singing that I really liked.
I like Doris Day here, I always like Doris. She doesn't get to develop her character as much as usual, but she has some great songs. Loved the comic song, There Once Was a Man, and the heart breaking Hey There, which is a classic. Wow, Doris looked great in the picnic scene, well she looked great in the entire film, so did everywhere.
If there was one thing I wasn't big on was John Raitt, he's one helluva baritone singer, but he didn't bring much personality to the role. This is his only lead role in a movie. I wish Howard Keel could have done his part.
The Pajama Game (1957)
Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen
Writers: George Abbott, Richard Bissell (screenplay)
Cast: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney
Genre: Musical, Romance
About: A pajama factory worker (Doris Day) who heads the workers union in the factory, falls in love with the new superintendent (John Raitt), who has just fired her! He refuses to meet the workers' demand for a pay rise, which causes a rift in their budding romance.
Writers: George Abbott, Richard Bissell (screenplay)
Cast: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney
Genre: Musical, Romance
About: A pajama factory worker (Doris Day) who heads the workers union in the factory, falls in love with the new superintendent (John Raitt), who has just fired her! He refuses to meet the workers' demand for a pay rise, which causes a rift in their budding romance.
Review: I have a new favorite! I loved how this movie felt like going to a Broadway show. I don't recall ever seeing a move that was literally lifted from the stage, and put onto film. Even most of the original cast and production crew came along to make the movie.
I'm so enthusiastic about this movie, that I did something I normally never do...I watched it twice, two nights in a row. You know what? It's much better the second time around, as I knew the songs and the characters and the story line..so I could focus more on the sheer fun of the movie. And this is a fun, splashy movie, with simple but very efficient sets, that adds to the Broadway feel of the movie.
The Pajama Game does something I've never seen in another movie, it uses lighting fixtures as part of the set decor. Think about it, when is the last time you seen a light bulb in a movie, on, and being deliberately used as part of the set decoration. Almost every scene in this movie includes ceiling lights, desk lights and neon signs! The neon is everywhere and adds a brilliant splash to the film.
What's more splashy in a 1950s movie than neon? The costumes! Just look at the women and what they are wearing. They're very colorful, with stripes and patterns and polka dots. They're wearing contrasting color as accents and they're chic and at the same time frivolously riotous looking. Lots of visual eye candy in this film.
I loved all the numbers especially Racing With the Clock done at the start of the film in the factory and later reprise during the work slowdown. It's a great song and the choreography with the movement of the workers, was neat to see.
Loved the big splashy picnic scene and the song Once A Year Day. Carol Haney is a real stand out in this number and in the show stopper Steam Heat, and in Hernando's Hideaway, which is so creatively choreographed by Bob Fosse, the silhouetted chorus lit by matches was brilliant. Carol Haney is such a talent, she's funny as heck and the liveliest character around, she's a superb dancer and while she might not match Doris Day's silky voice, she has a presence to her singing that I really liked.
I like Doris Day here, I always like Doris. She doesn't get to develop her character as much as usual, but she has some great songs. Loved the comic song, There Once Was a Man, and the heart breaking Hey There, which is a classic. Wow, Doris looked great in the picnic scene, well she looked great in the entire film, so did everywhere.
If there was one thing I wasn't big on was John Raitt, he's one helluva baritone singer, but he didn't bring much personality to the role. This is his only lead role in a movie. I wish Howard Keel could have done his part.