Description
Labor and management at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory aren't getting much sleep lately: a proposed 7-1/2-cent hourly wage increase is the reason and a job action just may be the result. But not to worry: negotiating strategies here involve snappy stars, terrific tunes and dynamic dances, all part of one of the most infectiously joyful stage/screen musicals ever.
Doris Day and a Broadway-seasoned supporting cast play The Pajama Game, the lighthearted, nimble-footed movie that whips the unlikely musical-comedy subject of a labor/management dispute into a buoyant, romantic delight. Day is Babe Williams, head of the employees' grievance committee, who strikes sparks with shop superintendent Sid Sorokin (John Raitt in his only opportunity to play on of his stage triumph on film). And where there are spark, "Steam Heat" results.
For the songs by Damn Yankees duo Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and the choreography by Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Sweet Charity) are too combustible to pass up, all under the direction of two musical masters of stage and screen, George Abbott and Stanley Donen. Besides "Steam Heat" (showcasing the quirky brilliance of dancer Carol Haney), catch "Hey There," "I'm Not at All in Love," "Hernando's Hideaway," "Small Talk," "Once-a-Year Day," "There Once Was a Man" and other all-time greats.
Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com essential video
This 1957 version of the Tony-winning Pajama Game is one of the finest film adaptations of a hit Broadway musical. The story is simple enough: Babe Williams, the head of a pajama company's grievance committee, falls for an exec--the new superintendent--Sid Sorokin (John Raitt). Doris Day, as Babe, has never been so efficiently cute. Raitt starred in the Broadway version, as did much of the film's cast (Day replaced original stage star Janis Paige). The Pajama Game is filled with recognizable, classic songs, done so well and danced so athletically that this musical can engage an action-film fan. Bob Fosse's trademark choreography shines. Check out two numbers danced by the late, underused, and underrated Carol Haney, who performs amazing feats for "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Both Day and Raitt deliver lovely renditions of "Hey There." They're also supported by a great cast that includes, in addition to Haney, a slyly coy Reta Shaw and a dynamic Eddie Foy Jr. --N.F. Mendoza
|