Home :: DVD :: Classics  

Action & Adventure
Boxed Sets
Comedy
Drama
General
Horror
International
Kids & Family
Musicals
Mystery & Suspense
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Silent Films
Television
Westerns
Pal Joey

Pal Joey

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $15.95
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Couldn't agree ....
Review: more with the majority of the customer reviews. I never had the pleasure of checking out Sinatra in his heydays (Las Vegas, NY clubs, etc.), but I have the feeling this film captures a great deal of the charisma and talent of this man. As good as the ladies are, I would have loved to see Marilyn do Kim's role ... Marilyn may not have been the greatest singer in the world, but she wouldn't have needed a dub for her singing as did Kim (and her sexy innocence would have been the ultimate in the intoxication scene where the character says "I'm stacked". Rita also used a singing dub as she did for all her other films -- including the number from Gilda, "Put the Blame on Mame". I don't understand Wide Screen's rating for picture and sound. My DVD copy is picture perfect and a friend found it hard to believe it wasn't a stereo recording because the dialogue and music are so clear and vibrant -- I simply put it on the stereo three setting and off she goes! As one reviewer pointed out, the plot had to be watered down, but it's just as well. Gene Kelly survived the real bad cad role from the Broadway production, but maybe that's why he went Hollywood! And hey, you can't beat Rogers & Hart music and lyrics --

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 2 SUCH GORGEOUS WOMEN
Review: not a sinatra fan, but Rita and Kim are gorgeous and you cant get enuff of them. KIm is esp. beautiful and Rita is touching as the aging beauty. I heard Doreen Woodbury commited suicide while reheasing this movie. I wonder what role she would have played?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: WHEN FRANK SINGS THE SONGS OF DICK AND LARRY
Review: PAL JOEY had two revivals before the movie was made, but that was not enough for producers who decided to remove many songs from the original production and made a singer out of JOEY who was a dancer. Still ,who can resist FRANK SINATRA singing THE LADY IS A TRAMP,I COULD WRITE A BOOK and I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS in his own unique way?After all these years it remains a top movie enternainment, and like FRANK used to say when he changed a lyric to the consternation of mister RODGERS ,broads won't do the dishes in earmans and pearls or maybe i just made that up.It's fascinating how FRANK could get away with this, but let's not forget that the league of feminists wasn't too strong then.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent/Hayworth/Sinatra Combination
Review: Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra make this movie a 5-star success. Rita completely outshines Kim Novak in not only looks, but class, poise and talent. This movie-lover finds it hard to believe that Hollywood would dare to even compare Kim Novak to the beautiful Rita Hayworth. Rita is the ultimate classic beauty. She and Frank make this a movie definitely worth seeing. I totally enjoyed the storyline and the music is outstanding.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sinatra Sinatra
Review: Sinatra at his hipster best. Kim Novak is stunning, Rita dos her dance provacatuer..and the songs are terrific.

Chez Joey is the nightclub that Rita will bankroll only if Joey is " in line" Look for Barbara Nichols in the chorus line.

Just when you might think the plot drags a bit here comes another Sinatra standard..and oh that 1957 Thunderbird.!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: QUINTESSENTIAL SINATRA
Review: Sinatra is amazing in this movie about a nightclub singer and the ladies in his life. All the songs are first-rate and Sinatra's performances of "Lady Is A Tramp" and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" are classic. The plot is entertaining, and though admittedly tamer than the story originally was, still has enough of a hint of naughtiness to stay true to the swing of things. Hayworth gives a kick butt performance and steals the show as the glamourous rich widow who helps Joey finance his dreams. Novak is beautiful and does good, but what woman can compete with a co-star like Ms.Hayowrth! But the best thing about Pal Joey is that it's Sinatra bring Sinatra and that's why I fell in love with this movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pal Joey- final cut
Review: The 1957 film version of "Pal Joey" as featured on DVD is a gorgeous thing to behold, gorgeous women and scenery (San Francisco subbing for the Chicago of the play). On the down-side... too many superb songs from the play were reduced to mere dance or background music. George Sidney was a fine director for musicals, but we have to wonder what a more accomplished auteur might have done with the material. Billy Wilder almost made the film, but didn't want to use Rita Hayworth because at 39 she wasn't really old enough to play "older woman" to gigolo Frank Sinatra. However, Rita while still stunning, had endured a hard life. She looked @50 and Wilder should have thought twice about it. The film is 'zingy' and fun, but the
play needs a more faithful remake, perhaps by Rob Marshall. Sadly, it doesn't appear that any of these great "cut songs" by Rodgers 'n Hart were actually shot. However, the dream number 'What Do I Care for a Dame?' was filmed in a much longer version (info. per the late Dorothy Kingsley). This footage exists somewhere in Columbia's vaults, and should have been included as an 'extra' on the DVD. Thanx, H

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Prime Sinatra
Review: 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.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Of Sinatra's Best
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite Sinatra films. Everyone in it is just fantastic, Sinatra, Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth. You can't take your eyes off any of them and get caught up in the storyline. The music is great and at one time the soundtrack was one of Frank's bestselling albums. A true classic for all Sinatraphiles. Extremely enjoyable and highly recommended.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing - Would Love to See a Good Remake
Review: This movie took most of the great songs from the stage play and dumped them. For a theater lover this is heartbreaking. What a disappointing story. If a movie can be faithful to the theater version then this one is a class-A adulterer. Even the ending was changed and not for the better. The dubbing for the two leading ladies was also disappointing. A pretty face is not enough.


<< 1 2 3 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates