PAL JOEY [1957 / 2012] [Limited Edition Series] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
Frank Sinatra Sings and Falls in Love with Kim Novak!
‘PAL JOEY is a 1957 American musical film, loosely adapted from the musical play of the same name, and starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Jo Ann Greer sang for Rita Hayworth, as she had done previously in ‘Affair in Trinidad’ and ‘Miss Sadie Thompson.’ Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin. The director is George Sidney and the choreographer is Hermes Pan.
Frank Sinatra stars as John O’Hara’s caddish crooner in this 1957 film version of the Book by John O'Hara, the music by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the hit musical ‘Pal Joey.’ A fresh, very fresh arrival on the San Francisco nightclub scene, the amoral and ambitious Joey soon finds himself entangled with two “mice”: the rapacious stripper-turned-society dame Vera [Rita Hayworth] and the good-girl chorine Linda [Kim Novak]. Handsomely directed by George Sidney, the film features a double handful of Rodgers and Hart’s greatest tunes, including “Zip,” “My Funny Valentine,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” and “I Could Write a Book.”
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1958 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration for Louis Diage, Walter Holscher and William Kiernan. Nominated: Best Costume Design for Jean Louis. Nominated: Best Sound Recording for John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD). Nominated: Best Film Editing for Jerome Thoms and Viola Lawrence. 1958 Golden Globes: Win: Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for Frank Sinatra. Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. 1958 Laurel Awards: Win: Golden Laurel Award for Top Musical. Win: Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Musical Performance for Frank Sinatra. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Music Director for Morris Stoloff. 1958 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Written American Musical for Dorothy Kingsley.
FILM FACT No.2: The happy ending of the film contrasts with that of the stage musical, where Joey is left alone at the end. The transformation of Joey into a "nice guy" departed from the stage musical, where Joey's character was notable for being the anti-hero. The film varies from the stage musical in several other key points: the setting was changed from Chicago to San Francisco, and the stage Joey was a dancer.
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Barbara Nichols, Bobby Sherwood, Hank Henry, Elizabeth Patterson, Leon Alton (uncredited), Isabel Analla (uncredited), Robert Anderson (uncredited), Maurice Argent (uncredited), Tol Avery (uncredited), Al Bain (uncredited), Rita Barrett (uncredited), Eddie Bartell (uncredited), Herman Belmonte (uncredited), Steve Benton (uncredited), Barry Bernard (uncredited), Gail Bonney (uncredited), Sue Boomer (uncredited), Nick Borgani (uncredited), Paul Cesari (uncredited), George Chan (uncredited), Barrie Chase (uncredited), Sydney Chatton (uncredited), Dick Cherney (uncredited), Nellie Gee Ching (uncredited), Jane Chung (uncredited), Jean Corbett (uncredited), Jean Corbett (uncredited), Oliver Cross (uncredited), Giselle D'Arc (uncredited), Judy Dan (uncredited), Jules Davis (uncredited), George DeNormand (uncredited), Rudy Diaz (uncredited), Helen Elliot (uncredited), Darlene Engle (uncredited), Elizabeth Fenton (uncredited), Michael Ferris (uncredited), George Ford (uncredited), Allen Gin (uncredited), Everett Glass (uncredited), Bob Glenn (uncredited), Connie Graham (uncredited), Jo Ann Greer (singing voice) Sam Harris (uncredited), Bobbie Jean Henson (uncredited), John Hubbard (uncredited), Ellie Kent (uncredited), Cheryl Kubert (uncredited), Leota Lorraine (uncredited), Pat Lynn (uncredited), Wilbur Mack (uncredited), Ramon Martinez (uncredited), Mara McAfee (uncredited), Henry McCann (uncredited), Philo McCullough (uncredited), Frank McLure (uncredited), Raymond A. McWalters (uncredited), Joe Miksak (uncredited), Ernesto Molinari (uncredited), Robin Morse (uncredited), Charles Morton (uncredited), Jean Nakaba (uncredited), Al Nalbandian (uncredited), George Nardelli (uncredited), Bek Nelson (uncredited), Ilsa Ostroffsky (uncredited), Hermes Pan (uncredited), Jack Perry (uncredited), Roberto Piperio (uncredited), 'Snub' Pollard (uncredited), Edith Powell (uncredited), Jack Railey (uncredited), Mabel Rea (uncredited), Robert Reed (uncredited), Mitchell Rhein (uncredited), Leoda Richards (uncredited), Hermie Rose (uncredited), John Roy (uncredited), James Seay (uncredited), Howard Sigrist (uncredited), Jo Ann Smith (uncredited), Snuffy (Dog) (uncredited), Stephen Soldi (uncredited), Bert Stevens (uncredited), Trudy Stevens (singing voice) (uncredited), Genie Stone (uncredited), Frank Sully (uncredited), Betty Uitti (uncredited), Betty Utey (uncredited), Frank Wilcox (uncredited), Frank Wilimarth (uncredited), Andrew Wong (uncredited), Lessie Lynne Wong (uncredited) and Barbara Yung (uncredited)
Director: George Sidney
Producer: Fred Kohlmar
Screenplay: Dorothy Kingsley (screenplay) and John O'Hara (from the musical play book)
Composers: Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart, Nelson Riddle, Morris Stoloff (supervision) and George Duning (arrangements)
Cinematography: Harold Lipstein (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Isolated Music: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 111 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Twilight Time
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Seventeen years after its premiere on Broadway in 1940, ‘PAL JOEY’ [1957] finally made its way to the silver screen after numerous attempts by Columbia studio boss Harry Cohn to cast and produce it. Along the way, the central character, Joey Evans, evolved from an irredeemable, womanising heel that preys on chorus girls to a likable nightclub crooner torn between his love for a struggling singer and a chance to further his career with a rich, predatory club owner. The stage musical starred Gene Kelly and was based on a series of short stories by author John O'Hara.
‘PAL JOEY’ initially sprang to life as a series of New Yorker short stories by John O'Hara, which were then stitched together as a novel, one which consisted entirely of letters supposedly written by Joey to his friend Ted. Joey was a down on his luck nightclub entertainer who had a somewhat cracked moral compass, but who was a likable guy nonetheless. John O'Hara himself brought the material to Rodgers and Hart and suggested a musical adaptation, offering to write the book (libretto) himself. The musical version saw Joey (played in the original Broadway version by a newcomer named Gene Kelly) on the make with a wealthy socialite, one he feels can set him up in business with his own nightclub, while he simultaneously woos a more innocent girl. Joey is a cad, a user who's constantly scheming to latch on to that next rung on the ladder of success, and as such he bears a certain similarity to another anti-hero whose story was musicalized some two decades later.
This is a colourful and brash musical entertainment, lifted miles above it’s kind of turgid elements due to the star power of its lead trio, as well as some knock your socks off arrangements by Frank Sinatra's leading collaborator of that time, Nelson Riddle. Even though Frank Sinatra, Novak and Hayworth are all immensely winning in their roles, the music here is undoubtedly one of the chief allures of this film, and Nelson Riddle's inventive reimagining of these Rodgers and Hart classics are elegant showpieces not just for Frank Sinatra's mature vocalising, but for the art of orchestration itself (actual orchestration duties fell to Arthur Morton). (Neither Rita Hayworth nor Kim Novak did their own singing, not to state the obvious.) This may not be the "real" Pal Joey in any sense of the word, but it still remains one of Frank Sinatra's best screen outings. Frank Sinatra certainly could have played the character as originally written (albeit probably without the demanding dance elements), but even toned down here for this "kinder, gentler" approach, he manages to convey a bit of Joey's smarm lying just beneath the charming surface. The happy ending of the film contrasts with that of the stage musical, where Joey is left alone at the end.
Frank Sinatra was gracious enough to allow Rita Hayworth to take top billing over him on the marquee in honour of her long-standing relationship with the studio. Despite the fact that she didn't do her own singing (she was dubbed by Jo Ann Greer), her co-star Kim Novak didn't sing either (Kim Novak was dubbed by Trudi Erwin). Of course, the songs were always the best part about Pal Joey and the film version kept ten songs by Rodgers and Hart from the original musical score and added four new ones, also by Rodgers and Hart. The new additions were "My Funny Valentine," "There's a Small Hotel," "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," and "The Lady is a Tramp" which is given the definite treatment by Frank Sinatra with a killer Nelson Riddle arrangement.
It's no secret that ‘PAL JOEY’ was cleaned up considerably for the screen after the Production Code office demanded numerous changes, but it survived the sanitation process and even made off with four Oscar® nominations: Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Art Direction. It also marks the end of Rita Hayworth's long relationship with Columbia Pictures.
In the biography, “If This Was Happiness” (Sphere Books Limited), writer Barbara Leaming observed that "it was common knowledge that Harry Cohn had anointed Kim Novak to replace Rita Hayworth at Columbia and shortly thereafter, the creation of Kim Novak as Columbia's next 'big star' was widely thought to be Harry Cohn's revenge on Rita Hayworth, so that putting the two actresses together made the press and public expect fireworks. Still, according to George Sidney, on the set 'there was no friction between Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak.' Although Rita Hayworth did lament that she was actually younger than Frank Sinatra, she was really just anxious to fulfil her final obligations to the studio as quickly and as smoothly as possible."
PAL JOEY MUSIC TRACK LIST
THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Frank Sinatra]
I COULD WRITE A BOOK (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak dubbed by Trudy Stevens]
THE LADY IS A TRAMP (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Frank Sinatra]
MY FUNNY VALENTINE (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Kim Novak dubbed by Trudy Stevens]
ZIP (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Rita Hayworth partially dubbed by Jo Ann Greer]
WHAT DO I CARE FOR A DAME (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Kim Novak (dubbed by Trudy Stevens), Barbara Nichols and Chorus]
I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Frank Sinatra]
THAT TERRIFIC RAINBOW (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Barbara Nichols, Kim Novak (dubbed by Trudy Stevens) and Chorus]
BEWITCHED (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) (Words by Lorenz Hart) [Performed by Rita Hayworth (partially dubbed by Jo Ann Greer) and also reprised by Frank Sinatra]
DO IT THE HARD WAY (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) [Instrumental only]
PLANT YOU NOW, DIG YOU LATER (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) [Performed by the Chorus]
TAKE HIM (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) [Instrumental only]
HAPPY HUNTING HORN (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) [Instrumental only]
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘PAL JOEY’ is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time with an amazing 1080p transfer in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. As has been mentioned before in other Twilight Time reviews, the niche label is at the mercy of the studios from which they license these titles, and this Columbia Pictures release, while incredibly colourful and vivid looking. There's nothing bad here, certainly nothing to be overly concerned about, but a lot of this film is just slightly gauzy, something increased exponentially in the optical, including (obviously) the credits sequence as well as the big fantasy sequence that caps the film. The pluses far outweigh the negatives here, with some incredibly lushly saturated colour, and excellent fine detail which brings out every nuance in the stunning Jean Louis costumes.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The ‘PAL JOEY’ soundtrack is offered with two mixes, English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and an Isolated Music: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. Fidelity here is quite good, but it must also be stated for the record that some of the dubbed singing sounds noticeably boxier than the bulk of the soundtrack and listen especially to the women in the opening "Rainbow" production number for a very good example. The 5.1 mix isn't overly immersive, but the music is opened up rather nicely in this mix, and occasionally some ambient environmental sound effects will dot the surrounds, adding a bit of spaciousness to the proceedings. The music sounds spectacular for the most part, and Sinatra's voice is magnificent, reproduced with its entire slightly aged lustre.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Original Theatrical Trailer [1957] [480i] [1.78:1] [4:59] This is hosted by Frank Sinatra and much longer than usual trailer. It sports pretty ragged looking video but is fun to watch nonetheless.
Special Feature: Backstage and at Home with Kim Novak [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:28] This is a really interesting, but sadly way too brief special feature, where we visit Kim Novak at her Oregon hideaway, where she reminisces about costume designer Jean Louis, as well as how the pressures of Hollywood actually helped her to continue working on her paintings which we see her doing one of her paintings, and something Kim Novak is still involved with and really enjoys and finds it very therapeutic. Kim Novak comes off as very charming and very down to earth, with absolutely no illusions or delusions of being a "big star." We also get a plethora of clips from some of her films, and especially ‘PAL JOEY.’ The interview was performed by Stephen Bebello.
Special Feature: Isolated Score Track: Presented in mono via a splendid sounding 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio mix. (Some online sites reported the isolated music score as being released here in stereo, and confirmed with Twilight Time, but to me, this is mono audio.)
PLUS: Twilight Time Catalogue: Here we get to view some releases of the Twilight Time DD and Blu-ray discs that were available from 2011 and onwards and they are as follows:
THE KREMLIN LETTER [1970] DVD
VIOLENT SATURDAY [1955] DVD
FATE THE HUNTER [1964] DVD
THE EGYPTIAN [1954] DVD and Blu-ray
THE FLIM-FLAN MAN [1967] DVD
MY COUSIN RACHEL [1952] DVD
STAGECOACH [1966] DVD
THE LEFT HAND GOD [1955] Blu-ray
MYSTERIOUS ISALND [1961] Blu-ray
FRIGHT NIIGHT [1985] Blu-ray
RAPTURE [1965] Blu-ray
THE ROOTS TO HEAVEN [1958] Blu-ray
PICNIC [1955] Blu-ray
PAL JOEY [1957] Blu-ray
SWAMP WATER [1941] Blu-ray
BITE THE BULLET [1975] Blu-ray
BONUS: Special Booklet: Here we have a beautiful designed 8 page booklet with extensive liner notes by Julie Kirgo and lots of promotional ‘PAL JOEY’ colour film images.
Finally, ‘PAL JOEY’ is it seems to me another superb example of the old studio system firing on all cylinders and the whole package of music design, art direction, costuming, choreography, and film editing, plus many Oscar-nominated for ‘Pal Joey’ and all functioning seamlessly. With an incredible star package headed by Frank Sinatra on the screen, it is terrific entertainment that's hard to beat, especially for all you "young 'uns" out there who are only familiar with Rodgers and Hammerstein; you have a veritable universe of fantastic music to discover in the pairing of Rodgers and Hart. There's no finer film to start than this beautiful colourful musical. Frank Sinatra could have easily pulled off a less likable character. But this 1957 musical is brash, well-staged, and features three big "movie star" performances from Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. With good quality video and audio, and a really appealing, if sadly a short documentary, this release comes with highest praise indeed. So all in all, I am proud and honoured to have this in my classic musical film in my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
