Frank Sinatra's movie career was peppered with great pictures; On the Town, Guys and Dolls, From Here To Eternity, Oceans 11 and so on and so forth. Pal Joey is without doubt, up there with the best of them.
The movie centers around Joey Evans, a womanizing nightclub singer who finds himself forced to leave Chicago (literally) and start over in San Francisco. His persistence lands him a spot in the Barbary Coast Club, and while trying to lure a wealthy widow (Rita Hayworth) to the club, he plans to land a posh joint of his own.
Frank's portrayal of Joey in this movie is wonderfully entertaining; from his Joey-isms ("Who's the mouse with the built?"), to the marvelous list of Rodgers and Hart songs he performs. Rita Hayworth may have been given top billing by Sinatra, but there is no doubt as to who the star is, it's Sinatra's show all the way.
Sinatra's other leading lady in the picture is the young and beautiful Kim Novak, who plays hard-to-get Linda English, a dancer/singer at the Barbary Coast who is one of the few women who seems to be able to resist his charms.
The songs, as I mentioned are great, and include the legendary 'The Lady Is A Tramp', which is a treasure in itself. This is not the actual studio recording of the song, but one recorded for the movie (as all the songs are), and is in my opinion, far superior to it's mainstream counterpart. Joey is not the only one to sing either as both Novak and Hayworth's characters have numbers also, albeit dubbed by other vocalists, unlike Sinatra.
The DVD version of this film looks fantastic considering the age of the picture, containing both anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions. The sound also, while only in 2 channel mono, is lively and clear.
For entertainment value, I cannot recommend this movie enough. Even if you are initially put-off by its labelling as a musical, you will not be disappointed. It's a gasser!
The movie centers around Joey Evans, a womanizing nightclub singer who finds himself forced to leave Chicago (literally) and start over in San Francisco. His persistence lands him a spot in the Barbary Coast Club, and while trying to lure a wealthy widow (Rita Hayworth) to the club, he plans to land a posh joint of his own.
Frank's portrayal of Joey in this movie is wonderfully entertaining; from his Joey-isms ("Who's the mouse with the built?"), to the marvelous list of Rodgers and Hart songs he performs. Rita Hayworth may have been given top billing by Sinatra, but there is no doubt as to who the star is, it's Sinatra's show all the way.
Sinatra's other leading lady in the picture is the young and beautiful Kim Novak, who plays hard-to-get Linda English, a dancer/singer at the Barbary Coast who is one of the few women who seems to be able to resist his charms.
The songs, as I mentioned are great, and include the legendary 'The Lady Is A Tramp', which is a treasure in itself. This is not the actual studio recording of the song, but one recorded for the movie (as all the songs are), and is in my opinion, far superior to it's mainstream counterpart. Joey is not the only one to sing either as both Novak and Hayworth's characters have numbers also, albeit dubbed by other vocalists, unlike Sinatra.
The DVD version of this film looks fantastic considering the age of the picture, containing both anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions. The sound also, while only in 2 channel mono, is lively and clear.
For entertainment value, I cannot recommend this movie enough. Even if you are initially put-off by its labelling as a musical, you will not be disappointed. It's a gasser!