GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Wordiezett So much average

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

James Hitchcock The title character, Joey "Pal Joey" Evans, is a San Francisco nightclub entertainer with ambitions to open a nightclub of his own. The plot of the film is a fairly simple one, involving a love-triangle between Joey and the two women in his life. They are Linda English, a showgirl, and Joey's old flame Vera, today as Mrs Vera Prentice-Simpson the widow of one of the city's richest citizens, but in the days when Joey first knew her a striptease artiste known as "Vanessa the undresser". Although Linda spends most of her working hours strutting about in a skimpy costume, she is at heart sweet and innocent, whereas Vera, beneath an outward veneer of wealth and sophistication, is spoilt, selfish and possessive. So no prizes for guessing which of them Joey ends up with. This film is one of the few exceptions to the general Hollywood rule that "first name above the title gets the girl. Or boy". Rita Hayworth, who plays Vera, received top billing, ahead of not only the relative newcomer Kim Novak but also Frank Sinatra, who plays the title role and was arguably a bigger star than her in 1957. Rita had certainly been a major star in the forties, but by the late fifties her public profile was rather lower following lengthy absences from the screen caused by events in her private life. Sinatra, however, seems not to have minded his second billing, saying of being billed between Hayworth and Novak, "That's a sandwich I don't mind being stuck in the middle of".Now the plot of this film- two of the world's most beautiful actresses fighting over an average-looking guy- might strike you as little more than a male wish-fulfilment fantasy, although in fairness to the average-looking Sinatra it should be said that he was quite a successful ladies' man off-screen as well, counting Hollywood goddesses like Ava Gardner among his conquests. I have never, however, regarded "Pal Joey" as being particularly well-cast. Novak seems a bit too sophisticated for the innocent girl-next-door Linda, but the main problem comes with the other two main roles. The script implies that Vera is a rather sad, lonely older woman, desperate to hang on to her lover, who is probably younger than her, because, however much she may have financially, he is all she has got emotionally. This concept just does not work with Hayworth, as beautiful in her thirties as she had been in her twenties, and actually younger than Sinatra. Admittedly, the age difference between them was only three years, but on screen it looks more. Why a woman like that should have been so keen to hang on to Joey is never made clear as he, although he can be charming when he wants to, is really something of a womaniser. Joey's favourite term for a woman is not one of the standard screen Americanisms- dame, doll, chick, babe, moll, broad, etc.- but one I had never heard before, "mouse". This appears to be a generic term and does not necessarily imply that the woman in question is either shy, petite or mousy in appearance- nobody could be less mousy than Kim Novak, but Linda is regularly referred to as a mouse. I have never seen the original stage musical of "Pal Joey", although I understand that the film version made a considerable number of changes, both to the plot and to the music. All the songs we hear here are by Rodgers and Hart, although not all are from the stage musical. Some have been drafted in from other shows, such as "The Lady is a Tramp" (probably the best-known number here, along with "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered") and "My Funny Valentine", both taken from the 1937 musical "Babes in Arms". ("My Funny Valentine" was also resuscitated for another screen musical from the previous year, "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes"). Seen purely as a musical, "Pal Joey" is not a bad one, even though neither of the female leads do their own singing. The song-and-dance numbers are all well-handled, which is why I've given it an above-average mark. Seen as a romantic drama, however, there seems to be something lacking. 6/10

HotToastyRag While this isn't my favorite musical, Pal Joey is definitely a must-see for fans of musicals or Frank Sinatra. Dozens of famous songs—okay, not really dozens—came from this musical, including "Bewitched," "The Lady is a Tramp," "My Funny Valentine," and "I Could Write a Book". Although both Kim Novak's and Rita Hayworth's singing voices were dubbed, the matches are pretty good. I didn't know Kim had been dubbed until I read the trivia.Frankie plays Joey, a charmer with a bad reputation. Kim Novak, a chorus girl with a heart of gold, knows he's a player and tries to stay away. Rita Hayworth is a former chorus girl whose marriage has landed her in high society; an affair with the notorious playboy could damage her own reputation. While Frankie pursues both girls, all three sing the very memorable songs of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. If you like the songs, you'll probably like the movie. I don't happen to like Rita Hayworth very much, but since I like the other two, the movie wasn't ruined for me.

Robert W. I have said before that sometimes stage plays, even great ones, don't translate well to film and sometimes they do. It really does depend on the screenplay and who stars in the film and a few other key details. Pal Joey has its ups and downs and is overall entertaining but mostly thanks to Frank Sinatra and his larger than life persona that is hard to ignore in any capacity. It has elements of romance and music and drama and a few genuinely funny moments. Ideally though this is a vehicle for Sinatra. With anyone else in his role it wouldn't have been even nearly as good. His charisma saves this from being a rather hum drum sort of romantic comedy/musical. I think the biggest problem I personally had with the film was the lack of chemistry between the leads. I think in order for this to be genuinely great you need a guy and two girls that have great energy opposite of each other. At the heart (pun intended) of the film is a romance and yet you don't really feel that. The main character is such an egotistical ladies man and you expect a full turn around but I'm not sure you ever get that. You are sort of left with he is who he is but she's gonna be with him anyways.I have very little experience watching Frank Sinatra on screen but I love the man for his albums, always have since I was a kid, so the highlight of this movie for me was seeing him perform. He is mesmerizing and it is easily the strong point in the film. Singing "Lady is A Tramp" to Rita Hayworth was definitely worth the price of admission. Sinatra is very good in this role and suits it to a T. He is perfectly believable as a street-wise ladies man with big dreams and his character actually is a complex guy and I'm not sure we get everything out of one movie. Kim Novak is beautiful of course and her role as Karen English is decent. I just didn't feel like she got a lot of depth nor did her and Sinatra have the right chemistry. They had some good scenes and some okay banter but the door is open here for this terrific love-hate rivalry that never really takes off. Rita Hayworth is also very good if not just a touch obvious as the aristocratic Vera Simpson who lures Frank's Joey into a relationship of necessity. Hayworth's character is not very likable though she has a very good turning point in the end. However, like Novak, her chemistry with Sinatra is okay at best and her and Novak don't share enough screen time.Like many directors of the time, George Sidney has done other musical to screen adaptations. I just think Pal Joey isn't necessarily the right stage play to adapt though I'd love to see a modern take on it (think Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan annnnd Julia Roberts in the 90's) but the chemistry was off, the pacing doesn't feel quite right and the music is a little underwhelming. Still, it is a classic for a reason and it was fun. Some of the dialogue (especially from Sinatra) was legendary. He was a fast talking sarcastic lout and he did it well. I would think for its time, Pal Joey was a touch racy and I actually liked that about it. Watching a classic with a little bit of an adult edge for its time made me feel a little naughty like I'm sure it did for them back in 1957. I can assure you that I will now check out some of Frank Sinatra's more well known roles so the movie is not a total loss. Its worth seeing if you love the classics but certainly far from the best out there. 7/10

Mary Ann What started as a series of letters in a newspaper, was then a hit on Broadway starring Gene Kelly, then became a movie classic in 1957's "Pal Joey".With a terrific Rodgers and Hart score (including "The Lady is a Tramp" which is sung in one of the best scenes in the whole movie, "My Funny Valentine" and "I Could Write a Book"), Frank Sinatra in the title role and Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak as the gorgeous leading ladies, really a plot was unnecessary. But your "Pal Joey" gives you one anyway, and a great one, too.Joey Evans (Ole Blue Eyes) is, essentially, a heel. Working as an M.C in a nightclub in San Francisco, Joey meets many women. But two interest him even more than all the others : Vera Simpson (Hayworth) and Linda English (Novak). Vera, a former stripper ("She used to be Vera with the Vanishing Veils"), is now a wealthy widow who is helping Joey finance his new nightclub, Chez Joey. Linda is the chorus girl ("the best built mouse in the joint") who Joey really falls for. Kim or Rita? Which would you choose? Either way, "Pal Joey" is a fun, classy ("K-L-A-S-Y") movie that you will love.