Pal Joey (1957). Photofest.
(George Sidney, US 1957, 111 min., 35mm)
Frank Sinatra is in proto–Rat Pack form as womanizing nightclub singer Joey Evans in this adaptation of the stage production, with songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Stumbling into San Francisco after being run out of his last town for romancing the mayor’s underage daughter, Joey runs into old friend and bandleader Ned Galvin, who wrangles him a job at the Barbary Coast Club. There he meets Linda (Kim Novak), a chorus girl he falls hard for, and Vera (Rita Hayworth), a wealthy former stripper who could possibly finance his dream of running his own club. Torn between two women and his dreams and his happiness, Joey tries to juggle everything to his benefit. While Rodgers and Hart standards “I Could Write a Book” and “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” are retained from the original stage show, “The Lady Is a Tramp” and “My Funny Valentine” were added from the 1937 show Babes in Arms.