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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"The Pajama Game" (1957) is
a tired little warhorse of a musical. The plot
concerns itself with the whopping seven-and-a-half
cent raise demand put forth by the feisty
grievance committee chair person, Babe Williams
(Doris Day) on behalf of the general laborers
working for Sleep-Tite apparel manufacturers. Shop
superintendent and company man, Sid Sorokin (John
Raitt) has other plans. He's interested in the
heated discussions shared with Babe, but more from
a purely romantic angle that would have most of
today's HR departments screaming sexual
harassment. Ah, me, consider it foreplay. For very
soon in the game Babe finds herself happily
getting the hint and melting to the demands of her
boss/lover. However, when Sleep Tite's president,
Vernon Hines (Eddie Foy Jr.) decides to put his
foot down, you can bet that the whole business of
hearts and flowers goes the way of the domestic
crapper in a hurry.
Based on the modest Broadway sensation
choreographed by Bob Fosse, the film is
co-directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen --
the latter staging some brilliant set piece
musical numbers -- particularly "Hernando's
Hideaway," sung and danced by a candle-lit
processional that turns into a jazzy riff at a
local hot spot, and, the brilliantly executed
dance in the park during a company picnic, set to
the tune of "Once A Year-Day." Yet for all its
energy the film today seems to lack that essential
spark required to make it an instant classic.
Doris Day is in fine voice with "There Was a Man"
but John Raitt is a singer and romantic lead
unequal to the task. He has no presence on the
screen and is quite easily dominated by the
rambunctious Ms. Day.
Warner's DVD is a re-release, previously made
available over a year ago with different
packaging. The transfer is the same on both discs:
absolutely stunning. Colors are very bold and
rich. Shadow and contrast levels are marvelous.
Blacks are deep and solid. Whites are clean:
truly, nothing to complain about. The audio has
been remixed to 5.1 and delivers an admirable kick
during the musical sequences, but sounds rather
unnatural and strident during the rest of the
audio presentation. Dialogue is decidedly forward
sounding with no spread across the channels. The
only extra is a deleted song; "The Man Who
Invented Love." |
