Pal Joey, The Movie

Frank Sinatra as Joey and Kim Novak as Linda in the 1957 film version of Pal Joey, directed by George Sidney, and released by Columbia Pictures. Also starring Rita Hayworth as Vera. In the film, Linda is a showgirl, a major departure from the play.

From Mike Jackson, DVD Verdict
Pal Joey has a considerable pedigree. It was based upon a racy stage production that premiered in 1940. It had to be toned down considerably to bring it to the silver screen. It was directed by George Sidney, who had previously directed Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, and Anchors Aweigh (which featured Gene Kelly’s famous dance with Jerry of Tom and Jerry), and would go on to direct Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas. It featured music by Richard Rodgers, who had already written the music for some of the great musicals of stage and screen: The King and I, Oklahoma!, and State Fair. He would go on to write South Pacific and The Sound of Music. And of course, there’s the cast. By 1957, Rita Hayworth had been seen in 52 films, including Blood and Sand and The Lady From Shanghai. Frank Sinatra had made his mark in musicals such as High Society and Guys and Dolls, and in dramatic films such as The Man With The Golden Arm and From Here to Eternity (for which he had won an Oscar). Kim Novak had not quite made her mark yet. That would not come until the following year, when she put in a mesmerizing performance opposite James Stewart in Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Vertigo. With this kind of cast and crew, how can you go wrong?