O.K., so alterations had to be made to some of them, and with his death over a decade before, much of the wit is gone from them. But what remains is a clever update that will upset theatre purists (like myself) but ultimately satisfy those searching for a fun musical time (like myself).
Frank Sinatra's Joey is as far from his former co-star Gene Kelly's Joey (and Harold Lang's in the 1952 smash hit revival), but he is still a cad, using women to get ahead, if not as voraciously as the Broadway version. He's basically been tossed out of every city he's been to, most recently for breaking "legal age" laws. Now in San Francisco, he sets his sights on two beauties: a shy chorus girl (Kim Novak) and a wealthy socialite (Rita Hayworth) whose past Sinatra knows a thing or two about. This gives Hayworth the chance to take on the altered lyrics of "Zip!", initially sung by a reporter as a parody of Gypsy Rose Lee, but here made to be the former theme song of Hayworth's stage career.
Of course, the older socialite makes demands of Sinatra, funding a nightclub for him to host, but will Frankie boy remain true to purse strings or his heart? If he could write a book, it wouldn't probably be about the lady who's a tramp, most definitely more open to the one with the funny valentine. Interpolated Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs from other shows ("Babes in Arms", "On Your Toes") replace many cut from the show that was fresh to many filmgoers in 1957 because of the recent hit Broadway revival which toured for years afterwards.
As film entertainment, this is totally acceptable, but for representing a Broadway musical that was initially ahead of its time, forget about it. Sinatra is a bit of a ham here, trying to steal scenes every chance he gets, and the role of the blackmailing Gladys (here played by sex-pot Barbara Nichols) has been watered down to practically nothing. She had more to do in the same year's "The Pajama Game". Hayworth, dubbed by Jo Anne Greer, is still a beauty even if now a 40-something "has-been", yet at the end of her Columbia years, is still a sight to behold, especially as she sings "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in her bedroom and shower. When she joins Novak with long tresses for the fantasy number, "What Do I Care For a Dame?", it appears that the hands of time have rolled back the clock.
As for Novak, she would go on to better performances, but it is apparent that here, having risen to stardom several years before, she's still a novice compared to the company she keeps. Her shy, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth routine is never fully believable, and when she does a striptease to "I Could Write a Book", it is obvious that this is where it's at for this former model who was Harry Cohn's last shot for stardom . Elizabeth Patterson is witty in a small role as Novak's landlady. The direction by George Sidney is as crisp as anything he did over at MGM, but the truth of the matter is that this isn't anywhere near the classic it could have been had it stuck closer to the original intentions of John O'Hara from his scandalous book which later scandalized Broadway and made Gene Kelly a star.
Frank Sinatra's Joey is as far from his former co-star Gene Kelly's Joey (and Harold Lang's in the 1952 smash hit revival), but he is still a cad, using women to get ahead, if not as voraciously as the Broadway version. He's basically been tossed out of every city he's been to, most recently for breaking "legal age" laws. Now in San Francisco, he sets his sights on two beauties: a shy chorus girl (Kim Novak) and a wealthy socialite (Rita Hayworth) whose past Sinatra knows a thing or two about. This gives Hayworth the chance to take on the altered lyrics of "Zip!", initially sung by a reporter as a parody of Gypsy Rose Lee, but here made to be the former theme song of Hayworth's stage career.
Of course, the older socialite makes demands of Sinatra, funding a nightclub for him to host, but will Frankie boy remain true to purse strings or his heart? If he could write a book, it wouldn't probably be about the lady who's a tramp, most definitely more open to the one with the funny valentine. Interpolated Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs from other shows ("Babes in Arms", "On Your Toes") replace many cut from the show that was fresh to many filmgoers in 1957 because of the recent hit Broadway revival which toured for years afterwards.
As film entertainment, this is totally acceptable, but for representing a Broadway musical that was initially ahead of its time, forget about it. Sinatra is a bit of a ham here, trying to steal scenes every chance he gets, and the role of the blackmailing Gladys (here played by sex-pot Barbara Nichols) has been watered down to practically nothing. She had more to do in the same year's "The Pajama Game". Hayworth, dubbed by Jo Anne Greer, is still a beauty even if now a 40-something "has-been", yet at the end of her Columbia years, is still a sight to behold, especially as she sings "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in her bedroom and shower. When she joins Novak with long tresses for the fantasy number, "What Do I Care For a Dame?", it appears that the hands of time have rolled back the clock.
As for Novak, she would go on to better performances, but it is apparent that here, having risen to stardom several years before, she's still a novice compared to the company she keeps. Her shy, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth routine is never fully believable, and when she does a striptease to "I Could Write a Book", it is obvious that this is where it's at for this former model who was Harry Cohn's last shot for stardom . Elizabeth Patterson is witty in a small role as Novak's landlady. The direction by George Sidney is as crisp as anything he did over at MGM, but the truth of the matter is that this isn't anywhere near the classic it could have been had it stuck closer to the original intentions of John O'Hara from his scandalous book which later scandalized Broadway and made Gene Kelly a star.