When I watched this film, I was VERY surprised to see the subplot involving the jealous boyfriend (Eddie Foy Jr.) Such extreme jealousy is NOT funny--though it was sure meant to be. And late in the film when he chased his girl with a knife--tossing them right and left at her...funny?! It's pretty amazing that insane pathological violence was seen as a laugh-getter back in the day!
As for the plot of "The Pajama Game", it plays a LOT like a musical-comedy version of "Norma Rae"! Seriously....it really is very similar. Doris Day plays a spunky union rep who is pushing her company for a 7 1/2 cent an hour raise--and the pig-headed boss is willing to let the business go to pot for 7 1/2 cents. Stuck in the middle is John Raitt--who represents the company BUT who is also infatuated with Day. What's to happen? See the film.
This is a decent musical overall but not much more. Some of the songs are very familiar and quite good, while some seem inexplicable, as they seem to have nothing to do with the plot and just seemed crammed in regardless (such as "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway"). Also, when it comes to Day's singing, you might find (like I did) that it came off as brash--as she belted out tune after tune with little grace--just LOTS of power. In fact, though he never went on to star in another film, Raitt came off pretty well in this one and you wonder why he didn't get more opportunities in films--though apparently his career on stage was quite long and successful.
As for the plot of "The Pajama Game", it plays a LOT like a musical-comedy version of "Norma Rae"! Seriously....it really is very similar. Doris Day plays a spunky union rep who is pushing her company for a 7 1/2 cent an hour raise--and the pig-headed boss is willing to let the business go to pot for 7 1/2 cents. Stuck in the middle is John Raitt--who represents the company BUT who is also infatuated with Day. What's to happen? See the film.
This is a decent musical overall but not much more. Some of the songs are very familiar and quite good, while some seem inexplicable, as they seem to have nothing to do with the plot and just seemed crammed in regardless (such as "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway"). Also, when it comes to Day's singing, you might find (like I did) that it came off as brash--as she belted out tune after tune with little grace--just LOTS of power. In fact, though he never went on to star in another film, Raitt came off pretty well in this one and you wonder why he didn't get more opportunities in films--though apparently his career on stage was quite long and successful.