Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Pajama Game Blu-ray Movie Review

An imperfect union.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 22, 2021

Based on Richard Bissell's 1953 sophomore novel 7½ Cents (and, in turn, the popular Broadway adaptation released the following year), George Abbott and Stanley Donen's The Pajama Game is a fun and featherweight romantic drama starring popular singer-turned-actress Doris Day (Romance on the High Seas). She portrays Katherine "Babe" Williams, a worker and union leader at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory, whose proposed 7½-cent raise for the workers doesn't go over well with tightwad factory manager Myron Hasler (Ralph Dunn). He's just hired a new superintendent in handsome Sid Sorokin (John Raitt), who aims to keep "the girls" in line but falls in love with Babe after their very first meeting. And though business and pleasure rarely mix well, at least we get few catchy musical numbers out of it.

Bolstered by a solid cast and terrific choreography by the great Bob Fosse (whose particular style was a huge influence on Michael Jackson, as seen during show-stopping performances such as "Steam Heat"), The Pajama Game's greatest overall strengths are its lightweight atmosphere and breezy vibe, which makes it a decently effective gateway drug to classic Hollywood musicals. Everyone seems almost perfectly suited to their roles: Day shines in the lead and John Raitt isn't all that far behind, nor are excellent supporting players like Eddie Foy Jr. (as knife-throwing floor supervisor Vernon Hines), Reta Shaw (as Mabel, who shares a charming duet with him), and Carol Haney (as Gladys Hotchkiss), whose head-thumping drunk act during a night at "Hernando's Hideaway" is one of the film's best bits. Musical performances are around every corner and, though a handful of them do almost nothing to advance the story, most everything is all in good fun and, at the very least, shows off several of the cast members' stage backgrounds.

Still, The Pajama Game offers little more than the sum of its admittedly very capable parts, as the film rarely achieves the level of sublime cinematic magic you'd expect from something with this kind of pedigree. The core "will they or won't they" romance between Babe and Sid just doesn't have enough spark to build a feature-length show around, and secondary plot details are pushed so far into the background to make enough room that The Pajama Game ultimately feels like a collection of good to great scenes stuck together. It's still very much worth (re)discovering -- and probably worth owning -- for the performances and choreography alone, whether you're seeing them for the first or fiftieth time. But the end result, while certainly entertaining on its own terms, just doesn't feel like a genuine career highlight for anyone involved, save for Bob Fosse and the songwriting duo of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, equally famous for their contributions to Damn Yankees (also directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen) later in the decade.

It's a pretty fun show regardless, and one that's more impressive than ever thanks to its new Blu-ray presentation from Warner Archive, who continue to impress with each subsequent catalog title. The 1080p transfer, sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, is some of their best work to date and even the lossless audio track, though limited by its source material, plays much more brightly than its DVD counterpart. It's yet another fine package that die-hard fans will flip for, but anyone with a soft spot for musicals should at least give this one a spin.

The Pajama Game Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Pajama Game is inarguably the best-looking classic film that mostly takes place in a warehouse. Its colorful lighting schemes and vivid costume design -- which also includes pajamas just sitting in the background, I guess -- are a visual delight, and the not-always-reliable "Warnercolor" (a re-branded name of the single-strip Eastmancolor process made popular with earlier WB films like Mister Roberts) has likely never been put to better use. This Blu-ray's 1080p transfer is advertised as being sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, and it shows: almost every scene absolutely sparkles with fine detail and excellent color saturation, bolstered by plenty of natural film grain and Warner Archive's typically meticulous manual cleaning. Depth is extremely good during indoor and outdoor scenes alike, the latter of which includes a long but very eventful day at the company's annual union-sponsored picnic.

Tightly framed in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the compositions aren't given much headroom -- especially in contrast with its open-matte 4x3 presentation, an option on Warner Bros.' old DVD but not included here -- with the trade-off being lots more information on the left and right sides. However, the fundamental strengths of this 1080p transfer are second-to-none, as WAC's Blu-ray easily offers The Pajama Game's finest home video presentation to date.

As usual, Warner Archive has uploaded a few videos to their YouTube channel showing off the new restoration, including the three-minute opening credit sequence and this early exchange between Babe and Sid.

The Pajama Game Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sadly, the film's mono audio can't quite measure up to the visuals... but it's due to format limitations, not a disc defect. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track wrings out plenty of sonic detail, from show-stopping musical numbers to crowded conversations on the factory floor, which regularly pushes this split one-channel track to the absolute limit. Dialogue is mostly clear but sometimes buried in the mix with a soft echo, whereas the lip-synced musical numbers stand out more strongly in direct contrast. Of course, the music itself is largely full and dynamic, playing nicely without much in the way of high-end distortion or compression issues. These moments (of which there are many) provide the track's most memorable moments, but the somewhat inconsistent nature of its source quality just can't be avoided.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, which includes all the song lyrics. Combined with the "Song Selection" feature included as an extra, this gives sing-along fans something to look forward to.

The Pajama Game Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. Bonus features are kept to a minimum and seem to mirror those found on earlier DVD editions.

• Song Selection - Jump directly to one of The Pajama Game's many musical numbers including the Prelude, title track, "Racing With the Clock", "I'm Not At All In Love", "I'll Never Be Jealous Again", "Hey There", "Once-A-Year-Day", "Small Talk", "There Once Was a Man", "Racing With the Clock" (Slowdown), the excellent "Steam Heat", "Hey There" (Reprise), "Hernando's Hideaway", "7½ Cents", and "The Pajama Game" (Reprise).

  All fifteen songs include optional English subtitles when applicable.

• Deleted Musical Sequence (3:02) - This unused scene features the short song "The Man Who Invented Love", originally written by Richard Adler and performed by Doris Day. Unlike the main feature, it looks to be sourced from an unrestored SD master.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:17) - This cheeky vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Pajama Game Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

George Abbott and Stanley Donen's The Pajama Game isn't exactly a top-tier Hollywood musical but it is loaded with catchy songs, fine performances, and great choreography by Bob Fosse. It feels a little padded as the musical numbers routinely outshine the plot (especially during the second act), which feels as stitched together as a pair of Sleeptite pajamas. Still, it's a mostly light and fun affair that has its charms, not to mention terrific visuals. The latter gets plenty of support on Warner Archive's outstanding Blu-ray. which as usual goes all-out to deliver a fine-looking picture that purists will really enjoy. It's recommended for die-hard fans but others might want to try before they buy.