The play is about workers in an Iowa pajama factory whose owner wishes to refuse them a raise and to this end hires a new site manager told to keep it from happening until the new guy falls for one of the three elected representatives of the staff. Broadway performers cast in the film include four of the leads - John Raitt, Eddie Foy, Jr., Carol Haney and Reta Shaw. Doris Day in the film takes the part played on Broadway by Janis Page as one of the three union leaders. A fine memory of life in these times for those who lived through them but so dated today it may not please every movie buff. Its two production numbers, Once A Year Day and Seven And A Half cents are well done on screen.

Pajama factory workers debate striking for a wage increase while the head of their grievance committee romances the new superintendent in this bright and colourful musical starring Doris Day. The imaginative dance sequences are choreographed by Bob Fosse and with memorable tunes throughout (there is a song number at least once every five minutes), there is hardly a boring moment to be had. The plot, however, leaves more than a little to be desired. Some have described the movie as musical version of 'Norma Rae' - a description that is pretty much on the mark - however, the need for the workers to strike here never seems anywhere near as strong. Their working conditions are actually very decent, their desired wage increase is quite minimal, and the frequency of bright song/dance numbers detracts from any sense of urgency in terms of their demands being met. Appealing a couple as Day and lead actor John Raitt are, the two of them also fall in love far too quickly for credibility with barely a mention of the unethical nature of their relationship. There is, however, a lot to like in the way the tension at work conflicts with their romance, culminating in Raitt having to make a very hard quick decision at one point. Raitt is also surprisingly decent for a first time lead actor, though the film's best moments go to trained dancer Carol Haney in (apparently) the only talking role of her movie career. Her creatively choreographed "Steamed Heat" number is a particular highlight, though "Hernando's Hideaway" deserves top marks for her best song.

Most of the film-goers of the early 21st century don't realize probably the biggest film and music star of the 1950's was Doris Day. Doris Day's music albums sold more copies than any other artist's music during the period (even Elvis Presley), and her films were some of the most popular, beating out Marilyn Monroe by leaps and bounds. (It wasn't until after her death that Monroe became the most iconic female movie star of the era, overshadowing Day.) Doris Day was the perpetual Hollywood virgin, the direct antithesis of Marilyn Monroe.The Pajama Game is typical Doris Day musical fair, a film version of the Broadway hit musical. Workers at a clothing factory which produce, you guessed it, sleepwear, are tired of the bad working conditions and low pay. Katherine "Babe" Williams (Doris Day) is one of the factory workers but she's also involved with the union leadership which threatens to strike if working conditions aren't improved and they don't receive a raise to bring them in line with industry standards. Enter Sid Sorokin (John Raitt), the new floor manager. Day and Raitt begin to fall in love (no surprise there), but they're on opposite sides of the dispute: Day on the worker's side and Raitt on the management side.The typical Hollywood "W", a shape representing the up's and down's of a story, forms how the storyline progresses. At first things begin to get better for everyone involved with the arrival of Raitt as a good floor manager. However, when their requests are still not met, Day and her fellow workers begin to pull stunts of sorts to compel the management to agree to their demands. However, Raitt asserts his authority on the worker's floor and Day is forced to take the other side. All the while, the head honcho of the factory, Myron Hasler, has no intention of bending to the will of the factory workers in stereotypical fashion.Overall, the Pajama Game is really designed for the hardcore and fiercely loyal Doris Day fan. The music is a bit corny and the dance sequences go on way too long. Sure, there's nothing offensive about the Pajama Game, as the point it makes about workers and management is not terribly deep. The ending is as you would expect it, although there's a kind of fashion show at the end which is certainly cute. Even by Doris Day standards, this isn't one of her better offerings.

Employees at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory are ready to go on strike if they don't get a raise of (get this) 7 1/2 cents an hour! A new manager (played by John Raitt--Bonnie's dad) is hired to cool things down and falls in love with one of the employees (Doris Day). But will the salary dispute tear them apart?The plot is OK and some of the dated aspects are amusing--the 7 1/2 cent raise and a company picnic that offers free beer! The songs are great (I love "Hernando's Hideaway" and "Hey There"), Raitt and Day can sing beautifully and the production numbers are full of energy and color. The only negatives here are that Raitt and Day have zero sexual chemistry together and Raitt isn't the best actor...but when he sings all is forgiven. For some reason this is pretty unknown but it's a very good 50s musical.