I like John Raitt, Eddie Foy, Jr., and especially Doris Day in this movie, and I liked the songs, but the plot was somewhat controversial in this George Abbott/Stanley Donan production from Warner Brothers from 1957. The plot centers around the workers in a pajama factory putting forth endless efforts for their seven-and-a-half-cents-an-hour raise. Thus, to some extent this is a "serious" musical,though, granted, it is humorous in places, but again is a story about a sensitive issue. Too often anymore too many places go on strike for a raise, and it ends up affecting the whole economy in this country.Does this movie seem to say that fighting for raises is "cute"? I wonder. But again, the songs and occasional comedy are very entertaining, john Raitt and Doris Day click, and it does end up on a positive note. Yet, if this is supposed to be a comedy, then deal with something less controversial.

I'm currently working my way through a Doris Day box set and having now watched 10 of them this is by far the least entertaining one I've seen.I agree with those that think there are too many songs for the amount of time the films lasts but that wouldn't really matter if the songs were more memorable than they are.The biggest problem though for me is the lack of a decent story and the very unappealing leading man. It also manages to be bland and at the same time rather sinister which makes you feel a bit unsettled. The whole knife throwing at the picnic scene being the main example of that. It's possible that the songs might grow on me if I heard them a few times but I don't think I would want to watch the film again. 3/10

But the moral of the film (couldn't speak for the stage play) is 'steal from your employees by cooking the books to pocket their pay rise for six months! you won't be arrested! you won't be fired! you can keep six months of your ill-gotten gains! and then you can sing an up-beat number about great job you're doing! As long as your second in command gets the girl with your connivance, he's not going to make a fuss! I can see why people were ready for the sixties. 'Steal from the poor to line your own pockets', 'steal from people who implicitly trust you', 'make deals behind closed doors to stiff the female workforce' - well, they're not really tag-lines I can get behind, myself.Bring on North Country.

I have never seen the pajama game before this week when I managed to get a copy of the DVD. I was too young in the 50's and it hasn't been around much since then. I was a bit apprehensive, another movie I caught up with late was Flower Drum Song and I've yet to take to that. However, this was a joy from go to whoa. Yes, it was stagey and some of the numbers, although well done and entertaining were not what you would get nowadays, so that took some mental adjustment, but once the brain was in gear - WOW! Doris we know and love, Calamity Jane is a standard in this house, (I can't wait until my kids see this!) but the stage ensemble who transferred seamlessly - according to the previous writers, who have the advantage of me in that they knew the stage show - make the whole thing go with a bang. Let's face it you could have Doris sing the phone book, and it would be entertaining, so you can't judge a show by her. But Carol Haney, John Raitt (swoon, swoon) et al are fantastic and I wish I'd been born 20 years earlier and lived in New York if this is what I've missed. I loved that there were real people in this, an older lady - Reta Shaw? - and Barbara Nichols? and others. My only gripe with the whole thing is that I am sick of having women dancers groins thrust into my face during dance sequences, and just when I thought we'd managed without it, the Once a Year Day sequence let me down. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the movie, There Was A Man, Hey There, etc. I've been raving about this all week, and the songs wont go away. Now that's a sign of a good musical.