# The Pajama Game (1957 film)
**The Pajama Game** is a 1957 American musical comedy film produced and directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen for Warner Bros., adapted from the 1954 Broadway musical of the same name. It stars [Doris Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-day) as union grievance committee chair Katie "Babe" Williams and John Raitt as factory superintendent Sid Sorokin, whose romance develops across a labor dispute over a seven-and-a-half-cent hourly raise at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52316-THE-PAJAMA-GAME?cxt=filmography) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pajama_game)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | New York and Los Angeles openings 29 August 1957; general release 31 August 1957[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/52316) |
| Directors and producers | George Abbott and Stanley Donen, sharing both roles[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52316-THE-PAJAMA-GAME?cxt=filmography) |
| Source | The 1954 Broadway musical, book by Abbott and Richard Bissell, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, based on Bissell's novel *7½ Cents*[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-pajama-game-2454) |
| Cast change | Doris Day took over the role played on Broadway by Janis Paige; most of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles[5](https://www.mtishows.com/print/node/937) |
| Format | WarnerColor, 1.85:1 widescreen, RCA Sound Recording; duration listed as 101 or 108 minutes[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/52316) |
| Production cost control | Warner Bros. paid $750,000 for the movie rights, and the film was shot in under six weeks[6](https://theatreheritage.org.au/notable-productions/the-pajama-game) • [7](https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/images/18261332.0061.505.pdf) |
| Choreography | Bob Fosse's stage choreography was largely replicated on screen, his first film in full charge of the dancing[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-30-ol-177-story.html) • [9](https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1192-tinseltown-meets-the-great-white-way-classic-musicals-that-thrived-on-stage-and-screen/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
Set at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory in [Cedar Rapids, Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/cedar-rapids-iowa), the story follows the union's push for a 7½-cents-per-hour raise that would make its workers' pay match that of the wider industry, which the owner, Myron Hasler, refuses to grant. Sid Sorokin is brought in from out of town as the new factory superintendent and must oppose the workers' demand, while Babe Williams chairs the union's grievance committee. Sid's arrival also stirs the jealousy of foreman Vernon "Hinesie" Hines, who is dating bookkeeper Gladys Hotchkiss.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pajama_game) • [10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-pajama-game-1957) [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker)'s 1957 review placed the factory in Dubuque and named the union Local 343 of the Amalgamated Shirt & Pajama Workers of America.[11](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/09/07/fun-in-a-factory)
## From stage to screen
The film draws on one of Broadway's biggest hits of the 1950s. The original production opened at the [St. James Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-james-theatre) on May 13, 1954, directed by George Abbott and [Jerome Robbins](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerome-robbins) with choreography by [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse), and closed on November 24, 1956 after 1,063 performances, by which count it was only the eighth musical in Broadway history to pass 1,000 performances.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-pajama-game-2454) • [5](https://www.mtishows.com/print/node/937) Warner Bros. paid $750,000 for the movie rights.[6](https://theatreheritage.org.au/notable-productions/the-pajama-game)
**A shared direction.** According to one of [Stanley Donen](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-donen)'s biographies, Donen wanted Abbott's input in the direction to keep the film consistent with the stage play, and Abbott agreed on condition that Donen share producer responsibilities with him.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52316-THE-PAJAMA-GAME?cxt=filmography) Donen had danced in Abbott musicals in the 1940s.[6](https://theatreheritage.org.au/notable-productions/the-pajama-game) Production ran from November 28, 1956 to mid-January 1957.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/52316) Donen later described the schedule bluntly: "The picture was made in something like just under six weeks, because the studio didn't care if it was made or not."[7](https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/images/18261332.0061.505.pdf) The studio also forwent Cinemascope and stereophonic sound to save on production costs, at a time when public interest in movie musicals was beginning to wane.[7](https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/images/18261332.0061.505.pdf)
**Casting.** The film kept the original Broadway cast almost intact, with one prominent substitution: Doris Day replaced [Janis Paige](https://www.edgepedia.org/janis-paige) as Babe Williams, and [Jack Straw](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-straw) took over the role played on stage by Stanley Prager.[11](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/09/07/fun-in-a-factory) • [10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-pajama-game-1957) Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr., and [Reta Shaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/reta-shaw) appeared alongside Day and Raitt.[12](https://www.swank.com/museums/details/18464-the-pajama-game)
## Songs
The score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross includes "The Pajama Game," "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," "Steam Heat," "Hernando's Hideaway," and "7½ Cents."[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/52316) The adaptation was unusually faithful, but three stage songs were dropped: "Her Is," "A New Town Is a Blue Town," and "Think of the Time I Save." A new song, "The Man Who Intended Love," which Adler had written specially for Doris Day, was also dropped.[6](https://theatreheritage.org.au/notable-productions/the-pajama-game)
**Fosse's numbers.** The Los Angeles Times highlighted "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway," both led by Carol Haney, as the film's sizzling highlights, noting that Fosse's distinctive style of short quick movements, floor work, and hip gyration was already in evidence in what was the first full film in which he was in charge of the dancing.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-30-ol-177-story.html) The Library of America essay notes that Donen used the 1.85:1 ratio and WarnerColor to open up the action, particularly in the "Once-a-Year Day" company-picnic number, where the wide screen showcases Fosse's bounding, leapfrogging choreography built on competitive games.[9](https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1192-tinseltown-meets-the-great-white-way-classic-musicals-that-thrived-on-stage-and-screen/)
## Reception and legacy
Contemporary and later critics treated the film as a faithful, energetic transfer of the stage hit. The New Yorker's 1957 review called it "about as funny and lighthearted a film as you are likely to see in quite a while."[11](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/09/07/fun-in-a-factory) In a 2007 DVD review, Philip French of The Guardian called it "one of the great musicals, as perfect a thing as Stanley Donen ever wrought," noting the pro-union story told in the McCarthy era and praising Harry Stradling's camera work with the dancing.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/sep/02/dvdreviews) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 81% Tomatometer from 16 reviews.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pajama_game) A young [Jean-Luc Godard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-luc-godard) dubbed it "the first left-wing operetta," and Richard Brody of The New Yorker later called it one of the greatest musicals ever.[14](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-pajama-game) • [15](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-pajama-game)
The film stands as an example of the almost straight-from-Broadway subgenre of movie musicals, with its personnel imported from New York and the score only slightly pared down for a roughly two-hour running time. It is also a time capsule of the decade in which it was written, with its small-town Midwestern setting and romantic story underscoring the conflict between labor and management.[9](https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1192-tinseltown-meets-the-great-white-way-classic-musicals-that-thrived-on-stage-and-screen/) It remains available on streaming services.[16](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-pajama-game?package=plc)
## References
1. [The Pajama Game (1957), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52316-THE-PAJAMA-GAME?cxt=filmography)
2. [The Pajama Game, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pajama_game)
3. [The Pajama Game, AFI Catalog details](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/52316)
4. [The Pajama Game, Broadway Musical, Original, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-pajama-game-2454)
5. [The Pajama Game, Music Theatre International](https://www.mtishows.com/print/node/937)
6. [The Pajama Game, Theatre Heritage Australia](https://theatreheritage.org.au/notable-productions/the-pajama-game)
7. [Rebecca Burditt, "Unruly Excess: Labor, Race, and The Pajama Game," JCMS 61, no. 5 (2021–2022)](https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/images/18261332.0061.505.pdf)
8. [Doug List, "'Pajama Game' Is '50s-Style, Good Clean American Fun," Los Angeles Times, August 30, 1990](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-30-ol-177-story.html)
9. [Tinseltown meets the Great White Way, Library of America](https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1192-tinseltown-meets-the-great-white-way-classic-musicals-that-thrived-on-stage-and-screen/)
10. [The Pajama Game (1957), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-pajama-game-1957)
11. [Philip Hamburger, "Fun in a Factory," The New Yorker, August 31, 1957](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/09/07/fun-in-a-factory)
12. [The Pajama Game (1957), Swank Motion Pictures](https://www.swank.com/museums/details/18464-the-pajama-game)
13. [Philip French, DVD review, The Guardian, September 2, 2007](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/sep/02/dvdreviews)
14. [The Pajama Game, Time Out film review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-pajama-game)
15. [Richard Brody, "The Pajama Game," The New Yorker, August 6, 2021](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-pajama-game)
16. [The Pajama Game streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-pajama-game?package=plc)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Musical and music films (individual works) › Musical films of the 1930s to 1960s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license