I just wanted to watch musicals because I was having a bad day. I was going to watch Carousel but then it started with an introduction from PBS that was like, "Based on the tragic opera, this musical deals with themes of brutality and loss," and I was like Nope. Not today, Satan. Then I saw the Pajama Game, which I had also never seen, and thought, Ah, Doris Day. She won't let me down. It's about unions in the garment industry trying to get a 7.5 cent raise from management. It's basically The Garment Jungle in Technicolor.
Sid Sorokin (John Raitt) has landed a job at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory as a supervisor. An altercation with a worker brings him to the attention of Babe Williams (Doris Day), the union grievance committee head. Sparks fly but they are on opposite sides of the current simmering debate. The union wants a seven and a half cent raise and the management doesn't want to give it.
Seven and a half cents. Not percent. Less than a dime.
So, anyway, Bob Fosse choreographed the musical numbers, which include "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway", two very famous Broadway show tunes. If you're a fan of classic musicals, you've probably already seen this, but if you haven't, it's on Amazon Prime. It's very much a product of its time. At least one number is cringingly racist towards Indigenous Americans and the cast is as white as Wonder Bread. Forewarned is forearmed.
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