How others will see it. Although Hayworth receives top billing, this is a Sinatra vehicle. The Voice is in great form, and while his numbers are too short and too few, the songs are first rate, and include the standard "The Lady is a Tramp."
Knockout Novak also gets plenty of screen time, and if you can overlook her prematurely white hair (yes, I know it's peroxide), she provides major eye candy. Hayworth is burdened with an unflattering hairstyle, but your mileage may vary.
The plot is watered down from the notorious novel and stage play, to the point where it becomes a tame romance between persistent Sinatra and cool Novak. Later, Sinatra becomes Hayworth's kept man, but being an Alpha Male, continues to stir the pot with Novak. Novak is frosty to Sinatra while there's no serious competition, but once a rich and glamorous woman turns his head, Novak's siren call takes on an aggessive pitch.
So, this is an unmemorable movie with two memorable stars, Sinatra and Novak. Your desire to see them at the peak of their powers will determine your interest in Pal Joey. There's also a cute little doggie; always a family favorite as well as a tangible link between our two stars.
How I felt about it. The story is never believable at any time, but least credible of all are the show numbers. Sinatra's voice and the band are top notch, but stage productions require rehearsed choreography. Yet Sinatra walks into the middle of a complex girlie number he's never seen, and jumps in without missing a stitch. He drags Novak onstage for a dance, and gets rusty Hayworth to perform to a song that the band might not even know.
Besides Novak and Hayworth's throwing themselves at Sinatra once the competition between them is on, one notices that the character of Ned the bandleader disappears. One wonders why Sinatra's dream is to run his own nightclub, when his talent is as a singer. And if all the showgirls develop crushes on crooner Sinatra, where is the jealousy between them? Jealousy is limited to Hayworth, who has no clue how to handle her kept man. Giving him orders is certain to make him rebel.
The most curious scene involves a drunken Novak, who is either fighting for her job or her man (or both?). She isn't slurred, shows no bitterness, and passes out after a first kiss. Must have been a letdown.
The second most curious scene has Novak performing a classy strip routine on stage, which Sinatra cuts off before she parades her underwear. If good girls can't undress except under the sanction of marriage, she needs liberation and not fatherly disapproval from Sinatra.