The Pajama Game (1957)

As labor and management at a pajama factory fight over over a 7 1/2 cent per hour wage increase, it can't help but affect the romance between a plant superintendent (John Raitt) and a union leader (Doris Day). This delightful musical with a leftist bent (it's reputedly one of Jean Luc Godard's favorite musicals) is that rarity. It makes the transition from Broadway to Hollywood almost intact and with one major exception, the Broadway cast gets to repeat their stage roles. The exception is Doris Day taking over from Janis Paige but it's understandable that Warners wanted one box office name for insurance and Day is hardly a compromise. It's just about a perfect musical: it's actually about something (the exploitation of workers by big business who graft profits for themselves), a terrific batch of songs by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, excellent choreography courtesy of the great Bob Fosse, solid direction split between George Abbott (who directed it on Broadway) and Stanley Donen and all performed by a dream cast. With Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr., Barbara Nichols, Reta Shaw and Thelma Pelish.