Sid Sorokin has just been hired as superintendent of the Sleeptite Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the union is pushing for a raise of seven-and-one-half cents per hour to bring them in line with the industry standard. The factory's owner, Mr. Hasler, thinks the raise is unnecessary. Sid soon falls for Babe Williams, a worker in the factory and member of the employee union's leadership. At the company picnic they become a couple, but Babe worries that their roles in management and labor will drive them apart, as the workers are planning a slow-down of work. When Babe sabotages the machinery, Sid fires her, ending their relationship.
Meanwhile, the factory's time study man, "Hinesy", is unable to get over his suspicions that his girlfriend Gladys, Hasler's secretary, is unfaithful to him. Hoping to uncover Hasler's secrets, Sid takes Gladys on a date to the local hot spot, "Hernando's Hideaway." In her drunken state, Gladys lends him the key to the locked book. Sid discovers that Hasler reported the raise as having been instituted months ago and has been pocketing the difference himself. Sid threatens to send the book to the board of directors if the raise is not paid immediately.
At the union meeting that evening, amid talk of a strike, Sid arrives with Hasler, who announces he has agreed to the raise. When Babe realizes that it was Sid who engineered the raise and that he has only been attempting to avert labor strife, she returns to him. Some time later, the employees of Sleeptite put on a fashion show, with Babe and Sid, now married, sharing a single set of pajamas.
The principal cast of the Broadway musical repeated their roles for the movie, with the exception of Janis Paige, whose role is played by Doris Day; and Stanley Prager, whose role is played by Jack Straw.
As recounted in 2016 by Paige, the studio desired to use as many members of the Broadway cast as possible. But one of the leads had to be a movie star. She said that the male lead, played by Raitt, was originally offered to Frank Sinatra. Had he accepted the role, Paige said, she would have played the part that was given to Doris Day.[2]
In this film, the calendar behind Sid Sorokin's desk while he sings "Hey There" shows July 1954.
At the time of its release, it received a favorable review by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times. He compared the film favorably to the Broadway stage version, and said the film is "as good as it was on the stage, which was quite good enough for many thousand happy customers over a period of a couple of years. It is fresh, funny, lively and tuneful. Indeed, in certain respects—such as when they all go on the factory picnic—it is even more lively than it was on the stage."[4]
