- Director: Frank Tashlin
- AMG Rating:
- Genre: Comedy
- Movie Type: Crime Comedy, Rock Musical
- Themes: Ladder to the Top
- Main Cast: Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, Julie London, Ray Anthony, John Emery
- Release Year: 1956
- Country: US
- Run Time: 99 minutes
Plot
The inimitable writer-director Frank Tashlin once more aims his satiric barbs at modern culture (modern 1950s culture, that is) in The Girl Can't Help It. Much of the film is dominated by Edmond O'Brien as mob boss Murdock, who while serving a term in federal prison becomes a singing sensation with his hit tune "Rock Around the Rock Pile." Once he's sprung, Murdock hires impoverished agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell), not to promote his own career, but to turn his curvaceous lady friend Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield) into a star. Alas, Jerri has no singing or acting talent whatsoever, a fact that she's eager and willing to admit. A domestic type at heart, all Jerri really wants out of life is to marry Murdock, so that she can clean his house, cook his meals and raise his children. When Murdock refuses to grant her wishes, Jerri falls in love with Tom instead.Every so often, director Tashlin takes time out from the plot to poke fun at such technical marvels as CinemaScope and Technicolor, and to lampoon the American male's fixation on female bosoms and bottoms (at one point, Jayne Mansfield leans towards the camera, her cleavage exposed as far as the censors will allow, and plaintively asks Tom Ewell if he believes that she's equipped for motherhood). While much of the humor in the film is dated, The Girl Can't Help It is an invaluable record of the pop-music scene of the 1950s, featuring such guest artists as Julie London (playing Tom Ewell's dream girl), Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and his Band, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Abbey Lincoln and Eddie Cochran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Another wild, cartoon-like satire from director Frank Tashlin's '50s heyday, The Girl Can't Help It takes on the then-new rock & roll explosion. If Tashlin has fun with the subject, he must also realize that he's found the perfect musical correlative for his vision. A scene in which Jayne Mansfield wreaks havoc by simply walking a street filled with excitable men, accompanied by Little Richard's title track, is alone worth the price of admission, but it's a credit to Tashlin's skill that it's only one of many. Anchoring the absurd asides is a fine performance by Tom Ewell, who lends his protagonist a great deal of sympathy, just as Tony Randall did in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Also, as in that other film, Mansfield proves herself a far more adept comedienne than usually credited. A guest roster of bona fide rock & roll legends only solidifies the appeal of one of Tashlin's boldest and best efforts. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie GuideCast
- Tom Ewell - Tom Miller
- Jayne Mansfield - Jerri Jordan
- Edmond O'Brien - Marty Murdock
- Henry Jones - Mousie
- Julie London - Herself
Ray Anthony - Himself- John Emery - Wheeler
