The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
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75% of critics liked it
(12 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(1,084 ratings)
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… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Tashlin
- Written By
- Frank Tashlin, Herbert Baker
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1956 Wide
Critic Reviews
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J. Hoberman, Village Voice
A veritable Parthenon of vulgarity and a supremely unfunny comedy that is pure eau de Fifty-Six.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Sure, the scenery is splashy and sporty in color and CinemaScope. But the show is as meager and witless as a cheap pin-up magazine joke.
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Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Tashlin's savage lampoon of American notions of success and fulfillment is hilarious and genuinely appealing.
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Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
If Tashlin had had the nerve, he would have romantically paired Jayne Mansfield with Little Richard and set race relations in the United States forward by about thirty years.
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Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
A sweet little fifties gem that should be viewed for the endearing tale and of course, who doesn't love Ms. Mansfield?...
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tom Ewell
as Tom Miller
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Jayne Mansfield
as Jerri Jordan
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Edmond O'Brien
as Marty Murdock
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Julie London
as Herself
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Henry Jones
as Mousie
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Ray Anthony
as Himself
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John Emery
as Wheeler
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Barry J. Gordon
as Himself
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Juanita Moore
as Hilda
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Fats Domino
as Himself
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Eddie Fontaine
as Himself
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Abbey Lincoln
as Herself
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Johnny Olenn
as Himself
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Nino Tempo
as Himself
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Eddie Cochran
as Himself
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The Chuckles
as Themselves
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Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
as Themselves
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Little Richard
as Himself
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The Treniers
as Themselves
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The Platters
as Themselves
