Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)

To save his career, an ad man wants a sex symbol to endorse a lipstick. But she wants something too: he has to pretend to be her new lover.

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writers:

Frank Tashlin (screen story and screenplay), George Axelrod (play)

Stars:

Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tony Randall	...	Rockwell P. Hunter / Himself / Lover Doll
Jayne Mansfield	...	Rita Marlowe
Betsy Drake	...	Jenny Wells
Joan Blondell	...	Violet
John Williams	...	Irving La Salle Jr.
Henry Jones	...	Henry Rufus
Lili Gentle	...	April Hunter
Mickey Hargitay	...	Bobo Branigansky
Georgia Carr	...	Calypso Number
Dick Whittinghill	...	T.V. Interviewer
Ann McCrea	...	Gladys
Alberto Morin	...	Frenchman
Louis Mercier	...	Frenchman

Storyline

In this spoof of the TV advertising industry, Rockwell Hunter is the low man on the totem pole at the advertising company where he works. That is, until he finds the perfect spokes model for Stay-Put lipstick, the famous actress with the oh-so-kissable lips, Rita Marlowe. Unfortunately, in exchange, Rock has to act publicly as Rita's "Loverdoll", and Rock's fiancée Jenny isn't too happy about it either.

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | actress | publicity | employer employee relationship | executive | 

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Taglines:

Jayne throws you a curve when you ask the leading question!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 July 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

La blonde explosive

Filming Locations:

Stage 8, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of Jayne Mansfield's character, "Rita Marlowe", is a combination of *Rita* Hayworth, Jean H*arlow*, and Marilyn *M*onr*oe*.

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Quotes

Breakfast Food Demonstrator: Each little Crunchie contains energy, contains pep for your growing youngsters, builds strong legs so that when they're older they can stand the long waits in the unemployment lines.

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Crazy Credits

Instead of "The End", it says "The Very Living End".

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Connections

References Peyton Place (1957)

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Soundtracks

"You Got It Made"
by Bobby Troup
Performed by Georgia Carr (uncredited)
Also sung by an off-screen vocal group

User Reviews

Sharp-Eyed 50's Satire

Advertising man makes publicity deal with voluptuous Hollywood star.

Hilarious spoof of the mammary-worshipping 1950's. The innuendos fly fast and furious so keep an ear cocked. Sure, viewers see much racier material now on TV. Still, the dialog's clever, the visuals inventive, and the cast superb. Director Tashlin's satiric eye is penetrating and years ahead, as the 1960's-like ending suggests.

That spoof of TV advertising is especially funny and still timely. Keep in mind that the TV medium was still new and so was making fun of its life-blood commercials. I love it when the jalopy crumbles under the salesman's boastful pitch. Corporations were also growing, laying out a new yardstick for success. So, Hunter's ecstatic delight with a symbolic key-to-the-washroom is not far off. And, of course, there's Rita's (Mansfield) low-hanging sex appeal, doubly emblematic of the time.

But Mansfield's also an adept comedienne. Catch how well she spoofs her own role. And were there two more droll characters than Randall and the underrated Henry Jones. Their little tete-a-tete's fairly ooze with actors' delight. Good also to see that great brassy dame Joan Blondell pick up a payday. (Catch the rather humorous shot of her coming rump-first out of the sleeping berth, which seems Tashlin's style, even with minor details.) Looks like someone also threw her the big dramatic grieving scene, maybe out of respect for her veteran status.

Anyway, the movie's a delightful glimpse of that strait-jacketed decade's more vulnerable absurdities, and in Technicolor's brightest candy box colors. Arguably, it's Tashlin's best.