The Girl Can't Help It (1956)

A gangster hires a down-and-out press agent to make his airheaded girlfriend a singing star.

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writers:

Frank Tashlin (screenplay), Herbert Baker (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, Edmond O'Brien

Won 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Ewell	...	Tom Miller
Jayne Mansfield	...	Jerri Jordan
Edmond O'Brien	...	Marty 'Fats' Murdock
Julie London	...	Herself
Ray Anthony	...	Himself
Barry Gordon	...	Barry the Paperboy
Henry Jones	...	Mousie
John Emery	...	Wheeler
Juanita Moore	...	Hilda
Fats Domino	...	Himself
The Platters	...	Themselves
Little Richard and His Band	...	Themselves (as Little Richard and his Band)
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps	...	Themselves (as Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps)
The Treniers	...	Themselves
Eddie Fontaine	...	Himself

Storyline

A down-and-out gangster hires an alcoholic press agent to make his blonde bombshell girlfriend a recording star in 6 weeks. But what is he going to do when he finds out that she has no talent? And what is going to happen when the two fall in love?

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Plot Keywords:

singer | based on novel | star | gangster | blonde bombshell | 

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Taglines:

BABY, IT'S THE GREATEST! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Schlagerpiraten

Filming Locations:

Westward Beach - Westward Beach Road, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 10 seconds

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Goofs

In Toby Miller's commentary in the 2006 DVD release of "The Girl Can't Help It", he erroneously says that Little Richard is singing the song "The Girl Can't Help It" in his appearance with his band *in the nightclub scene*. Little Richard is actually singing his hit titled "Ready Teddy" in that scene.

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Quotes

Barry the paperboy: [runs in with newspaper] Mr. Miller, look, you're in Earl Wilson and Louis Sobol.
Tom Miller: Made it, eh?
[reads from gossip column]
Tom Miller: "At the Trianon, Tom Miller pubbed it with a new find. Her name's a secret, but the rest of her isn't."
Barry the paperboy: Saw her yesterday; she's something!
Tom Miller: She's a girl, Barry. Just a girl.
Barry the paperboy: If she's a girl, then I don't know what my sister is!

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Connections

Referenced in First Daughter (2004)

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Soundtracks

Spread the Word
(uncredited)
Written by Bob Russell
Sung by Abbey Lincoln at the Late Place Club

User Reviews

Love It Or Hate It?

Scenes in this movie were either very interesting and funny or they were very stupid and annoying.There was no middle ground.

THE GOOD - One of the interesting parts was seeing some of the early rock performers such as Gene Vincent and Bluecaps, Fats Domino, The Platters and several others. It also was nice to see Julie London in one number. The humor was mainly provided by Tom Ewell, who played a role similar to the one he played in the much-funnier "Seven-Year Itch."

THE BAD - Annoying was Edmund O'Brien, who was parodying a loud-mouth gangster. Well, he was so loud and abrasive it became offensive after just a short time. Mansfield was okay. She was in the movie, obviously, for one thing: show off her mammoth breasts which, with the pointed bras of the day, looked just plain weird and unreal (yeah, I know...they were real!)

Despite the patches of humor and music, the movie as a whole dragged. It was hard to keep interest in this. For its time period, however - the mid '50s - I'm sure this movie must have freaked out a lot of people.