These early rock & roll movies were almost uniformly lousy. Producers rushed to get a product out on the market before the fad went away. They had no feel for the music, and it shows. The only thing that redeems some of them are appearances by some of rock's early superstars.
That's where 'The Girl Can't Help It' has it over most of its contemporaries. The performances are lip-synched and often interrupted by silly action and dialog, but look at this lineup! There's Little Richard doing "Ready Teddy" and "She's Got It" as well as contributing the title song. Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps perform "Be-Bop-a-Lula." Eddie Cochran does "Twenty Flight Rock" and Fats Domino adds "Blue Monday!" Wow! Even lesser lights Eddie Fontaine and the Treniers contribute worthy performances.
The story that surrounds these musical clips (and has virtually nothing to do with them) is trivial and inconsequential. Edmund O'Brien looks to be having fun hamming it up as a mobster. Jayne Mansfield wiggles and coos her way through her part. Check out the not-so-subtle imagery of the exploding milk bottles as she walks down the street! But this movie does provide an argument for those who say she was an underrated and underappreciated actress. At the least she had a definite flair for light comedy. Could she have played this role any better? Could any other actress, including Marilyn Monroe? I think the answer is no. Tom Ewell continued his unlikely string of leading man roles opposite some of the decade's leading sex symbols, including Monroe and Sheree North.
For those of you who don't care for the hard stuff, the Platters, Julie London and Abbey Lincoln also appear.
That's where 'The Girl Can't Help It' has it over most of its contemporaries. The performances are lip-synched and often interrupted by silly action and dialog, but look at this lineup! There's Little Richard doing "Ready Teddy" and "She's Got It" as well as contributing the title song. Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps perform "Be-Bop-a-Lula." Eddie Cochran does "Twenty Flight Rock" and Fats Domino adds "Blue Monday!" Wow! Even lesser lights Eddie Fontaine and the Treniers contribute worthy performances.
The story that surrounds these musical clips (and has virtually nothing to do with them) is trivial and inconsequential. Edmund O'Brien looks to be having fun hamming it up as a mobster. Jayne Mansfield wiggles and coos her way through her part. Check out the not-so-subtle imagery of the exploding milk bottles as she walks down the street! But this movie does provide an argument for those who say she was an underrated and underappreciated actress. At the least she had a definite flair for light comedy. Could she have played this role any better? Could any other actress, including Marilyn Monroe? I think the answer is no. Tom Ewell continued his unlikely string of leading man roles opposite some of the decade's leading sex symbols, including Monroe and Sheree North.
For those of you who don't care for the hard stuff, the Platters, Julie London and Abbey Lincoln also appear.