The Girl Can't Help It (#1120)
In 1956, Frank Tashlin brought the talent for zany visual gags and absurdist pop-culture satire that heād honed as a master of animation to the task of capturing, in glorious De Luxe Color, a brand-new craze: rock and roll. This blissfully bonkers jukebox musical tells the story of a mobsterās bombshell girlfriendāthe one and only Jayne Mansfield, in a showstopping first major film roleāand the washed-up talent agent (Tom Ewell) who seeks to revive his career by turning her into a musical sensation. The question is: Can she actually sing? A CinemaScope feast of eye-popping midcentury design, The Girl Canāt Help It bops along to a parade of performances by rock-and-roll trailblazersāincluding Little Richard, Fats Domino, Julie London, Eddie Cochran, the Platters, and Gene Vincentāwho light up the screen with the uniquely American sound that was about to conquer the world.
SPECIAL FEATURES
New high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring film scholar Toby Miller
New video essay by film critic David Cairns
Interview with filmmaker John Waters
New conversation between WFMU DJs Dave āthe Spazzā Abramson and Gaylord Fields about the music in the film
New interview with Eve Golden, author of Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldnāt Help It
On-set footage
Interviews with actor Jayne Mansfield (1957) and musician Little Richard (1984)
Episode of Karina Longworthās podcast You Must Remember This about Mansfield
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Rachel Syme and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from director Frank Tashlinās 1952 book How to Create Cartoons, with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin
In 1956, Frank Tashlin brought the talent for zany visual gags and absurdist pop-culture satire that heād honed as a master of animation to the task of capturing, in glorious De Luxe Color, a brand-new craze: rock and roll. This blissfully bonkers jukebox musical tells the story of a mobsterās bombshell girlfriendāthe one and only Jayne Mansfield, in a showstopping first major film roleāand the washed-up talent agent (Tom Ewell) who seeks to revive his career by turning her into a musical sensation. The question is: Can she actually sing? A CinemaScope feast of eye-popping midcentury design, The Girl Canāt Help It bops along to a parade of performances by rock-and-roll trailblazersāincluding Little Richard, Fats Domino, Julie London, Eddie Cochran, the Platters, and Gene Vincentāwho light up the screen with the uniquely American sound that was about to conquer the world.
SPECIAL FEATURES
New high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring film scholar Toby Miller
New video essay by film critic David Cairns
Interview with filmmaker John Waters
New conversation between WFMU DJs Dave āthe Spazzā Abramson and Gaylord Fields about the music in the film
New interview with Eve Golden, author of Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldnāt Help It
On-set footage
Interviews with actor Jayne Mansfield (1957) and musician Little Richard (1984)
Episode of Karina Longworthās podcast You Must Remember This about Mansfield
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Rachel Syme and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from director Frank Tashlinās 1952 book How to Create Cartoons, with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin
Description
In 1956, Frank Tashlin brought the talent for zany visual gags and absurdist pop-culture satire that heād honed as a master of animation to the task of capturing, in glorious De Luxe Color, a brand-new craze: rock and roll. This blissfully bonkers jukebox musical tells the story of a mobsterās bombshell girlfriendāthe one and only Jayne Mansfield, in a showstopping first major film roleāand the washed-up talent agent (Tom Ewell) who seeks to revive his career by turning her into a musical sensation. The question is: Can she actually sing? A CinemaScope feast of eye-popping midcentury design, The Girl Canāt Help It bops along to a parade of performances by rock-and-roll trailblazersāincluding Little Richard, Fats Domino, Julie London, Eddie Cochran, the Platters, and Gene Vincentāwho light up the screen with the uniquely American sound that was about to conquer the world.
SPECIAL FEATURES
New high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring film scholar Toby Miller
New video essay by film critic David Cairns
Interview with filmmaker John Waters
New conversation between WFMU DJs Dave āthe Spazzā Abramson and Gaylord Fields about the music in the film
New interview with Eve Golden, author of Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldnāt Help It
On-set footage
Interviews with actor Jayne Mansfield (1957) and musician Little Richard (1984)
Episode of Karina Longworthās podcast You Must Remember This about Mansfield
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Rachel Syme and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from director Frank Tashlinās 1952 book How to Create Cartoons, with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin