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The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
In writer/director Frank Tashlin's and Fox's satirical,
cartoon-like comedy musical:
- in the introduction, the sequence in which one of
the film's stars, a bow-tied Tom Ewell, (playing
"a small-time theatrical agent" Tom Miller) opened the
film by walking out onto a open stage to speak to the camera (and
break the fourth wall) and to introduce the feature; and then, annoyed
with the small sized B/W picture, astonished audiences by literally
stretching the black edges of the boxy black and white picture -
opening the viewable picture up into the wider, rectangular Cinemascope
aspect ratio - and then he commanded that the picture change from
B/W to Technicolor - "gorgeous life-like color by DeLuxe";
he then stated the purpose of the picture: "Our story is about
music, not the music of long ago but the music that expresses the
culture, the refinement and the polite grace of the present day" --
rock 'n' roll; next to him, a juke-box played the title song: "The
Girl Can't Help It" - drowning out his further words
- the sequence of washed-up, and impoverished alcoholic
press agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell) meeting in the Park Avenue apartment
of retired ex-slot machine gangster Marty "Fats" Murdock
(Edmond O'Brien); he wanted his curvaceous blonde bimbo girlfriend/fiancee
Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield) -
"a nice, sweet, innocent dame" - to become a rock 'n' roll
star in six weeks, although she had little singing or acting talent
besides her voluptuous figure, and he hired Tom to transform her into
a singing star: "That's where you come in. You're gonna make her
into a star...So you got nothin' to worry about except to concentrate
on buildin' the dame into a big canary. Only remember, hands off, like
you got the rep for...Tommy boy, I'm puttin' her in your hands, figuratively
speaking. You got six weeks to have her a star"; when Tom responded
that six weeks was too short a time: "Six weeks? Oh, easy, Fats.
It takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day," Fats reassured him: "She
ain't Rome. What we're talkin' about is already built! Right?"
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- the sequence of Jerri's spectacular hip-swinging
walk down the street (wearing a tight-fitting dark blue dress and
broad-rimmed hat) - and the racy reactions, causing ice in an iceman's
(Henry Kulky) delivery truck to melt - and her swiveling moves
up an apartment stoop's steps past a milk bottle delivery man (Richard
Collier) - causing the milk in the bottle to overflow frothily
from the top (an ejaculatory metaphor), and a downstairs apartment
neighbor's eyeglasses shattering (accompanied by the film's title
theme song sung by Little Richard)
- the scene of Jerri's climbing to the second floor
for her first meeting with recently-hired agent Tom Miller; after
entering his bedroom, she held up two recently-delivered glass bottles
with fresh milk to her gigantic, well-endowed chest - one in front
of each breast - an obvious visual gag, and greeted him: "Good
morning, Mr. Miller!" - he was aghast until she explained:
"But Mr. Murdock sent me over....So you can start working on me"
- the scene at breakfast when she was cooking, and
she provocatively leaned forward while pouring his coffee and serving
the meal to tell Tom about how she was ready for domesticity and
motherhood with Murdock: "I'm domestic. I hope you like eggs
souffle....It's not exactly a breakfast, but it's eggs. I figured
you for strong coffee... It's one of my favorite pasttimes... cooking...
keeping house, you know, keeping everything neat. How's your souffle?...I'm
glad you like it, Mr. Miller... You know, sometimes I think I'm mixed
up...You should see me in the morning without makeup. I'll show you
sometime. 'Pretty' is just how good you apply your base...I just
want to be a wife and have kids. But everyone figures me for a sexpot.
No one thinks I'm equipped for motherhood!"
- the scene of Jerri's attention-getting walk to a night
club's powder room in a stunning red dress) during Little Richard's
rendition of "She's Got It," when Tom instructed her about
'Operation Powder Room': "Take your stole off and go to the
powder room...Just visit a while. But on the way there and back,
walk by the reservation desk"; shortly later, he spoke about
the successful strategy: "See how the strategy pans out? The
first time out, and already four owners are drooling over you"
- the sequence of the ethereal-ghostly appearance of
torch singer Julie London (as Herself) to tipsy Tom Miller alone
in his bachelor pad one evening - she was his former client and the
object of his unrequited love; he placed the 33 rpm record "Julie
Is Her Name" on his turntable, to play her signature tune "Cry
Me a River"; as her song began to play, he poured himself a
drink in the kitchen and imagined her slowly materializing before
his eyes - haunting and tormenting him in various locations and in
suggestive and provocative poses in various costumes throughout his
two-story home - he was unable to escape from her; she was visible
at his kitchen table, on his living room couch, again in the kitchen,
lounging on his bed, standing by his fireplace mantle, and standing
partway up his staircase; as she sang the last few lines at his front
door hallway, she slowly vanished from sight; he sadly sank down
onto his hands at the top of the stairs as the song ended
The Haunting Julie London: "Cry Me a River"
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- the musical performance of "Spread the Word" in
front of a shimmering dark blue curtain in the Late Place Club
by Abbey Lincoln (as Herself), and many other classic musical performances
from rock icons, such as Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps' "Be
Bop A Lula", Fats Domino's "Blue Monday", and Little
Richard and His Band's "Ready Teddy" (standing at a piano)
- in the finale, Jerri's singing (dubbed) of the dreamy "Every
Time It Happens" (during the Rock 'N' Roll Jubilee) when accompanied
by Ray Anthony and his band
- the film's Porky Pig-like cartoonish ending in which
male star- gangster Fats Murdock stepped through the enclosing frame
of the final shot, walked forward through the black, now-empty space
to directly address the audience: "Don't listen to him, folks.
I'll see ya outside in the lobby when you leave. I'll sing anything
you want. I'm a Jim-Dandy singer."
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Opening: From B/W to Color
The Jukebox
The Entrance of Jerri Jordan
Milk Bottles: Lactating Joke
"No one thinks I'm equipped for motherhood"
Little Richard: "Ready Teddy"
Jerri - "She's Got It"
Abbey Lincoln: "Spread the Word"
Jerri: "Every Time It Happens"
Ending: "Don't listen to him, folks"
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