Although a star in her own right, Jayne Mansfield was always considered a second-string Marilyn Monroe (of course, Mansfield had her own second-string challenger in the form of Mamie Van Doren). Somewhat showier than Marilyn, Jayne burst onto the scene as a full-fledged star in THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, an early rock and roll big-budget musical. In the film, Jayne plays the moll of gangster Edmond O'Brien, who delivers to Tom Ewell the ultimatum to make Mansfield a singing star -despite her lack of musical ability. Some major musical acts contribute, including Little Richard, who provides the title tune. Directed by Frank Tashlin, the film is an absolute scream, a live-action cartoon. This was followed up by the even more berserk WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? the very next year. This time around, Mansfield was teamed with Tony Randall -who, in my favorite bit, interrupts the movie to provide a commercial break for fans of television! Jayne even got to bring along Mickey Hargitay to play a TV Tarzan. Although Mansfield was a star until her tragic end in a car crash, she never quite topped this early period of her career.
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