Jayne Mansfield Movies
Born Vera Jane Palmer, Jayne Mansfield was the daughter of a lawyer who died when Mansfield was six, at which time her mother moved the family from Pennsylvania to Dallas. While attending Southern Methodist University, the 16-year-old Palmer married student Paul James Mansfield. Lacking the funds for day-care service, Jayne attended acting classes in Los Angeles with her infant daughter strapped on her back like a papoose.After briefly working as a candy vendor in an L.A. theater, Mansfield caught the eye of a TV producer. It was difficult for Mansfield, whose measurements were 40-21-35, not to gain attention in her subsequent TV and film works. More famous as a cheesecake model than an actress, by 1955 Mansfield first gained critical plaudits for her classic performance as a Monroe-like movie starlet in George Axelrod's Broadway play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. This role won her a contract at 20th Century Fox, where she fell within the sphere of comedy director Frank Tashlin, who regarded Mansfield as a "living cartoon" and directed her accordingly in the film version of Rock Hunter and in 1956's The Girl Can't Help It. Despite good dramatic performances in such films as The Wayward Bus (1957), Kiss Them for Me (1957), and The Burglar (1957), Mansfield was forever typed as a parody Marilyn Monroe.
When not acting, the publicity-hungry Mansfield aggressively sought out any press agent or photo op that was handy, as did her second husband, muscleman Mickey Hargitay, to whom she was married from 1958 through 1963 (their daughter, Mariska Hargitay, became a busy actress in her own right). Mansfield's third husband, Matt Cimber, became her agent, and guided her through a series of increasingly tawdry projects like Promises, Promises (1963), wherein Mansfield became the first major actress to appear nude onscreen. Her later career dwindled into cheap European films, slapped-together American quickies like Single Room Furnished (1965), and plenty of nightclub and summer-theater work. While driving to a club engagement in New Orleans, 34-year-old Jayne Mansfield was killed (but not decapitated, contrary to popular belief) in an automobile accident. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Ed Stander (Robert Morse), with the help of an all-star cast, teaches Paul Manning (Walter Matthau) the fine art of philandering in A Guide for the Married Man. Paul, happily married to sexy Ruth (Inger Stevens), has no burning desire to cheat, but Ed makes the prospect sound very attractive. Finally taking the "big step" with a glamorous brunette after months of careful preparation, Paul finds that he loves his wife way too much to betray her -- while the ever-careful Ed ends up in divorce court. Among the myriad of "advisors" peppered throughout Guide for the Married Man are Art Carney, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Jayne Mansfield, Terry-Thomas, and Carl Reiner. The best guest-star vignette features Joey Bishop as a man caught in bed with another woman by his wife -- whereupon he calmly puts on his clothes, straightens up the room, and quietly responds to his wife's outrage by saying "What bed? What girl?" Adapted by Frank Tarloff from his book of the same name, Guide for the Married Man was directed by Gene Kelly, who makes a cameo "appearance" of his own as a voice on a TV set. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, (more)
A fortune in cash is the bait that draws some would-be criminals into a feeding frenzy in this offbeat but stylish crime drama. Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and his girlfriend, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield), have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, stealing one million dollars in American currency as it's being transported from Europe back to the United States. Hiding out in a small, run-down hotel on the Mediterranean coast, Lylle and Darlene plan to hire a boat and make their way back to the States, where they can start spending some of their loot. However, Darlene's abundance of enthusiasm and lack of common sense cause Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), the manager of the hotel, to suspect that she and Lylle are responsible for the robbery that's been all over the news. Livio quickly hatches a plan to steal the fortune from Lylle and cover his tracks, but Livio's hardly the only one looking for the loot, with his spinster sister, Sandra (Dody Heath), greedy butler Dolph (Ivor Salter), and eccentric heiress Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) all conniving to get their hands on the cash. Dog Eat Dog (aka La Morte Vestita di Dollar) was released in the United Kingdom as When Strangers Meet, the title of the novel that was the basis for its screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
- 1955
Hell on Frisco Bay is a slam-bang return to the sort of gangster fare turned out by the yard at Warner Bros. in the 1930s. Alan Ladd plays ex-cop Steve Rollins, who serves five years on a manslaughter rap. Upon his release, Rollins dedicates himself to finding the real killer. He soon learns that the man responsible for the frame-up was Victor Amato (Edward G. Robinson), the crime kingpin who rules the roost on the docks of San Francisco. Hoping to keep the heat off his operation, Amato "invites" Rollins to join his gang. Had Rollins accepted at this point, the film would have been over; instead, he doggedly pursues the gang boss with the help of such allies as cast-off gangster moll Kay Stanley (Fay Wray) and police lieutenant Dan Bianco (William Demarest). Amato is so desperate at one point that he orders the murder of his own nephew; surely a man with this sort of temperament is doomed to a horrible demise, and that's just what happens. Joanne Dru costars as Rollins' estranged wife Marcia, who believes in her husband but doesn't relish the notion of his being shot full of holes by Amato's goons. At the time of the film's release, the critics went overboard in their approval of Edward G. Robinson's full-blooded reprisal of the sort of role which made him famous (Robinson himself hated the part, but needed the work). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1960
This was one of the earlier movies to follow from Italy in the wake of the success of Hercules starring Steve Reeves, and marked an attempt to add some star power to the notion of a mucleman movie, not so much in the title role as the female lead. Mickey Hargitay, a body-builder, plays the Greek hero, while his then-wife, Jayne Mansfield, then one of Hollywood's reigning sex queens, has two roles in the film. Hercules learns of the murder of his wife and seeks vengeance, only to learn that the kingdom from which the murderers came is besieged from within, by a usurper to the throne. Jayne Mansfield portrays the king's daughter, who sympathizes with Hercules and opposes the usurper; she and Hercules are parted when he is wounded battling a three-headed dragon and given aid by a group of Amazons, who bring him to their queen (also played by Mansfield). She proceeds to woo the strongman, not knowing that she has a unique way of terminating her relationships -- transforming her lovers into trees. Hercules manages to escape with his life while the queen is done in by one of her victims. He eventually returns to free the princess and her kingdom. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mickey Hargitay
- 1955
Once again Edward G. Robinson takes a script from the trash bin and makes it into a palatable movie. A remake of The Mouthpiece, this is the story of a district attorney with a conscience. When he discovers that a man he's sent to the electric chair was innocent, he takes to the bottle. His assistants encourage him to get off the booze, stop prosecuting and, instead, become a defense attorney. He agrees but his first client is a notorious gangster who has been in business for so long because of leaks from Robinson's own office when he was the district attorney. Push comes to shove and soon, through multiple machinations and mishaps, Robinson becomes the defender of his former assistant on charges of murder. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, (more)
- 1962
This drama, based on a true story, chronicles the exploits of a gorgeous Greek actress who decrees that she will marry the winner of the 26-mile marathon at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens. It will be the first time the race has been run in 2,672 years. The actress does this because she is sure that her true-love will win. The real winner is a poor shepherd. Fortunately, the shepherd would rather marry another. The film contains actual Olympic Games footage. Much of the story was shot on location. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Trax Colton, (more)
Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe's blond competition in the late '50s and early '60s, stars in this crime melodrama as Billy, the leader of a gang of thieves. She charms Jim (Anthony Quayle), a widower with a young daughter, into joining the group effort on a particular robbery. After the heist, Jim personally stashes away their stolen loot while she leads the police off in another direction. But the unfortunate new recruit ends up in the clinker for five years while the others go free. Once out of jail, Jim is brought up short -- Billy has allied herself with another man and her gang has money to spare -- though not enough money, they decide. Against Billy's wishes, the gang takes drastic measures to get at Jim's hidden cache of loot from the robbery that sent him to jail. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Anthony Quayle, (more)
Luther Davis' racy wartime comedy Kiss Them for Me was expurgated a bit for the 1957 film version. Cary Grant, Ray Walston and Larry Blyden portray three navy war heroes who've been booked on a morale-building "vacation" in San Francisco. Eluding their ulcerated public relations officer (Werner Klemperer), the trio arranges a wild party with plenty of pretty girls. Cary Grant is paired with knockout Suzy Parker, an icy socialite who eventually thaws under his charms. Also on hand is Jayne Mansfield, playing a "good time girl" whose profession was a bit more explicit in the original play; the role was originated by Judy Holliday, who brought a wistfulness to the character that Ms. Mansfield couldn't quite manage. TV sitcom fans will get a kick out of the supporting cast of Kiss Them For Me: Ray Walston, later star of My Favorite Martian plays a libertine navy officer; Werner Klemperer, shorn of the accent he'd use as Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, is hilarious as the flustered p.r. man; and Richard Deacon (Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show) pops up unbilled as a dour businessman who can't understand the war-hero mystique. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Suzy Parker, (more)
- 1964
Made in Italy in 1964 as L'Amore Primitivo, the year after Promises, Promises and a full four years before The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield and her unfortunate death, this is one of the rarest-if not the rarest-Jayne Mansfield movies of all time. The film opens to the immortal strains of "Bella Come Te" as Mansfield-playing herself-checks into a fancy hotel and within five minutes comes up with at least 10 different excuses to disrobe, shower and prance around almost naked. Franco and Ciccio (at the time Italy's top funnymen, who also appeared in Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs and may very well be the two scariest Jerry Lewis imitators of all time) play horny bellhops spying on Mansfield's every move. She eventually settles down, sets up a projector in her room, and invites a very square looking professor into her room to view her new documentary/shock-u-mentary. In the grand tradition of 'mondo' movies Mansfield starts narrating the action as the screen unfolds to show topless Asian women, real animal sacrifices, interracial sex and oriental cock-fighting. Suddenly a witch doctor pounds the drums while a bevy of young girls do the topless Temptation Dance. Then the movie within a movie veers off into hallucination land as Mansfield becomes the native girl and does a breast twirling dance for the drum pounding Franco and Ciccio, featuring one of them twirling his eyebrows in direct sync to Mansfield's breasts. When queried as to the validity of all this wild documentary footage, filmmaker Mansfield espouses that all men, deep down inside, are actually primitive lusting animals. In the explosive finale, she proves her point. While performing a striptease, the bellhops go beserk and the professor turns into a drooling, sex-crazed werewolf. ~ Cub Koda, Rovi
- 1967
Less a straight documentary than a freeform essay film, Robert Carl Cohen's Mondo Hollywood entertains its audience by profiling a series of "mod" L.A.-area individuals in the late '60s. The film flows freely and loosely from one subject into another and thus emerges as a series of vignettes on colorful lifestyles in Southern California. The individuals profiled in this film include: Dr. Richard Alpert, a professor booted from Harvard in 1963 for his work with Timothy Leary on the Psilocybin Project, which involved studying the effects of LSD; Rudi Gernreich, the gay rights activist and fashion designer notorious for bringing bare breasts en vogue with his topless bikinis; Jay Sebring, the phenomenally successful celebrity hairstylist/salon entrepreneur and onetime boyfriend of Sharon Tate, who was butchered two years later (along with Tate) by members of the Manson family; avant-garde music composer Bobby Beausoleil, the Kenneth Anger artistic collaborator imprisoned for decades because of his onetime involvement with Charles Manson; sculptress Valerie Porter; sex symbol and screen siren Jayne Mansfield; and the wickedly funny rocker Frank Zappa. The film takes its title from the series of Mondo shockumentaries that director Gualtiero Jacopetti began in the early '60s with Mondo Cane. Mike Curb compiled the psychedelic soundtrack. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- 1962
Frank Pagano, mobster and head of Pagano Enterprises, needs to lose $500,000 within thirty days to avoid paying a large sum in income taxes. Deciding on an ingenious plot to produce a flop television pilot, he hires Philipe Fontaine (Maurice Chevalier), a fizzled star who can no longer find work. Philipe's screen-girl is to be played by Angela (Jayne Mansfield), a prostitute aspiring to be an actress--who also happens to be quite close to Frank. Though Philipe tries his best to make what he can of the role, the project seems doomed under the direction of inept Pandowski (Akim Tamiroff). When Philipe finds out what is really going on, he sneaks a copy of the project to the Venice Film Festival as a comedy feature--slightly setting Frank's plan askew. Shot in Rome and Venice, this comedy based on a story by independent producer Ron Gorton took three years to finish. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Michael Connors, (more)
Pete Kelly's Blues is arguably the most stylish of director/star Jack Webb's theatrical features. Beginning with a brilliantly evocative pre-credits prologue, wherein we see how WWI vet Pete Kelly (Webb) came into possession of his precious trumpet, the film traces Kelly to his 1927 gig at a Kansas City speakeasy. Most of the film concerns Kelly's efforts to keep his "Big Seven" aggregation together, his off-and-on romance with socialite Ivy Conrad (Janet Leigh), and his frequent confrontations with mob boss Fran McCarg (Edmond O'Brien). The Richard L. Breen screenplay is full of the deliciously hyperbolic allusions, similes, and metaphors that characterized Webb's radio version of Pete Kelly's Blues, while the musical score is graced by the jazz artistry of such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Teddy Buckner. Peggy Lee, cast as a mob mistress who is rendered an imbecile after falling down a flight of stars, deservedly earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Likewise superb is Andy Devine, cast against type as a corrupt, brutal Kansas City detective, and Lee Marvin as Kelly's best pal. Disney art director Harper Goff, who'd been performing miracles on Webb's TV series Dragnet, brilliantly sustains the smoky zeitgeist of the Prohibition era. Pete Kelly's Blues was later spun off into a TV series starring William Reynolds as Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, (more)
Jayne Mansfield bares almost all (and became the first Hollywood actress to do so) in this nearly universally panned sex comedy from the early 1960s. In the story, poor Sandy is desperate to get pregnant. Unfortunately, her husband, a television script writer, is too wound up over his high stress job to make love to her at night even though he too, wants a child. To help him loosen up, they go on a relaxing cruise and meet another couple. The foursome hit it off and begin drinking heavily. They soon exchange partners and retire to their rooms. Later both wives show up pregnant, but now the question remains: which baby belongs to which father? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Marie McDonald, (more)
In this melodrama, Johnnie (Jayne Mansfield) struggles through a series of relationships and pregnancies only to be repeatedly deserted by her no-good lovers. As she moves from relationship to relationship, Johnnie continues to change her name, each time hoping for a new and better life. This was Jayne Mansfield's last film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1967
This documentary serves as a low-budget travelogue of Las Vegas. Performances by singer Vic Damone, dancer Juliet Prowse, and sex goddess Jane Mansfield are the highlights of the film that was obviously filmed a few years before the premiere at the Hollywood Theatre on June 23rd, 1967. An ironic footnote; Mansfield died in an auto accident June 29th, 1967, the day after Variety reviewed the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Vic Damone, (more)
- 1962
This episode reunites the stars of the 1956 comedy film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield -- but there's nothing funny going on here, not even in the surprisingly somber epilogue delivered by host Alfred Hitchcock. Randall is cast as hard-drinking advertising executive Hadley Purvis, who awakens one morning with a monstrous hangover, and no recollection of what happened the night before. All he knows for sure is that his long-suffering wife, Sandra (Dody Heath), is nowhere in sight...and that a strange blonde (Mansfield) is lounging around in his living room. As Purvis painfully tries to piece together the events leading up to this situation, the viewer bears witness to one of the most terrifying descents into alcoholism ever filmed. "Hangover" was adapted by Lou Rambeau from two separate short stories: Hangover, by John D. MacDonald, and Marian, by Charles Runyon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
- 1957
Professional burglar Nat Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his two associates, Baylock (Peter Capell) and Dohmer (Mickey Shaughnessy), set their sights on wealthy spiritualist Sister Sarah (Phoebe Mackay), who has inherited a fortune -- including a renowned emerald necklace -- from a Philadelphia financier. Using Nat's female ward, Gladden (Jayne Mansfield), to pose as an admirer and case the mansion where the woman lives, they set up what looks like a perfect break-in; even when Nat's car is spotted by a couple of cops, he bluffs his way through, gets the necklace, and makes the getaway. But the trio -- plus Gladden -- can't agree on how to dispose of the necklace, and soon their bickering becomes a lot less important than the fact that someone is on to what they've done -- a woman (Martha Vickers) is working on Nat, while a man (Stewart Bradley) is working on Gladden. Equally serious, the trio kills a New Jersey state trooper while on their way to warn her. And among the cops chasing them is one with larceny in his heart and murder on his mind. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
Joseph Cates (Who Killed Teddy Bear?) directed this insipid, widely reviled musical-comedy featuring heavyset comedian Jack E. Leonard in his leaden screen debut as twins Irving and Herman. The plot concerns some teenagers searching for treasure on a tropical island owned by a cosmetics tycoon (Brian Donlevy). His daughter (Jayne Mansfield, a year before her death) heaves her bosom a great deal and sings (badly). The best singing is done by lead teen Jordan Christopher, making his own screen debut with some promising numbers backed by the Wild Ones. There are a number of subplots involving spies, mermaids, and the legendary Fountain of Youth, as well as some amusing interplay between Leonard and Phyllis Diller to keep things interesting. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard, (more)
- 1956
Held back from release for nearly a year, The Female Jungle finally received bookings on the strength of its "star", Jayne Mansfield. In fact, Jayne plays the relatively minor role of a trashy nympho; the emphasis is on neurotic police dectective Lawrence Tierney. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Tierney is responsible for the murder of a gorgeous film star--and since he was drunk at the time of the killing, even Tierney suspects himself. For a while, the number one candidate for the gas chamber is slimy gossip columnist John Carradine, but he's a bit too obvious to be culprit. Without giving away the ending, it can be noted that the murderer is played by a member of the film's production staff. Female Jungle was later reissued as Hangover. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tierney, John Carradine, (more)
- 1961
This is an interesting biography of the actor known for his gangster roles in films, and though Ray Danton plays the part of George Raft without looking like him in the least, he is still convincing in his mannerisms. Without getting into any in-depth plumbing of the actor's life, the story begins with the young Raft making his way in New York as a dancer and rubbing shoulders with underworld figures. Then he goes to Hollywood where he eventually finds fame in the film Scarface and gets typecast as a gangster. Tiring of this persona but unable to do very much about it, Raft's career starts to decline for quite a awhile before his success in Some Like It Hot. Along the way, his relationships with five different women are pictured in the briefest fashion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Danton, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
- 1956
The inimitable writer-director Frank Tashlin once more aims his satiric barbs at modern culture (modern 1950s culture, that is) in The Girl Can't Help It. Much of the film is dominated by Edmond O'Brien as mob boss Murdock, who while serving a term in federal prison becomes a singing sensation with his hit tune "Rock Around the Rock Pile." Once he's sprung, Murdock hires impoverished agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell), not to promote his own career, but to turn his curvaceous lady friend Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield) into a star. Alas, Jerri has no singing or acting talent whatsoever, a fact that she's eager and willing to admit. A domestic type at heart, all Jerri really wants out of life is to marry Murdock, so that she can clean his house, cook his meals and raise his children. When Murdock refuses to grant her wishes, Jerri falls in love with Tom instead.
Every so often, director Tashlin takes time out from the plot to poke fun at such technical marvels as CinemaScope and Technicolor, and to lampoon the American male's fixation on female bosoms and bottoms (at one point, Jayne Mansfield leans towards the camera, her cleavage exposed as far as the censors will allow, and plaintively asks Tom Ewell if he believes that she's equipped for motherhood). While much of the humor in the film is dated, The Girl Can't Help It is an invaluable record of the pop-music scene of the 1950s, featuring such guest artists as Julie London (playing Tom Ewell's dream girl), Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and his Band, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Abbey Lincoln and Eddie Cochran. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Every so often, director Tashlin takes time out from the plot to poke fun at such technical marvels as CinemaScope and Technicolor, and to lampoon the American male's fixation on female bosoms and bottoms (at one point, Jayne Mansfield leans towards the camera, her cleavage exposed as far as the censors will allow, and plaintively asks Tom Ewell if he believes that she's equipped for motherhood). While much of the humor in the film is dated, The Girl Can't Help It is an invaluable record of the pop-music scene of the 1950s, featuring such guest artists as Julie London (playing Tom Ewell's dream girl), Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and his Band, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Abbey Lincoln and Eddie Cochran. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
Country and western star Ferlin Husky plays a backwoods yokel who inherits a Las Vegas saloon staffed by barmaid Mamie Van Doren. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- 1958
Kenneth More portrays a British gunsmith who travels to the American West. After winning a rigged poker game, More is appointed sheriff of Fractured Jaw, a wide-open town where law officers are plugged and planted on a regular basis. He befriends hard-bitten saloon gal Jayne Mansfield, who doesn't give the gentlemanly More much chance of survival. Using his wits, and blessed with a generous amount of raw luck, Sheriff More escapes death at every turn, finally becoming the "blood brother" of a previous hostile Sioux tribe. With the help of his Native American friends, More brings law and order to Fractured Jaw. The film's main advantages are Kenneth More, who is superb as always, and Jayne Mansfield, giving one of her best and least mannered performances. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
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