The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)

My Review

“The Girl Can’t Help It” is a musical comedy about a gangster who hires a press agent to make his girlfriend a big singing star, despite her obvious lack of talent. Director-screenwriter Frank Tashlin (“Son of Paleface” 1952) originally made this B-movie as a Jayne Mansfield vehicle but the project is remembered for the large amount of early rock-and-roll talent in the cast. Make no mistake, this film has terrible writing and bad acting, but is a fascinating chronicle of the decade of the 1950’s.

The stars of the show are Jayne Mansfield as the talentless girlfriend, Tom Ewell as the press agent, Edmond O’Brien as the mob guy, Julie London, Ray Anthony, Barry Gordon, Henry Jones, Juanita Moore, and John Emery. Musical talent includes Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, The Platters, Eddie Cochran, Abbey Lincoln, The Treniers, and the Three Chuckles.

The musical director was Bobby Troupe, who married Julie London in 1959. The movie “The Girl Can’t Help It” is watchable or not depending upon your taste in music. It was a big hit at the box office for producer Frank Tashlin and 20th Century Fox. It was filmed at the 20th Century Fox studios on Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles and on the beach at Malibu.