Unlike the total cartoon stylization of tashlins first mansfield film, this one looks more like other fox colorbydeluxe studio pictures of the day brightly lit and bland. This was the 1st movie role for barbara eden for 20th century fox studios. A clever satire of the world of advertising and the american obsession with consumption, tashlins film version. It finally became clear why i wasnt clicking with this cult favorite in the last five minutes, precisely when groucho marx showed up. Film and tv seth rudetsky education cast recordings obituaries. Tashlins rewrite of the play litters the script with witty oneliners that are delivered with such.
With ida lupino, joan leslie, dennis morgan, jack carson. Tony randall is engaging as the everyman adman who through a series of events becomes cause celebrae. Jayne mansfield as rita marlowe in a publicity photo from the 1957 twentieth century fox film will success spoil rock hunter. Directed by the author and produced by jule styne, it closed on 3 november 1956 after 444. Director frank tashlin uses will success spoil rock hunter as an excuse to take satirical potshots at everything from tv commercials to the unwieldiness of cinemascope. Needing a famous face to deliver his message, rock tries to recruit actress rita marlowe jayne mansfield. A farcical satire on hollywood, tv, advertising and postwar american society itself, will success spoil rock hunter.
Such is the wonderful paradox in understanding tashlin the auteur he. Im not the biggest fan of the punheavy wordplay and gongshow gags of the marx brothers films, and will success spoil on rock hunter. Jayne mansfield plays rita marlowe, an overly glamorous movie star. The film was an attempt to appeal both to days traditional fans and to a younger audience. Fats dominos rendition of blue monday is absolutely sublime. Contemporary critics point to rock hunter as the apex of tashlins filmmaking style and the movie that set the stage for godards brightly colored blend of pop culture and political grandstanding. Will success spoil rock hunter funny but not particularly biting satire of the ad industry. Near the ending of the film henry rufus henry jones shows rock hunter tony randell what his success in advertising brought him a private bathroom and a big office of his own.
Betsy drake, the former wife of cary grant who starred in films including will success spoil rock hunter. At the halfway point of rock hunter, tony randall pops out from behind a curtain to address those in the audience who are more the type to watch television than go to the movies. If audiences of the day were expecting a straight adaptation of the play, they might well have been let down, although she. Rock hunter tony randall writes television commercials, and hes hatched a strategy for a new beauty product. Original, play, comedy, broadway opened in new york city oct, 1955 and played through nov 10, 1956. Will success spoil rock hunter youve got it made duration. The plays title was going to be will success spoil rock hudson but his manager threatened to sue.
Picture bears comparatively little resemblance to the george axelrod. At first she thinks its beneath her, but she wants to make her actor lover mickey hargitay envious, so she agrees, as long as rock pretends to be her boyfriend. Suddenly rock hunter, who was merely a name mentioned in the original, became a central character. Mw201 jayne mansfield as rita marlowe in a publicity photo from the 1957 twentieth century fox film will success spoil rock hunter. Our photographs are high quality reproductions, in mint. Joan blondell, betsy drake, tony randall, jayne mansfield. I am completely in love with this hysterical movie. Of course, she had already headlined a tashlin movie, and that was the cult classic the girl cant help it, so for their followup they went back to the stage hit that had made jayne a star, will success spoil rock hunter. Get 50% off hundreds of family movies when you preorder on fandangonow today.
Both randall and mansfield are saved from a marriage neither one wants by the lastminute arrival of mansfields hometown boy friend groucho marx. The story was changed to a satire on television advertising and tony randall starred as rockwell p. The twilight time bluray of will success spoil rock hunter gives us frank tashlins most popular jokebook movie in a fine widescreen presentation. Its presented in cinemascope, deluxe color and stereophonic sound, in three audio configurations. Embittered, ambitious helen chernen sees an opportunity to escape her drab smalltown life by becoming a stage mother to her musicallytalented younger sister. Jayne mansfield biography, movie highlights and photos. Nov 02, 2017 after starring in the 1955 broadway hit will success spoil rock hunter. When randall pretends to forget the name of the film, the images of mansfield, drake and blondell fade into focus and chime in unison will success spoil rock hunter the device of using commercials interspersed with written credits continues throughout the opening. Dvd also features the jayne biography episode as an extra. After a tryout run at the plymouth theatre in boston from 26 september 1955, it opened at the belasco theatre on broadway on october, starring jayne mansfield, walter matthau and orson bean. Will success spoil rock hunter 1957 full movie youtube.
Barbara eden plays the role of miss carstairs the blonde secretary for rock hunter played by tony randall. Charles laughton, whos a great hero of mine, only ever made one film and it happens to be one of the great films ever, which is the night of the hunter. The visuals and the narrative concept satisfies so profoundly, in an entirely sexual yet. Its full of his kind of imagination and creation and how you do things and just in the way he used the studio, i just thought it was a fantastical way of using the studio. In 1957, mansfield appeared in the film version of will success spoil rock hunter. Probably not, the film concludes, but it can make a person miserable. Fell in love with and eventually married hungarian actor and mr. Rock hunter an excellent tony randall is a frustrated advertising executive who becomes the talk of new york when film star rita marlowe jayne mansfield uses him as a prop to make her tv star. The shakiest gun in the west western film hd full length comedy duration. At film s end the characters state harmoniously and homogenously that, success is just the art of being happy. The movie will success spoil rock hunter critiqued the 50s ideal of consumerism as the american dream in one key scene. For a brief time, she was a popular performer, playing mostly comic roles as a pneumatic blonde with an. Hunter, a character who never actually appeared in the play.
No one else in the universe could do the things jayne mansfield gets away with. That film was followed two years later by his scenestealing turn in pillow talk opposite rock hudson and doris day, the first of many supporting romantic comedy roles for which he would become best known others included lets make love, lover come back and send me no flowers, although he was also an effective and versatile lead in 7 faces of. Will success spoil rock hunter by george axelrod abebooks. Ironically enough, this movie is completely uncharacteristic of his work both in style as well as content. A new york advertising executive is in danger of losing a major client who is a lipstick manufacturer. Mockridges film score is given its own isolated music track, and a newsreel and a trailer are present.
The secret history of jayne mansfields bizarre connection to. With rock hudson, doris day, tony randall, edie adams. With tony randall, jayne mansfield, betsy drake, joan blondell. Tony randall stars as the titular hero, a lowly writer of television commercials looking to climb up the ladder of the advertising agency he works at. Our photographs are high quality reproductions, in mint condition, professionally. Only the title and the character jayne mansfield played were carried over from the broadway play. See more ideas about jayne mansfield, janes mansfield and actresses. Oct 24, 1991 for information and film updates, call 6443400 or 6443456. Other articles where will success spoil rock hunter.
Rockabye baby begins behind its credits with lewis in front of a stage curtain, assuming his brassy nightclub persona as he belts out a version of the film s theme song then continues as. This film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. Morettis 1993 film is an essayistic portrait of the self through the portrait. The first film director frank tashlin made with solo star jerry lewis after two superior martin and lewis efforts. Needing a famous face to deliver his message, rock tries to recruit actress rita.
He saves the account by enticing a voluptuous movie queen to endorse the product and they begin an affair. Yet the speech does have a weird poignancy that keeps one from rejecting it completely, which a reference to another cultural. Television is a constant target in the film it was presumably making the lives of many in hollywood a bit miserable. For information and film updates, call 6443400 or 6443456. Director frank tashlin uses will success spoil rock hunter as an excuse to take satirical potshots at everything from tv commercials to. Because tashlin, like billy wilder, often equated success in the nonsense.
Will success spoil rock hunter was duly made into a movie, and they threw out axelrods play completely. Colors are fuller here than they were on older dvd releases but still look. In converting the stageplay will success spoil rock hunter. Mar 16, 2020 mansfield starred in the film the girl cant help it 1956 and signed a contract with 20th century fox. A series of misunderstandings leaves an advertising executive with a campaign for a product which has not yet been invented, while he romances his rival in the guise of its inventor. Our photographs are high quality reproductions, in mint condition, professionally printed on beautiful lustre finish photographic paper. Mar 03, 20 ives, george george ives passed away on friday, february 22, 20 at the age of 87 at his brentwood home. Hunter tony randall is as low as one can be on the madmen totem pole. A young cab driver and a woman who never sleeps occupy. But the billy wilderdirected film version of the seven year itch had been so. In 2014 the tashlin cartoon, the way of peace 1947, also entered the national film registry. John waters discusses frank tashlins the girl cant help it 1956 duration. To save his career, a writer for television advertising wants a famous actress to endorse a lipstick. Eleni ashtons rating of the film will success spoil rock hunter.
Tashlin, as the writer, producer and director of the film, has. She reprised her role of rita marlowe in the memorable 1957 movie version. The film is a satire on popular fan culture, hollywood hype, and the advertising industry, which was. Probably the best frank tashlin film though artists and models comes. Eleni ashton the bowdlerizing of and other changes in axelrods first successful play, the seven year itch, in the 1955 film adaptation that he wrote with director billy wilder, apparently soured axelrod on movies in general and hollywood in particular, which fed directly into. F rank tashlin 191972 was a cartoonist, gagman and screenwriter before becoming a director in the 1950s, working with bob hope, danny kaye and, most especially, jerry lewis. She played opposite joan collins in the wayward bus, which was a moderate success.
This was also the 1st of 3 movies barbara eden would co star with tony randall. This film had a bunch of different types of comedy cheesy sight gags, wacky. Artists and models and hollywood or bust, and tashlins first film after his big, iconic hit, will success spoil rock hunter. Jul 20, 2011 charlie chaplin is a cinematic figure who transcends the cinema and made it a part of world historyand who, with the great dictator, paid world history fittingly back. Ogg multiplexed audiovideo file, theoravorbis, length 2 min 22 s, 480. They include rock hunter, a meek little ad man of grayflannel dreams who over the course of the film will nearly trade in his beloved fianceesecretary for a highpitchedspeaking film star, as well as tony randall, the actor playing hunter, who introduces himself in the opening credits, and who was then best known to audiences from.