Press Release Criterion Press Release: The Girl Can't Help It (1956) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Robin9]

Pity that you feel that way because that "crap" is pure gold. Frank Tashlin's satire on fame and America's mammary madness is often quite witty even if the humor occasionally aims for the obvious. Its double entendres, both verbal and visual, are irresistible. Mansfield's "talents" have never been put to better use. One critic said, "Tashlin's rock and roll version of Born Yesterday is the nearest he came to a masterpiece". The rock and roll acts are the icing on the cake, not the cake.

Also, Julie London who was not a rock 'n roll singer deserves more respect.

 

[Mikey1969]

I wish they'd done a proper commentary with John Waters. He's talked about this film for years.

 

[70 Millman]

"monaural soundtrack"?

Should be 4.0 stereo.

Exactly! How daft it going to be when Tom Ewell during his on screen opening monolog after expanding the screen out to Cinemascope says "and stereophonic sound" and it stays MONO! To approximately quote another of his lines..."you sometimes wonder whose minding the store".

 

[Lord Dalek]

If no stereo tracks exist then there's no point complaining about it otherwise.

P.S. the film's soundtrack album is in mono. Go figure.

 

[RichMurphy]

Exactly! How daft it going to be when Tom Ewell during his on screen opening monolog after expanding the screen out to Cinemascope says "and stereophonic sound" and it stays MONO! To approximately quote another of his lines..."you sometimes wonder whose minding the store".

Of course, Ewell says no such thing. He just has to remind the powers that be about the CinemaScope and the "gorgeous, lifelike Color by DeLuxe"

 

[RolandL]

DESK SET was released in mono.

Stereo.

 

[Stephen PI]

Stereo.

View attachment 125707

My source of information on DESK SET was a late friend of mine who was a projectionist at Fox for several years and, during our discussions on stereo releases etc., he always made a point of confirming that DS was a mono film on its original theatrical release.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Knock it off. No stereo stems exist for Desk Set or Girl Can't Help It or Forty Guns or Bigger Than Life or a slew of other 1956 Cinemascope films so this game of one upmanship is pointless.

 

[Thomas T]

As Criterion have this, perhaps they will also be able to distribute The Best Things in Life Are Free, which many of us are waiting for..

Yes because we all know how open Disney is to licensing out their Fox acquisitions

 

[RCRochester]

It's a must-have for all who love 50s rock 'n roll. If properly chapter-indexed so we can move from song to song and ignore all the crap in between, it will be a winner.

I like that “crap” in between. I’m excited by this release because it’s a fun film and as someone else already said, the music numbers are the icing on the cake.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I'm pleased other people enjoy the stuff in-between; I enjoy Jayne Mansfield's witty style. But for me, the humour is too broad and I hate Ewell! Everyone has different tastes .. don't take it so seriously!!!

 

[John_Simpson]

The following sites mention stereo sound. I guess they are all wrong.

Turner Classic Movies

Rottentomatoes

imdb

Actually, the way that they copy off of each other without doing independent research all of them being wrong isn't as far fetched as you think it is.

 

[Jeff Rosen]

Ages ago ran a studio print. Color had turned quite print but did have 4 track mag. We could only play the optical at the time

 

[Bob Furmanek]

All Cinemascope/color productions from Fox were four channel stereophonic sound until at least 1961. The newest title that I’ve personally handled in 35mm was a mag/optical of Wild in the Country, released June 1961.

 

[ahollis]

Do we really know if the stereo tracks still exist. I mean Fox dumped a lot of their technicolor negatives. Could they have not dumped the stereo tracks too?

 

[Lord Dalek]

Do we really know if the stereo tracks still exist. I mean Fox dumped a lot of their technicolor negatives. Could they have not dumped the stereo tracks too?

Fox was generally better at preserving their magnetic stereo tracks then some other studios but its well within the realm of possibility. If the Mags were junked then they've been gone for at least 40 years.

 

[Osato]

I’ve never seen a Jayne Mansfield movie. I’m looking forward to buying this one though.

Her best film??

 

[roxy1927]

One of the great might have beens-Walter Matthau in The Seven Year Itch.

 

[Drew Salzan]

Yes because we all know how open Disney is to licensing out their Fox acquisitions

Yes to “The Best Things in Life Are Free”. And I am certain that the stereo tracks survive on that one.

Discrete stereo tracks have never been released on home video for The Girl Can’t Help It. IMDB clearly says mono. Regardless, i’m getting this one.

 

[Kent K H]

I’m thrilled by this news. I picked up Rock Hunter from Twilight Time, but I always preferred this one a bit because of my love of Rock n Roll.