Reevaluating Jayne Mansfield as a Movie Star

Was Jayne really like this?

Her greatest moment was actually one of Loren’s many great ones. She was a zero. When TV kept people away from movie theaters, Hollywood created a bunch of busty talentless ‘ Starlets’ promising more lascivious behavior than could be found on CBS, NBC or ABC. She was one of many. All marketing and no talent.

The film confuses because the black songstress (who cannot sing well) is hotter and has a better figure than the leading lady. Mansfield should never have allowed this.

She so talented, she was the best!

That's Abbey Lincoln, R3. She's wearing the same dress that Marilyn wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

The REAL "The Girl Can't Help It":

She should have taken the Gilligan’s Island offer.

The gal certainly knew how to make an entrance and steal the show.

She was best on talk shows in the 1960s when 20th Century Fox dropped her and her film career sunk. She, like Marilyn, could be very funny and make quips. I saw her on an episode of Merv Griffin recently and she was a trip with her entourage and all her children. She was obviously very bright and seemed like an affectionate mother.

Meanwhile, the surviving member of the Marilyn imitators, Mamie Van Doren, was always dopey. I watched her on What’s My Line the other night and Dorothy Kilgallen asked “Is your husband in the entertainment field?” She seemed momentarily confused and then said, “usually, but he’s home tonight.” At first I thought it was humor, but she was dead serious.

It reminded me of Tuesday Weld mentioning Van Doren meeting Albert Zugsmith, their Director, on the set of Sex Kittens Go to College, and not getting that his name wasn’t “Zug Smith,” and calling him Mr.Smith throughout.

She's actually not bad in this 50s noir B-movie. She hadn't started all the affectations that later made her a joke (42:45).

Jayne was surprisingly effective in a dramatic role "The Wayward Bus," based on the John Steinbeck novel. She had the chops to have a successful acting career. But, she played dumb blonde too many times, both onscreen and off, squealing and cooing like an idiot and falling out of her dress. She became a sad parody of herself and the public grew tired of her antics.

Coo!

Nip slip

Mucho bazoombas!

In this noir she is a little less mannered, also has the wonderful Martha Vickers and Dan Duryea.

A star, but not a movie star.

Unfortunately her physique and the times wouldn't allow her to be anything but a stunt.

She would have had to go more strongly into schlock, and then she would have a cult following like Barbara Steele or Tura Satana.

Jayne Mansfield was a casualty of the 20th Century Fox purge of 1962, when Fox, reeling from the cost overruns of "Cleopatra," released nearly all of its contract players in order to save money. Never really a bankable star, and relegated to 2nd tier productions at Fox, without studio backing, it was all downhill for Jayne.

You tell em, Jaynie!

What's Captain Benson's bra size? You really can't tell from the way she dresses.

She was a fiddler.

R20 As a violinist myself, I noticed that Jayne wasn't using a shoulder pad under her violin that provides support between the bottom of the instrument and the player's chest. Of course... she didn't need one! Her breasts provided more support than any shoulder pad ever manufactured could provide.

Classical Jayne

"In an attempt to make her latest beau jealous, and reap publicity for her studio, Rita snatches the first man to walk into her room as her new squeeze—a case of “being in the right place at the right time” for Rock, and the popcorn in his pocket erupts into fireworks as he smooches a towel-wrapped Rita. This comic serendipity isn’t a plot contrivance, but an illustration of Tashlin’s slashing view of how, in a capitalist society, everything and everyone can be packaged and sold, regardless of their abilities: Just as Edmond O’Brien’s gravel-voiced gangster was turned into a teen sensation at the end of The Girl Can’t Help It, so here is Rock, who has trouble keeping his long-stemmed smoking pipe lit, knighted “Lover Doll” and promptly mobbed by scores of screaming young fans."

"In an attempt to make her latest beau jealous, and reap publicity for her studio, Rita snatches the first man to walk into her room as her new squeeze—a case of “being in the right place at the right time” for Rock, and the popcorn in his pocket erupts into fireworks as he smooches a towel-wrapped Rita. This comic serendipity isn’t a plot contrivance, but an illustration of Tashlin’s slashing view of how, in a capitalist society, everything and everyone can be packaged and sold, regardless of their abilities: Just as Edmond O’Brien’s gravel-voiced gangster was turned into a teen sensation at the end of The Girl Can’t Help It, so here is Rock, who has trouble keeping his long-stemmed smoking pipe lit, knighted “Lover Doll” and promptly mobbed by scores of screaming young fans."

She was a two-tit, I mean hit, wonder.

R22 My father had that album when I was a gayling, which I had to have been because neither the album's cover photo of Jayne nor her panting readings aroused me.

In a quick read I thought this said. “Reanimating Jayne Mansfield as a Movie Star” thinking they were bringing her back virtually or as a hologram.

R27 I don't think hologram technology has advanced enough to render the full depth of Jayne's cleavage.

Wasn't Jayne offered the Tina Louise role of Ginger Grant in "Gilliigans Island". She turned it down because she felt she was a Movie Star. Taking that role might have stopped playing those night clubs and she's have had a totally different career

"I'll handle the major details but you will be the titular head of the company!"

Jayne squeals - which always makes me laugh.

Jayne was in on the joke - but then it turned out the joke was on her.

Sheree North was hired by 20th Century Fox to be their backup Marilyn Monroe. Whenever MM refused an assignment, she was placed on suspension and North was brought in to fill her shoes. But Sheree failed to excite moviegoers the way Marilyn did, and soon she was kicked to the curb and Jayne Mansfield was brought in, fresh from her smash Broadway hit "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" Though she initially parodied Marilyn, Jayne developed into something else, not quite a first rate star, but someone with her own distinct persona.

When Sheree's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she shed her sex kitten image and tackled a variety of roles, mainly in television. Would Jayne have done the same and played Lou Grant's girlfriend or Blanche Devereaux's sister had she lived?

R31 Sheree also had a role on Broadway with the young club singer Barbra Streisand in I Can Get it for You Wholesale. I always liked her, especially in her 1970s work, like in Charley Varrick. By the time she did Seinfeld, she appeared to be in ill health.

I cannot imagine Jayne ever shedding her kittenish image, even as it failed her. There is an episode somewhere of Jayne and Zsa Zsa Gabor on the same talk show in the later 1960s. Jayne is still working her baby voice and giggle—wearing gogo boots—and generally seeming ridiculous…meanwhile Zsa Zsa is cool and elegant and has a dry wit. You can tell which one was managing to stay relevant.

Jayne's film career was very brief. But she was a better actress than Monroe in the maybe three A grade productions she did in the mid '50s.

R29 Keep up. See R7

TV didn't pay well in those days and was demanding work. She probably made more money in nightclubs and it allowed her to set her own schedule, instead of being locked into a thirty episode season for seven years contract.

Some people think Marilyn's persona was an exaggeration? Jayne's persona was over the top with the cartoonish squealing and lots of "accidental" wardrobe malfunctions. She was one of the original stunt queens.

She was a caricature in many of her films and her voice was too annoying to be fun. There needed to be something to offset the craziness. This persona was already cemented in place when she focused on more serious roles. It was too late.

Both were exaggerations. Jayne was better at it, and her slightly different take on it holds up better today.

^ That's your opinion, but the public has voted and they remember Marilyn more fondly than Jayne.

I Jayne's persona held up better, not that she was more fondly remembered.

Jayne's persona was a little sharper, a little less babyish, and so she comes off as less dated today. Monroe already seemed like an anachronism by the time Jayne died.

[quote] "accidental" wardrobe malfunctions

R36 The dress that Jayne wore in the photos with Sophia Loren near the top of this thread is definitely no accident. The top looks like a face mask trying to hold back Boulder Dam.

Jayne looked like a drag queen, though I suppose that was her intent. She’s a lot prettier with dark hair. She wasn’t a great actress, but neither was Marilyn. Marilyn just had better publicity at the time.

R40: Yes, it was intentional. That's why I put accidental in quotes. Did you miss that?

[quote] She was a caricature in many of her films and her voice was too annoying to be fun.

Jayne's voice is much less annoying than Marilyn's. She talks a little higher and with 'sassy' intonations that if she had lived as a farmer's wife in Iowa but it's basically where her natural voice was. Marilyn had a very affected baby voice, which was mocked even at the time.

Mamie sounded and still sounds not she's never even tried to do anything weird her voice.

R42 I was agreeing with you that it was “accidental” and using that to make a joke. Guess I’ll have to take it out of the nightclub act I’m working on.

[quote]Sheree North was hired by 20th Century Fox to be their backup Marilyn Monroe. Whenever MM refused an assignment, she was placed on suspension and North was brought in to fill her shoes. But Sheree failed to excite moviegoers the way Marilyn did, and soon she was kicked to the curb

Sheree was too tame. Marilyn was already too OTT for Sheree to work in those

[quote]Jayne Mansfield was brought in, fresh from her smash Broadway hit "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" Though she initially parodied Marilyn, Jayne developed into something else, not quite a first rate star, but someone with her own distinct persona.

Mansfield was a big hit onstage, something it's hard to imagine Monroe ever being capable of. She got a Fox contract on the wave of press she got for that role. It's true that Jayne quickly did develop her own persona quickly too. She's quite distinct in her only few films.

[quote]When Sheree's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she shed her sex kitten image and tackled a variety of roles, mainly in television. Would Jayne have done the same and played Lou Grant's girlfriend or Blanche Devereaux's sister had she lived?

Yes, Sheree's greatest success came in her busy later career in TV guest roles. She was capable and normal enough to play a variety of roles. There was actually a faint resemblance between her and Rue McClanahan. They both give off a subtle white trash vibe. I wonder if that's why she was cast? Or was she just called up at the last minute. I thought TGG was good at casting the girls' family.

I'm not surprised Jayne turned down Gilligan's Island. From the premise I imagine she thought it couldn't have run too long... guess she overestimated the taste of American audiences...

R2, I have a print of that hanging in my house. One of the greatest showbiz moments on film.

Sheree's ability to play normal people probably helped her as she aged. Had Monroe lived she would've gone down the Mamie Van Doren and to a lesser extent Mansfield route of being trapped by her persona and stuck doing it for diminishing returns till she became a sad joke.

I would love to know the details of the confrontation between Jayne and Mae West over Mickey Hargitay.

R40/R44: Ahh, I see. Unfortunately, tone is not easily discernible in text.

[quote]Jayne's persona held up better, not that she was more fondly remembered.

[quote]Jayne's persona was a little sharper, a little less babyish, and so she comes off as less dated today. Monroe already seemed like an anachronism by the time Jayne died.Jayne's persona was a little sharper, a little less babyish, and so she comes off as less dated today. Monroe already seemed like an anachronism by the time Jayne died.

[quote]Jayne's voice is much less annoying than Marilyn's. She talks a little higher and with 'sassy' intonations that if she had lived as a farmer's wife in Iowa but it's basically where her natural voice was. Marilyn had a very affected baby voice, which was mocked even at the time.

According to you, Jayne fan. You don't like Marilyn, nor should you have to, but there's plenty of evidence that contradicts your assertions. First of all, people who personally knew Marilyn have talked about her little girl quality, which she incorporated into her public persona. The breathy voice was an affectation. The interesting and contradictory pairing of innocence and sexuality (hard to fake) came from her real personality.

Marilyn is far from an anachronism when she's never stopped being part of popular culture, still relevant to younger generations, who view her as a symbol of Hollywood glamour, femininity, and non-threatening sexuality, just as their older relatives did. They quote her on social media (some of those quotes she never said, but nevertheless they're keeping her memory alive). Hundreds of biographies have been published about Marilyn, not Jayne. One or more MM books are released almost every year. Famous attention whore Kim K wore Marilyn's gown to the Met Gala. Does anybody wear a Jayne Mansfield outfit anywhere? Do people spend millions bidding on an auction of Mansfield's possessions? Marilyn would not be getting all this attention if she were out of fashion. And you can't use the excuse that Marilyn's early death is the reason she's still relevant, when Jayne died more horribly and at a younger age.

Furthermore, if Marilyn were so dated, then celebs like Scarlett Johannson, Charlize Theron, Drew Barrymore, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Candice Swanepoel, Linda Evangelista, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, etc, wouldn't have bothered to imitate her in photos and videos. The copying continues to this day.

Jayne herself often copied Marilyn during her career. She parodied MM's image in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? In publicity photos, she wore a few of the same outfits Marilyn had worn. About four years after Marilyn appeared in a skit with Jack Benny on his show, Jayne did the same skit with Jack.

According to Wikipedia (which at least cites its sources): [italic]"She adopted Monroe's vocal mannerisms instead of her original husky voice and Texas accent,[264] performed in two plays that were based on Marilyn Monroe vehicles – Bus Stop and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes[302] – and her role in The Wayward Bus was strongly influenced by Monroe's character in Bus Stop.[114]"[/italic]

Jayne's constant cooing and squealing was as affected and exaggerated as it gets. Her natural husky Texas accent is very different from the high pitched cartoon voice she employed. Jayne's huge breasts received lots of mockery during her time. Her persona as a top-heavy, wardrobe malfunctioning, squeaky publicity hound has held up more than anything else she did. Outside of her fans, people remember that more than her acting roles.

Ah, a crazy Marilyn fan... she does attract them.

*stepping back slowly*

Marilyn is more loved today because she, like Britney Spears, comes off as nothing but a brainless victim. Which the public eats up. Truthfully, Monroe actually wasn't dumb but the public certainly believed her baby act.

No, R51, I'm someone who has read up on both actresses, who can see more than one side of the narrative, and who provides evidence to back up what he writes instead of making blanket generalizations as you did.

Do you always fabricate stuff to reinforce your opinions. R37/39/43/51 (and many of the gushing posts on this tread)? When you have nothing else, you resort to attacking the character of a poster who disagrees with you. That's typical of stans and trolls. And you are certainly a Jayne stan. You can't hide it, the way you hype up her relevance in modern times. LQTM.

^ *thread

Um, whoever keeps trumpeting Mansfield as superior to Monroe: you do realize that there is noone outside of you and three other posters and Mariska Hartigay who know who Jayne is, right?

My favorite part of the Loren-Mansfield dust up is the originally Clifton Webb was sitting in the chair that Jayne later took - and his bemused expression is priceless.

LMAO!

The Jayne stan on this thread is laughably transparent. One minute his comment has 23 upvotes and then less than 2 minutes later, it jumps to 31. On a thread that only has 56 comments, he upvotes himself. Who the hell do you think you're fooling, predictable stan?

R36 I remember reading that her first “accidental” wardrobe malfunction was at a press event at a swimming pool for Underwater, a 3D movie starring Jane Russell in which Mansfield did not even appear. She managed to “lose” her bikini top after emerging from the pool, capturing the attention of the photographers and infuriating Russell. That became Mansfield’s MO for many years.

That's my mama!

There is a series of photos leading up to the legendary side eye Sophia Loren served.

Very funny. Loren looks beautiful and busty but she isn't baring her breasts.

The event was for Sophia Loren, Mansfield gatecrashed and flashed her boobs to steal attention from Sophia Loren.

I’m a big fan of both Monroe and Mansfield, but to actually claim that Jayne Mansfield has more “relevance” than Marilyn Monroe is one of the most laughably absurd things I’ve ever heard.

Like it or not, MM remains possibly the preeminent female pop culture figure of the 20th Century and beyond. For sheer fame and lasting influence, no one can touch her. Mansfield is a niche cult-figure at best. It would be like saying Fabian is more “relevant” than Elvis Presley. Wanting something to be true doesn’t make it so.

I'm watching [italic]Promises! Promises![/italic] now. Campy as fuck. Jayne's topless scenes are silly, but I can see how they must have gotten straight guys salivating at the time.

Here's a Youtube channel dedicated to her.

Her desperation and lack of any discernible talent make me want to vomit.

So no, I don’t like her. She’s a gross pig.

Mamie was a better singer.

"Hey you guys, just feast your eyes on little ol instant me!"