I was sitting here listening to the soundtrack of the 1956 film The Girl Cant Help It, when I realized how much fun the music in this film was. In all honesty, I have only seen the movie twice, but the music is always running through my head. I hadn't heard most of the music before seeing the film, but it just stuck with me. I find myself jamming and dancing to this soundtrack more than I probably should.
I first encountered this film at my local library. I had recently discovered the gold mine of classic films they had available to rent on VHS. I quickly snatched up Miss Sadie Thompson (starring Rita Hayworth) and Bombshell (starring Jean Harlow). On my next visit I ran across this little gem. I hadn't seen any movies with Jayne Mansfield, but it also starred Tom Ewell. I had really learned to love him after watching him opposite another blonde actress (Marilyn Monroe) in The Seven Year Itch. Every minute he spends on screen he has me amused. So with that in mind, I rented it and had no idea what a wonderful movie I was in for.
This film was meant to be a vehicle for Jayne Mansfield, but by the end of it, I had forgotten all about her. This movie's star is its soundtrack!
The opening number had me hooked. I had no idea how rockin' this movie was going to be. With appearances by Ray Anthony, Little Richard, Julie London, Fats Domino, Abbey Lincoln, The Platters as well as other early rock-n-roll stars how could it not be awesome? By the end of the movie, I needed the music from this film!
I was hooked to Abbey Lincoln's (who wears a recycled Marilyn Monroe gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) "Spread The Word, Spread The Gospel", Julie London's "Cry Me A River" and Little Richard's "She's Got It". I watched the clips over and over on Youtube.
After searching Barnes and Nobles for the CD, I was happy to finally find the mp3 album available on Amazon! Want a copy of this awesome soundtrack for yourself? Click here.
As a side note... it has been said that this is the movie that got John Lennon interested in American Rock-n-Roll and we all know where that led. Also, a sample of the movie's title song was used in the recently released song "Clumsy" by singer Fergie.
Below are some of my favorite tunes from this film...
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