The Girl Can't Help It [1956] (Directed by: Frank Tashlin)

• Q1: How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?

The Girl Can't Help It is a comedic look at a film that really related to Foner's chapter very well. First, there was a great deal of mentioning the television and commercials, when television was really starting to be a part of everyday homes. Also, Foner states that "In a sense, the 1950s represented the culmination of the long-term trend in which consumerism replaced economic independence..." (Foner 877) and this is personified very well by Marty "Fats" Murdock spends money like it's absolutely nothing. The major relation to the chapter in Foner was the tie to women and being a housewife and "Fats" Murdock (talking about Jerri) says "dumb broad, all she thinks of is cooking".

• Q2: What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?

The most flagrant thing we can learn about culture during the early 1950s is what women were expected to be in society. While Georgiana "Jerri" Jordan was forced by Murdock into a singing career, helped by a washed-up agent Tom Miller, she didn't want to be a part of the glamorous show business. She even says to Miller "I just want to be a wife" and when she's called pretty she says "pretty is just as good as you apply your base". This really epitomized the place of women in American society during this time period.

• Q3: What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class and race?

Race and class were not really a part of this film, but gender definitely was. It was quite clear that A Girl Can't Help It was showing that women were supposed to be the motherly, homemaker figures that Jerri wanted to be. While describing her adoringly, Fats calls her "domestic" as a good and attractive quality in a woman for this time period. Also, all throughout the beginning of the film, Tom parades Jerri around like an object to all the clubs and bars in town and realizes that her body will her her noticed and get him the fame that he misses.

• Q4: What was the most important scene in the film?

In regards to the relation to culture or the Foner chapter, there wasn't really an important scene that connected them. However, I had two favorite scenes in this film. The first was when Mousie is tapping in on Jerri and Tom's phone conversation for Fats and when he hears them talking romantically, he gets surprised because that's what Fats told him to listen for. But when he lets Fats hear the recording, he cuts all the romantic parts out to save Jerri. It was really cute that an old gangster could have a soft spot like that. My other favorite was at the end when Jerri comes out to sing her signature squeal in the song that made her famous, and all of a sudden she belts out a song with the most beautiful voice. It was just funny that she hid her voice all this time, and her voice was absolutely gorgeous.

• Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes Review
movietome Review

• My Review

The Girl Can't Help It was very funny, and actually tied in very well to the chapter in Foner. When I read the chapter, I really didn't think there would be a movie that could capture what was said about women during this time period, but the way Jerri just wanted to be the housewife that Nixon said every woman should be was an exact parallel. This movie receives my review of 5 out 5 because not only did it relate almost identically to the chapter we read about in class, it was hilarious and entertaining. It also featured many then up and coming musical artists and all in "gorgeous lifelike color" as Tom Ewell put it in the very beginning of the movie. Not to mention that Jayne Mansfield is gorgeous throughout the whole movie, and just lights up the screen and makes me laugh. I'd watch it again, most definitely.