Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

PLOT:

A writer for television advertising, Rockwell P. Hunter (Randall), is low on the ladder at the company he works for. He then finds the perfect model and spokesperson for his new line of lipstick, the famous actress with the “oh-so-kissable lips”, Rita Marlowe (Mansfield).

In order for Rita to endorse the lipstick, however, Rock has to pretend to be her boyfriend to make her real boyfriend, Bobo Branigansky (Hargitay), the star of a TV Tarzan show, jealous. Bobo leaks the news of Rita’s new romance to the tabloids and Rock Hunter is suddenly famous. Women are crazy about him and he moves steadily up the ladder at work, becoming company president, only to find it is not what he really wanted.

At the behest of his agency, Rock is forced to propose to Rita on a coast-to-coast TV show, which breaks the heart of his fiancée, Jenny Wells (Drake), who is not too pleased, but she takes him back in the end. Both Rock and Rita are saved from a marriage neither one wants by the last-minute arrival of Rita’s hometown boyfriend, George Schmidlap (Marx).

REVIEW:

In the 50s and 60s, they really knew how to make movies that were fun to watch, unlike today where everything is all about how much money can studios put into special effects and/or 3D. Sure, most of these films weren’t the greatest in the world, but you can actually sit and watch them today and feel the sense of enjoyment that you don’t get from today’s pictures. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? was a Broadway play initially that made its way to the big screen with much of the same cast, and became a hit, something that hasn’t been done in today’s cinema.

The film starts off with Tony Randall playing the drums to the 20th century Fox fanfare and then switching to the bass. After the fanfare is over, he breaks the third wall and talks to the audience as if we were at the theater watching the play. The DVD Netflix sent me had some issues during the opening credits, so I can fully comment on them, other than to say they seemed quite funny.

Tony Randall is a comic icon, and this is one of the films that proves it. Sure, he’s the straight man ( a role he is usually cast in), but no one else can make a straight man such a loving endearing character as Randall, not to mention get in a few one-liners.

Jayne Mansfield is…well…va-va-voom! Need I say more? As Rita Marlowe, she brings to mind Marilyn Monroe with her high pitched voice and squeals. Ironically, Mansfield is oft times confused or overshadowed by Marilyn. Perhaps this was her way of getting back at her? I loved Mansfield’s character here, except for the squealing. It was cute at first, but got old quick and then just starting grating at me like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Mansfield’s than husband, Mickey Hargitay, and Groucho Marx have a couple of memorable cameos, and the cast is terrific.

Would I change anything about this picture? Sure, I would. For instance, it just seems that the whole film is based on Rock Hunter and his rise up through the ranks thanks to chance meeting with Rita. I’d make more of that story, as well as their relationship and the jealousy of Jenny and Bobo, perhaps go a bit more into the Schmidlap thing. Also, I’d give Vi a bit more. She seems to have been an interesting character, who obviously ends up with Rockwell’s friend Rufus. There could have been more on that, other than just scenes in the montage. There are other things I’d change, but these are all minor alterations that are nitpicky on my part, and not enough to affect my opinion of this film.

When it comes to classic actresses from the era of Hollywood that this film comes from, most people are ga-ga for Marilyn, but I prefer Jayne Mansfield. That’s not to take anything away from Marilyn, but just a matter of personal taste. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is full of the campy humor you’d expect from a comedy of this era. Those of us that appreciate real movies when the humor wasn’t all jokes about race, sex, and laced with profanity will love this. For the rest of you that are expecting to see Mansfield’s massive mammaries on display, you’re out of luck, but there are a couple of tease scenes (she’s in the bathtub in one and getting a massage in the other). This is just one of those movies that you don’t try an analyze, but rather sit back and enjoy it for what it is, a movie, not some sort of blueprint for how to live your life or anything like that.

4 out of 5 stars