Truffaut the Critic: On Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It (1956)

"I'll make my praise brief. The Girl Can't Help It is more than a good film, more than a funny film, more than an excellent parody; it's a kind of masterpiece of the genre...Tashlin exaggerates Jayne Mansfield's statuesque figure with false breasts and the rest of it, but instead of ridiculing her, he makes her a likable and moving personality, like Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop...it's funny all the way through, and beautiful all the way through as well...I had the chance to see The Girl Can't Help It three times before I finished these notes. Like all great films, it's more beautiful and successful each time you see it. You laugh less, but you love it each more each time, and you feel increased emotion."

-excerpts from Truffaut's 1957 review. The full-text can be found in his The Films in my Life-

Jayne Mansfield's Holiday Wishes

Elvis.com has just set up a nice Christmas themed Elvis site, and they have posted several Christmas cards Elvis received through the years. This one is my favorite and I thought I would post it here. Of the many books I have read on Elvis (and I have read a lot) and the couple on Jayne Mansfield I don't ever recall a story of them meeting. Apparently they did though, and here is a a lovely shot of Jayne and her family that popped up in the Graceland mailbox sometime in the sixties. Makes me want to get the egg-nog out early...head over to the above link to check out the other cards. They are lots of fun.