The Girl Can't Help It (1956) review

Boozed-up talent agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell) - who's seen better days - is "hired" by "Slot Machine King" Marty "Fats" Murdock (Edmond O'Brien) to represent his girlfriend Jerri (Jayne Mansfield) and make her a star ... except she can't sing and just wants a traditional marriage (with lots of kids!).  This has allegedly been a huge influence on the world of music - John Lennon and Paul McCartney were huge fans - and while it's cool to see the likes of Little Richard, Julie London (whose version of "Cry Me a River" has to be one of the most haunting torch songs of all time) and teenaged Eddie Cochran performing, the storyline is structured around the songs instead of the other way around ... and what there is of a plot is cartoonish (O'Brien tries channeling his inner Al Capone).  It's based on a Garson Kanin short story, but he asked to have his name removed from it (which feels a tad surly) ... despite its shortcomings, it at least has Mansfield strutting her stuff: if God granted R. Crumb the ability to create a woman from scratch, that would be the end result.