NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (March 2022): Criterion have transferred Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It to Blu-ray. The CinemaScope looks tremendous in 1080P. It can have heavy blues with some minor teal but compared to the DVD this new Blu-ray has a dynamically improved image with better detail, noticeably more information on the top and side edges of the 2.35:1 frame, fine grain and the overall HD presentation is darker with richer colors (reds, navy blues etc.) - 'DeLuxe' as Tom Ewell describes in the opening as he breaks the fourth wall. It looks impressive at 5X the bitrate of the SD transfer of 15-years previous. A fabulously addictive nostalgic appearance.  

NOTE: We have added 58 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. The Girl Can't Help It has few aggressive moments that come through with modest depth and score by Leigh Harline (The Enemy Below, Pickup on South Street, 23 Paces to Baker Street, House of Bamboo, Broken Lance) and Lionel Newman (The Killer is Loose, A Kiss Before Dying, Compulsion, The Boston Strangler, The Proud Ones) plus The Girl Can't Help It is known for the 'live' music including The Girl Can't Help It performed by Little Richard, Rock Around The Rock Pile performed by Ray Anthony and his band (uncredited) - also sung by Edmond O'Brien (siren-scream done by Jayne Mansfield), Cry Me a River performed by Julie London, Be-Bop-a-Lula performed by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, You'll Never, Never Know by The Platters, She's Got It and Ready Teddy by Little Richard and The Upsetters, Cool It Baby performed by Eddie Fontaine at the Jungle Room, Blue Monday performed by Fats Domino, My Idea of Love and I Ain't Gonna Cry No More performed by Johnny Olenn & The Jokers and more. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers the previous commentary by Toby Miller found in the 2006 'Jayne Mansfield Collection' DVD collection (reviewed HERE.) He discusses the sexualization of the female body, pondering if the film is addressing it mockingly, or taking advantage - or maybe both. Also how the Jerri Jordan (Mansfield) character "just wants to be a wife". He talks about Mansfield's life, biblical representations, Tashlin being a 'Civil Rights' activist, the film's music - Little Richard - his relationship to gospel, influence on the Beatles etc.. It's an excellent commentary and I enjoyed revisiting it. We also get a 16-minute video essay by David Cairns who explores the roles that cinematographer Leon Shamroy and color consultant Leonard Doss played in crafting the look of The Girl Can't Help It. There are archival interviews with Mansfield and Little Richard for 1/4 hour each, plus some silent On-Set Footage. I enjoyed the 1/2 hour with WFMU DJ's Dave "the Spazz" Abramson and Gaylord Fields as they talk about the musicians featured in The Girl Can't Help It in this interview, conducted by Criterion in 2022. Karina Longworth's 40-minute podcast You Must Remember is dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century. In this 2017 episode, she explores the fascinating life of actor Jayne Mansfield. There is also a In this 2022 interview, author Eve Golden (Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn't Help It) discussing the unique relationship that actor Jayne Mansfield had with the press. It run for 14-minutes. Included is a 21-minute interview with filmmaker John Waters who talks about The Girl Can't Help It, one of his favorite movies of all time. It is from 2004 and was produced by Second Sight Films. Lastly on the Blu-ray disc is a trailer for the film. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Rachel Syme and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from director Frank Tashlin’s 1952 book How to Create Cartoons, with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin.

Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It is not only very humorous celebrating the cheesecake-ness of Jayne Mansfield - often exposing the different effects it has on men - but also her character's innocence and desires (which are decidedly not sexual) representing a subtext of her emotional needs as viable. It's quite brilliant while also taking vibes from Billy Wilder's, previous year's hit, The Seven Year Itch with Marilyn Monroe - and , no coincidence, also starring Tom Ewell. The Girl Can't Help It is about liberation, unfortunate stereotyping, slapstick comedy, love and sexuality while filled with great early rock music performances. Criterion's Blu-ray is an incredible package with the valued past commentary and over 2-hours of supplements helping analyze Tashlin's deeper meanings and examining Jayne Mansfield tragic life and cultural impact. It's a must-own. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze