The Biggest Bombshell

In the Fifties, the blonde bombshell competition was stiff. Marilyn Monroe was and will always be the frontrunner, but hot on her heels were Mamie Van Doren, Kim Novak, Diana Dors, Cleo Moore, Barbara Nichols, Sheree North, and — va-va-voom — Jayne Mansfield, who had the most out-there and over-the-top persona of them all. In many ways, Mansfield set the stage for today’s parade of overexposed starlets — decades before Anna Nicole was trading on cup size, and generations before Britney and Paris learned the power of flashing their vajayjays, there was Mansfield, overflowing inches of cleavage out of her cocktail dress on the pages of every showbiz rag around the world.

Her most famous film was 1956’s The Girl Can’t Help It, and the bubbly comedy/musical is notable for more than just obvious double entendres about the size of the star’s endowments. It features early and noteworthy performances by Fats Domino, the Platters, and Little Richard, whose title track was recently reworked by Fergie for her hit song “Clumsy.” What with Mansfield being larger than life, it’s only fitting that this film will be featured as a Wild About Widescreen selection at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. Admission is $10, and it begins at 8 p.m. Visit www.wolfsonarchive.org, or call 305-375-1505.
Fri., Aug. 22, 2008