Frank Tashlin – The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
Description:
The Alphabet Murders is a 1965 British detective film based on the novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie, starring Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. The part of Poirot had originally been intended for Zero Mostel but the film was delayed because Agatha Christie objected to the script. The film varies significantly from the novel and emphasises comedy.
Letterboxd review
★★★★ Watched by theriverjordan 18 Jan 2021
It’s odd to think that The Beatles might not have existed if Jayne Mansfield hadn’t put on peroxide and a figure-hugging dress.
As told by John and Paul themselves; “The Girl Can’t Help It” was fundamental to their formulation of rock and roll. The pair snuck into the film as teenagers, and began incorporating performance styles from its musical sequences into their own shows.
There’s no better legacy that director Frank Tashlin’s Technicolor wonder could hope to leave. Beneath its ditzy plot involving gangsters and a jukebox racket, the movie’s message is simple: music can come from anywhere. Or, to appropriate a Ratatouille quote, “Anyone can rock (and roll).”
Tashlin’s onscreen palate paints a world in zingy reds and bright blues. Jane Mansfield could strut by at any second, and Gene Vincent might be singing “Be-Bop-A-Lula” in the apartment next door. It’s a place where rock doesn’t just exist, but must burst from every vivid hue and shaded corner.
In the nascent days of rock and roll, “Girl” immediately grasps what made it as essential as a heartbeat to teens of the era. It’s not just a rhythm. It’s an attitude.
And — it’s an attitude born into the world by a roster of black artists – many of whom: Fats Domino, Little Richard, The Platters, and Abbey Lincoln among them – perform numbers in “Girl” that explode off the screen with their infectious energy.
Much of the film is then, white teens watching these iconic black rockers perform — before being moved into following suite themselves. Which, in its own way, tells the history of rock’s foundation.
The parade of confidence, color and talent on display in “Girl” — over a half century later — is barely diminished in its vigor. It takes just one swing of Little Richard’s hips to feel the same spirit that inspired John and Paul to pick up guitars and rock around the clock — until the first light came up over Liverpool.
The.Girl.Cant.Help.It.1956.576p.BluRay.AC3.x264.mkv
General
Container: Matroska
Runtime: 1 h 37 min
Size: 2.50 GiB
Video
Codec: x264
Resolution: 1024x434
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Frame rate: 23.976 fps
Bit rate: 3 206 kb/s
BPP: 0.301
Audio
#1: English 1.0ch AC-3 @ 256 kb/s
#2: English 1.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s (Commentary by film historian Toby Miller)
https://nitro.download/view/A19167A61BF2207/The.Girl.Cant.Help.It.1956.576p.BluRay.AC3.x264.mkv
Language(s):English
Subtitles:English
