This movie is an interesting curiosity after all these years, although at the time it must have seemed dated. One reviewer was quite harsh about this film, and I can't say I disagree with much of his sentiment.
But there is a kitschy charm to seeing Touch 'Mannix' Connors romancing the ill-fated Jayne Mansfield. And the movie is actually funny when it sticks to making fun of acting and movie making.
Why is it that after all these years, I find myself so interested in Jayne Mansfield? It's obvious that she was doomed to be forever the 'poor man's Monroe', yet as much as I admire the qualities of Monroe, there seemed to be something compelling about Jayne in a different sort of way.
Fans of the album cover to this soundtrack will be quite disappointed that Jayne wears nothing so revealing as the bikini she is almost wearing on the record sleeve. However, she looks quite lovely, beautiful in certain shots.
The plot is so much like 'The Producers' (minus the comic genius of Mel Brooks, of course), that one wonders if Mel ever had a look at this movie.
It is indeed sad to see an aged Chevalier, chewing the scenery in one of his last films. The sentimental subplot concerning Philippe's relationship with a child goes nowhere...I was hoping he wasn't going to go into 'Thank Heaven For Little Girls'. Fortunately, the viewer is saved from that spectacle.
What Eleanor Parker is doing in this is anybody's guess.
But Akim Tamiroff certainly had shades of Max Bialystock going on. And, in a scene with Touch Connors, Jayne sounds oddly much like Marilyn -- perhaps some strange osmosis was occurring.
Anyway, considering the movies that they make these days, this movie is...well, an interesting curiosity.
But there is a kitschy charm to seeing Touch 'Mannix' Connors romancing the ill-fated Jayne Mansfield. And the movie is actually funny when it sticks to making fun of acting and movie making.
Why is it that after all these years, I find myself so interested in Jayne Mansfield? It's obvious that she was doomed to be forever the 'poor man's Monroe', yet as much as I admire the qualities of Monroe, there seemed to be something compelling about Jayne in a different sort of way.
Fans of the album cover to this soundtrack will be quite disappointed that Jayne wears nothing so revealing as the bikini she is almost wearing on the record sleeve. However, she looks quite lovely, beautiful in certain shots.
The plot is so much like 'The Producers' (minus the comic genius of Mel Brooks, of course), that one wonders if Mel ever had a look at this movie.
It is indeed sad to see an aged Chevalier, chewing the scenery in one of his last films. The sentimental subplot concerning Philippe's relationship with a child goes nowhere...I was hoping he wasn't going to go into 'Thank Heaven For Little Girls'. Fortunately, the viewer is saved from that spectacle.
What Eleanor Parker is doing in this is anybody's guess.
But Akim Tamiroff certainly had shades of Max Bialystock going on. And, in a scene with Touch Connors, Jayne sounds oddly much like Marilyn -- perhaps some strange osmosis was occurring.
Anyway, considering the movies that they make these days, this movie is...well, an interesting curiosity.