Year: 1957
Director: Frank Tashlin
Country: U.S
Language: English
I believe I was checking out the Masters of Cinema DVD catalogue when I came across Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? I have never heard of the actors in the film nor the Director Frank Tashlin, but something about this film intrigued me and I just had to see it as soon as possible. I did not expect much, in fact the plot reminded me of an old Simpsons episode where Selma marries movie star Troy McClure to help him land a big movie deal, but I was quite surprised by how witty and charming this film was.
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter is a satire of TV advertising agencies. It stars Tony Randall (The Odd Couple) as Rockwell Hunter, a man who is in a serious low point in his career. That is, until he finds the perfect spokes model for "Stay-Put" lipstick, Rita Marlowe (Jayne Masnfield), an incredibly famous actress with the trademark "oh so kissable" lips. In exchange for the publicity Rockwell Hunter must do something else in exchange, become her "lover doll".
While Director Frank Tashlin made a career out of animated films, his live-action feature films seem to be terrible at best. His resume of films, which include Cinderfella, Son of Paleface and The Private Navy of SGT. O' Farrell, are often subject to harsh criticism and great yawns by bored film-goers. Even his second greatest achievement The Girl Can't Help It is mediocre at best. So why is this film so good? Well it's visually clever, incredibly witty, engaging and incredibly well paced. The satire hits the target while never seeming to be overwhelming. It's clearly an anti-television show, a scene in which Rockwell Hunter interrupts the film to jokingly pander to the television audience is a bit bitter but quite funny.
This film reminds me of Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success, except that it's much lighter and a bit funnier. They both made their cinematic debut in 1957 and they both were about the nature of success. Ultimately both arriving at the same conclusion, success is not about selling your soul for material gain, it is about personal happiness and being content with life regardless of where you are in your career. Unfortunately too many people get caught up in society's major view of success and it gets stuck in their head, they'll do anything to be "successful", regardless of who they step on. Fortunately, since this is lighter in content, Rock Hunter never falls as far as Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) did in Sweet Smell of Success.
In conclusion, though I found a bit of the dialogue near the end of the film to be a bit cheesy as it seemed to try to hard to pander to the audience, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter was a thoroughly enjoyable film that I would definitely watch over and over again. The cameo by the great Groucho Marx was a fantastic surprise, I was thrilled to see him in a film like this. I hope and review more "hidden" comedy gems in the future. Praise it! 4/5
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