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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ClassyCo" data-source="post: 269543" data-attributes="member: 7">Fox just casually lost interest in Jayne Mansfield after about a good two years. THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT and WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? were bit successes, and THE WAYWARD BUS showed her credible in the dramatic realm, but then it all just went off the rails. Most biographers point to the disappointing outcome of KISS THEM FOR ME, the 1957 comedy where Mansfield received equal billing with film star Cary Grant. The film had been adapted from a mildly successful mid-1940s Broadway production, and was apparently excepted to be a big hit. In the film itself, however, Jayne is lends little more than comedic relief, as Grant's on-screen character falls in love with a demure redhead, played by model-turned-actress Suzy Parker. KISS THEM FOR ME received poor reviews; critics called it "ill-advised" and "vapid". It was generally considered one of the biggest audience disappoints of 1957. Needless to say, the film also underperformed at the box office. KISS THEM FOR ME is where most Mansfield biographers point to as a turning point in her career. The strongest (or most visible) reason for this is that Fox and its executives placed the failure of KISS THEM FOR ME on Mansfield.  She was the newer star, and they apparently placed the blame at her feet because her box office power just was not strong enough. I guess this seems plausible, but I have my issues with it. I'm personally of the notion that Fox just simply.... lost interest in Jayne Mansfield. As hard as they had tried to push her as some Monroe stand-in, it just didn't work. Marilyn was still producing big hits at the time, such as BUS STOP and THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL, and her biggest hit was hit to come in SOME LIKE IT HOT. It was clear that Marilyn would have no successor, and I think Fox just casually lost interest in Jayne as a result. It was not long before Fox starting shipping Mansfield out to other studios. They got big bucks when they loaned her out, while she received her $2500-a-week contract salary. The first loan out, of sorts, was THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED JAW, which reads as something of precursor to the spaghetti westerns that flooded movie theaters in the 1960s and 1970s. It co-starred English actor Kenneth More, and placed Mansfield in a thankless role as a sassy saloon songstress and owner. Her singing voice was quite noticeably dubbed by Connie Francis. THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED is actually an enjoyable enough western spoof, even though it was not a big success when it was released. It premiered in British theaters in 1958, where it enjoyed reasonable success, and it came to America in 1959, where it flopped. Fox then sent Jayne to England, where she filmed two thrillers. She first starred in TOO HOT TO HANDLE, where she played a sexy nightclub entertainer who wants her boyfriend to shed his gangster ways. It was originally filmed in color, but later reprints were issued in black-and-white because of Jayne's racy on-screen costumes. The film was released in England in 1960, but came to the United States in 1961, where it was re-titled PLAYGIRL AFTER DARK. Only tidbits of the film's original color prints have resurfaced in recent years. Mansfield then made THE CHALLENGE, in which she starred as the leader of male mobsters. It was a torrid little tale, that did not come until America until 1963, where it was re-branded IT TAKES A THIEF. Mansfield then briefly returned to Fox, who quickly shipped her to Greece to star in IT HAPPENED IN ATHENS. While Mansfield received top billing, she appeared in only a scantily-clad supporting role, while the film was primarily tailored to showcase newcomer Trax Colton. The film was shot in the fall of 1960, but Fox shelved the final project. The studio eventually released the film in 1962 to help recoup their investments in CLEOPATRA, the highly heralded epic that practically bankrupted the the fledging studio. By the time, Mansfield had already been released by Fox.   [ATTACH=full]26993[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]26995[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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