WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? Blu-ray Review

Masters of Cinema:

Ladies and gentlemen, no-one does straight-and-narrow quite like Tony Randall, and we guarantee his turn as lovable ad-man Rockwell P. Hunter will leave you in so many stitches you'll be just silly with sc-HAH-rtissue! And speaking of tissue: once you see Jayne Mansfield bob and weave as starlet Rita Marlowe, the ambidextrous angel who takes Hunter under her "wings" to launch his agency into the $trato$phere, you too will coo her trademark "ooo"! But that's not all! You'll also get Ms. Joan Blondell, star of Nightmare Alley and of Opening Night, who rounds out the package as Ms. Marlowe's assistant and handler -- as they say in Paris, quel package!

Frank Tashlin is not a name that usually comes up when talking with the average Joe about movies. In the fifties and sixties, though, Tashlin was a force of nature, creating a string of hit comedies that began with Jayne Mansfield in The Girl Can't Help It in 1956, and was followed by this one, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, in 1957.  Both are classic satirical comedies without too much pretense, but still all these years later, they resonate among serious film fans. 

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is at once a broad comedy and a satire of a number of newly evolving high profile industries; first, the Madison Avenue advertising agency, now re-popularized by AMC's Mad Men, and second, the growing cult of celebrity which existed for movie stars in the 20's, but found new fuel for its fire via TV in the fifties. 

Mansfield was a not so well disguised stand-in for Marilyn Monroe, as she was for her entire career.  Her character, Rita Marlowe, spends her time flitting between high profile lovers, and when she needed one and one wasn't available, she decided to make one out of staid and stoic ad man, Rockwell P. Hunter, who she has renamed "Lover Doll".  What ensues is an exploration of fame and the fame machine and how it builds people up only to crush them, and how easily it can be manipulated.  All of these mechanisms exist today, only now, they are everywhere and it has gotten harder to hide, thanks to TMZ and millions of fans with cell phones.

Apart from any social context, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is hilarious and rolls along in a way that comedies today don't.  There is no cynicism, everything done is done fashionably and tastefully, with attention to detail and attention to dialogue.  There is no need to go blue, but Rock Hunter will still elicit a giggle from me every time.  If you haven't seen this yet, there's no better way than Masters Of Cinema's Blu-ray!

The Disc:

Masters of Cinema are famed for their reference quality image quality, and Rock Hunter is another in the "win" column.  While younger audiences may not be wowed by the image, those more familiar with classic film will instantly recognize the glorious grain and digitally fresh and untouched image.  This will never look like a modern film, but it looks damned good in its "color by DELUXE" Cinemascope glory.

The audio is also impressive.  As they are wont to do, Masters of Cinema have provided the original soundtrack in uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with no audible pops, scratches, or hisses.  Also included as an extra is an alternative music and effects only soundtrack that includes some original music not heard in the finished version as well as some unfinished sound effects.

The Extras:

This is another area where the Rock Hunter Blu-ray succeeds, though not in the way you might expect.  Video extras are a bit light.  There is only a brief, seven minute appreciation of the film and Tashlin in general from Joe Dante (Gremlins), a theatrical trailer, and an archive Fox Movietone News piece on Mansfield visiting Washington, D.C. during the promotion of hte film.  Nothing outrageous.  However, there is also a forty-four page booklet included that is full of essays and fascinating dissections of the film and the work of Frank Tashlin.  It is said that Tashlin, himself, disliked people over thinking his films, but thank goodness they have.  The booklet helps to contextualize the film both as a step in Tashlin's career and as a signpost in the time in which it was made.

Masters of Cinema is one of the absolute finest home video labels in the world, and this is just further proof.  If you are Region B compatible, that is in the UK, Europe, or Australia, grab this one, it is killer!  If you are in any other area of the world, why aren't you region free yet?

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? from Masters of Cinema is coded for Region B.