THE WILD, WILD WORLD OF
JAYNE MANSFIELD (1968)
JAYNE MANSFIELD (1968)
Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 90 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English Subtitles.
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Cast: Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay
Director: Arthur Knight, Joel Holt, Charles W. Bround Jr.
The mondo exploitation film The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968) is another oddball travelogue film, this time starring the busty-blonde starlet Jayne Mansfield who is on a European vacation which takes her to Rome and Paris, before heading back to the U.S. by way of New York and Hollywood. Along the way she tosses coins in a famous Italian water fountain, is chased down the street by the Italian paparazzi, and has her ass grabbed by guys who are still fifty years away from #metoo. While still in Europe she visits gay bars, the Eiffel Tower, rocks out to a band, attends a drag contest, shows up at a best-breast contest, splashes around in a bikini, visits a nudist beach, all while more often than not holding her pet Chihuahua like it's an expensive purse.
The tone of it this is light-weight and fun, and then the film does something that sort of puts you through the wringer, it dives face first into the star's tragic death. You see this thing was started as a travelogue
starring the busty starlet, but when she died before it was finished producer Dick Randell (Pieces) did what any exploitation producer would have done, he found a way to cash-in on the tragedy, finishing the film with what I believe is a stand-in for Mansfield in certain scenes to pad out the run time and then hired a voice actor to imitate the breathless voiced vixen throughout the film, and whoever it is that did the narration did a decent job, sounding ditsy and fun. Not that I am an expert on what she sounded like, to be honest I have never actually seen another Jayne Mansfield film, other than the few shots of her nude that have been stitched into this slice of exploitation.
If all this travelogue offered was some imitative dubbing and a stand-in actress to finish making the planned movie that would be one thing, but the movie takes it a step further, going from frequenting a nightclub in L.A. to actual black and white crime scene photos of the crash that killed her! Awful stuff, a horrific accident, there's even a shot of her beloved Chihuahua, seen in her arms throughout the film, laying dead among the wreckage. It's one of the most exploitative real-life things I think I've ever seen, the whole thing is capped off with home video footage of her husband Mickey Hargitay and their two young sons at their mansion mourning her death.
Keep in mind that while I knew of her death and the tragic circumstances, including that her three young children were in the backseat asleep, and miraculously survived, Marisca Hargitay of Law &: Order: SVU, but I had no idea that it would be part of the actual movie, never mind as explicitly as it is. The illustration on the sleeve of artwork is such a fun, colorful advertisement of what awaits you inside, so that was a tasteless, albeit wonderful bit if salacious exploitation.
Audio/Video: The Wild, Wild world of Jayne Mansfield (1968) makes it's worldwide debut on Blu-ray in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:w widescreem, sourced from scan an archival 35mm film print from the Something Weird archives. It's got a serious grindhouse patine to it, it's well-worn with lots of scratches, deep fading and speckles, it's not pretty. It's a mic of black and white footage and color films, but the color is largely destaurated giving it a sepiatone feel, it's not attractive but it didn't put me off it either, it sort of enhanced the seediness of it all. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA mono with optional English subtitles, again it;s not perfection but it's perfectly suited to the film source.
Extras begin with a non-anamorphic standard definition video master of the film, the condition and colors are much better but it's SD, but if you're really put off by the scratchy looking main feature it might be a better alternative, but i still prefer the grindhouse presentation.
The 6-min 'The Devil & Jayne'is an interview with Anton LaVey biographer Blanche Barton, who gets into Jayne Mansfield's interest in Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, which was real shocker for me, including a curse placed on her manager after he moved some stuff around from an altar or something, and how that may have contributed to the crash that killed Mansfield. We also get a bonus film, Wild, Weird, Wonderful Italians (1966), which was scanned from 35mm print from also the Something Weird archives. The disc is finished up with brief trailer for the main feature.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster, which is an awesome illustration that's so bubbly and fun, the same artwork is featured on the disc inside. It's got a colorful spine with yellow lettering on a turquoise background with the Jayne peeking out at you from the spine.
Special Features:
- SD Video Master Version of Feature.
- The Devil & Jayne - Interview with Anton LaVey Biographer Blanche Barton (6 min)
- Wild, Weird, Wonderful Italians (1966) Italian Mondo, scanned from 35mm print from the Something Weird archives (76 min)
- Trailer (1 min)
The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968) is another shameless slab of exploitation, not unlike Severin's release of Mondo Balordo (1964) it's a mixed bag of salacious and light-hearted stuff, enhanced by the presence of a star, this time around being the actual appearance of doomed sexpot Jayne Mansfield, plus it has the gut-punch finale that caught me by surprise, with the gruesome crime scene photos of her actual death. It's not gonna be for everyone, but if you're of the right temperament it's sort of fascinating.
- SD Video Master Version of Feature.
- The Devil & Jayne - Interview with Anton LaVey Biographer Blanche Barton (6 min)
- Wild, Weird, Wonderful Italians (1966) Italian Mondo, scanned from 35mm print from the Something Weird archives (76 min)
- Trailer (1 min)
The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968) is another shameless slab of exploitation, not unlike Severin's release of Mondo Balordo (1964) it's a mixed bag of salacious and light-hearted stuff, enhanced by the presence of a star, this time around being the actual appearance of doomed sexpot Jayne Mansfield, plus it has the gut-punch finale that caught me by surprise, with the gruesome crime scene photos of her actual death. It's not gonna be for everyone, but if you're of the right temperament it's sort of fascinating.
