Ironically, Jayne Mansfield tackled her first straight dramatic role in her final film here playing a girl of 18, a young woman in her twenties and a 40-year-old prostitute.
She starts out as hopeful and innocent Bronx teenager Johnnie who marries Frankie (Martin Horsey) straight out of school. Frankie leaves her when she becomes pregnant and runs off to join the Navy, and following a miscarriage, Johnnie changes her name (and hair colour) and – now called Mae – begins working as a cocktail waitress.
When she becomes pregnant again, Charlie (Fabian Dean) takes pity on her and proposes marriage, but he changes his mind and ends up marrying Flo (Dorothy Keller) instead. Mae puts her baby up for adoption and ends up working as a prostitute after changing her name (again) to Eileen.
It is in this third role that Mansfield really extends herself as an actress in her scene with her crazed stalker, Billy (Walter Gregg).
Jayne Mansfield was killedon 29 June 1967 when the car she was travelling in rammed into the rear of a truck near New Orleans in the early hours of the morning. She was just 34.
Because Mansfield died before the completion of the film, an extra storyline – revolving around the characters of Charlie and Flo – was added to bring the film up to feature-length running time. Consisting of long boring conversations, it’s certainly the weakest section of the movie.
A prologue eulogising Jayne, delivered by Walter Winchell, was added posthumously, and the film was “officially” released in 1968.
Johnnie/Mae/Eileen
Jayne Mansfield Flo
Dorothy Keller Charlie
Fabian Dean Pop
Billy M. Greene Maria
Terri Messina Frankie
Martin Horsey Billy
Walter Gregg Mrs Adamo
Velia Del Greco Grandmother
Isabelle Dwan Mr Quack Quack
Bruno VeSota Mr Ferdente (voice)
Marty Levine Lucia
Lucille Ford Girl at Window
Erie MacGruder Grocery Boy
Robert Van Strawder Waitress
Jana Pearce Mr Peabody
Trevor Doughty
Director
Matt Cimber (as Matteo Ottaviano)
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