The Jayne Mansfield Story ** (1980, Loni Anderson, Arnold Schwarzenegger) – Classic Movie Review 12,387

Director Dick Lowry’s 1980 American made-for-television biographical drama film The Jayne Mansfield Story stars Loni Anderson as the girl who couldn’t help being compared with Marilyn Monroe. But her co-star is a bigger name now than even the title lady: Arnold Schwarzenegger no less.

The reconstruction of Mansfield’s interesting career centres on her extravagant lifestyle and marriage to muscleman Mickey Hargitay (played by Big Arnie), and that is fine and fascinating. But this CBS TV movie is quite fancifully and rather scrappily written by Charles Dennis and Nancy Gayle, and somewhat untidily directed by Lowry.

Anderson has the looks and gives a game performance, but perhaps does not show quite enough special skill and talent here to do full justice to the character of the always underrated Mansfield. Schwarzenegger is ideal as the muscleman Mickey Hargitay, who marries Mansfield. Technically it is well done, and there is plenty of skill shown in the costume design by Warden Neil, makeup by Alan Friedman and Lona Jeffers, and hair styling by Silvia Abascal and Janis Clark, all of them nominated for Primetime Emmys.

Also in the cast are Raymond Buktenica, Kathleen Lloyd, G D Spradlin, Dave Shelley, Laura Jacoby, Deirdre Hoffman, Lewis Arquette, and John Medici.

The film was originally titled Jayne Mansfield: A Symbol of the ’50s. It first aired on CBS on 29 October 1980.

The script is based on the book Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties by Martha Saxton.

The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson’s book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.

The cast are Loni Anderson as Jayne Mansfield, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mickey Hargitay, Ray Buktenica as Bob Garrett, Kathleen Lloyd as Carol Sue Peters, G D Spradlin as Gerald Conway, Laura Jacoby as Jayne Marie Mansfield, Deirdre Hoffman (Loni Anderson’s real-life daughter) as 16-year-old Jayne Marie, Dave Shelley, Lewis Arquette, and John Medici.

It is released on DVD.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,387

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