The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield

Lore & Background

The film began production in 1964 and continued shooting sporadically through 1967 due to a limited budget. It features Mansfield visiting various locations throughout Europe and the United States. European footage, shot in Rome and Paris, includes Mansfield observing Italian roadside prostitutes, running from paparazzi, and attending the Cannes Film Festival. She also visits a French naturist community, strip clubs, a gay bar, and a massage parlor. United States footage shows Mansfield judging a transvestite beauty pageant in New York City and footage of dancers at a Los Angeles topless bar. Musical performances by the all-girl topless band The Ladybirds and Rocky Roberts & The Airedales are included, with Mansfield doing the Twist. The film also contains clips of Mansfield's nude scenes from the 1963 sex comedy Promises! Promises! and the 1964 Italian film Primitive Love, as well as shots from her Playboy magazine pictorial.

Reader's Guide

Production ceased after Mansfield died in a car accident in June 1967. Upon her death, the film's producers added news footage about her death and photographs from the scene of her fatal accident. The film concludes with a tour of Mansfield's Los Angeles home, the Pink Palace, given by her ex-husband Mickey Hargitay, and a video tribute. Working titles included Jayne Mansfield Reports, Mansfield Reports Europe, and Mansfield By Night. Actress Carolyn De Fonseca, Mansfield's official voice dubber for European productions, was hired to mimic Mansfield's voice for the narration. The film premiered on April 18, 1968, in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an X rating due to its adult content and nudity. Critic Mark Kermode wrote in Sight and Sound: 'Prurient 60s documentary-travelogue, touring the seamier sights of Rome, Paris and LA with Jayne Mansfield. This film was once thought lost – it's a pity someone found it again.' In September 2003, Something Weird Video released the film on Region 1 DVD.

Did You Know?

• The film was released after Mansfield's death, but it was completed before her fatal car accident and does not include any footage of the crash.
• Actress Carolyn De Fonseca, Mansfield's official voice dubber, provided the narration mimicking Mansfield's voice.