I read Jayne Mansfield auditioned for the part of Judy. Nicholas Ray didn't like her. Anyone know why? I think she would've been great as Judy. Judy is not one of my favorite roles that Natalie Wood played. I loved her as Maria in West Side Story. I loved Jayne Mansfield in Female Jungle. She was hot. I'll never forget her scenes with Lawrence Tierney. Very hot. She would've made the kissing scene with Judy and Jim so much hotter.
shareMaybe she said she got along very well with her mother, Nicholas Ray didn't want that, he wanted a girl who was honest about it.
shareYeah, but even if that wasn't the case, Judy didn't have issues with her mother. She had daddy issues. Jim was really the one that didn't get along with his mother. It's funny because in real life it was the other way around. In real life Natalie had issues with her mother and Jimmy had issues with his father.
shareExactly, Natalie didn't get along with her mother and that's WHY she got the role of Judy. A lot of girls auditioned, but they killed their chances by saying they got along great with their mothers when asked about their home lives.
shareOh, I see. So Ray was looking for someone that didn't get along with their parents? Makes sense I guess. I think Jayne would've been better, but that's just me. Jayne was stunning. I could've seen her playing the rebellious Judy. I actually didn't think Natalie Wood and James Dean had any chemistry. After seeing Jimmy and Julie in East of Eden, it was kind of a letdown when I saw Dean and his romantic co-star in Rebel. Dean and Harris went together beautifully. Wonder how James Dean and Jayne Mansfield would have been together.
shareI don't know but I think part of why he and Julie Harris got along so well in East of Eden, if you think about it they're alike, he became most famous for his role as a misunderstood youth in this movie, and Julie Harris 3 years previous to that, performed an outstanding role as an equally misunderstood and ignored 12 year old girl. Frankie Adams wasn't a rebel by any means but she knew what it was like to be blackballed, to have all her friends abandon her, her father's never around, the housekeeper who's like her mother is always making jokes about things that to her are very real and personal and hurt. She didn't know what was going on with her life and I find it very similar to what James went through in this movie, except he was older and more liable to strike out for it.
shareJayne would have been too stunning. Natalie was beautiful yes, but also she contorted her face to look snotty, sad, confused, conflicted.
If people would have overlooked Jayne's bosom for once, I agree I would have loved to see Jayne dive into a role so different than what she usually got.
I would loved to have seen Jayne Mansfield in a role like this as well, especially with James Dean! Unlike the grossly overrated Marilyn Monroe who seemed like she would struggle in her non-comedic performances, Jayne could actually act and it came off naturally. Maybe they could've dyed Jayne's hair and bound down her breasts a little or something...
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