[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/will_success_spoil_rock_hunter.jpeg]]

''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 film directed and co-written by Creator/FrankTashlin, very loosely based on a play of the same name by George Axelrod.

It's a sex comedy centered around one Rockwell Hunter (Creator/TonyRandall), a Madison Avenue ad man who works at a rival to [[Series/MadMen Sterling Cooper]], and is engaged to his pretty secretary, Jenny (Betsy Drake). As the film starts, however, Rock receives some bad news: his firm is about to lose the Stay-Put lipstick account, and as a consequence Rock is about to lose his job.

A desperate Rock finally hits on an idea: he will get Hollywood sex kitten Rita Marlowe (Creator/JayneMansfield) to endorse Stay-Put lipstick. Rita, who is TheDitz, demands that Rock pretend to be her boyfriend to make her real boyfriend, strongman Bobo Branigansky (Creator/MickeyHargitay), jealous. This blows up in Rock's face when Bobo leaks his name to the media, making him instantly infamous as Rita's "Lover Doll".

Creator/JoanBlondell appears as Rita's wisecracking assistant Vi. Creator/BarbaraEden appears as Miss Carstairs.

''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a product of the then subject of the American CyclicNationalFascination (late [[TheFifties '50s]] to early [[TheSixties '60s]]) -- {{advertising}} agencies.

----

!!Tropes:

* ActorAllusion:
** Rita's boyfriend Bobo Branigansky is played by Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield's husband at the time.
** A radio announcer is talking about Rita doing a movie with Creator/CaryGrant just as Jenny enters for the first time. Her actress, Betsy Drake, was married to Grant at the time.
** When Rock narrates how Rita got together with George Schmidlap (played by Groucho Marx), he uses the phrase "You bet your life!", referring to [[Series/YouBetYourLife the quiz show]] Groucho was hosting at the time.
* AllWomenAreLustful: Rita is insatiably flirtatious around Rock, at one point even trying to trick him into kissing her again.
* AsYouKnow: Spoofed in the intermission, when Rock, after doing something for the TV fans in the audience, does something for the radio fans by doing a SoapOpera-type recap of the events so far.
* AspectRatioSwitch: TV is lampooned when the image is briefly shrunk from movie-sized to TV-sized.
* BathtubScene: Rita covered in bubbles for a fanservice scene with Vi.
* BecomingTheMask: While she was (initially) pretending to be involved with Rock for publicity's sake and to make Bobo jealous Rita develops genuine feelings for him, never missing a chance to seduce Rock when they're alone together.
* BigDamnKiss: Right at the end of Rock's telephone exchange with Bobo Branigansky an overjoyed Rita squeals delightedly before wrapping her arms around his neck and giving Rock a passionate kiss so hot it makes a bag of popcorn in his pocket pop again. He's, understandably, left so [[PostKissCatatonia dazed]] that he holds up traffic while slowly crossing the street in the very next scene.
* BoobBasedGag: Rita's bust is the subject of jokes, albeit indirectly (UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was still in effect, after all). In one scene, a cardboard standee of Rita falls over and bounces back up. Later, Jenny pretends to be Rita to tease Rock, with her bra stuffed to about two extra cup sizes.
* BreastExpansion: Invoked with a subplot about women overworking themselves to exhaustion doing push-ups in a vain attempt to enhance their bustlines to Rita Marlowe's generous proportions. Even Jenny and Rock's niece April; Rock finds the former flopped unconscious, and when he puts her to bed, her arms are still stuck in position.
* BriefAccentImitation: Jenny mocks Rock by imitating Rita's voice, complete with her high-pitched squeals.
* BuxomBeautyStandard: In one scene, Jenny tries doing a ton of push-ups hoping to make her chest bigger. She doesn't do any proper stretching or warm-ups, so this causes her arms to stiffen in that position. Then Rock sees his own niece stuck the same way.
* CallToAgriculture: Rock's boss Mr. [=LaSalle=] wanted to be a horticulturist breeding roses; when he confides this to him, Rock confesses that he wanted to be a chicken farmer. [[spoiler:In the end, both get to live out their dreams.]]
* CallingMeALogarithm:
-->'''Vi''': She's incorporating herself!
-->'''Rita''': Don't talk dirty on TV! This is a family medium!
* TheCameo: Multiple references to Rita's true love, one George Schmidlap. He pops up right at the end, played by [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Groucho Marx]].
-->'''Rita''': George, how come you never tried to kiss me before?\\
'''George''': (''looks at Rita's bosom'') I never could get close enough.
* CastingGag: Vi, Rita's frumpy, middle-aged, all-business secretary, is played by Creator/JoanBlondell, who was herself a major movie sex symbol some 30 years before, and whose sexuality was one of the first victims of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode. Vi even tells Rita that she was young she used to be pretty like her, "equipped with just as many extras."
* CelebrityParadox: Rita's movies -- ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'', ''Kiss Them for Me'', and ''The Wayward Bus'' -- are actually Jayne Mansfield's movies.
* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Vi's first love was a milkman. When she watches Rock on television, she tells the man with her "Leave two quarts tomorrow."
* ConversationCut: As a montage plays of Rock trying to recover from a vicious hangover--taking a shower, getting a massage--Jenny explains her plan for Rock to land the Rita Marlowe endorsement, her dialogue uninterrupted from scene to scene.
* CoordinatedClothes: Rita's poodle Shamroy is often dressed in an outfit matching his owner.
* DoubleEntendre: Many. Vi recalls how Rita once dated a Hollywood actor who made her "polish his Oscar".
* DrowningMySorrows: Rock gets good and drunk after losing his job. Later Vi is pounding back liquor while remembering how she was long ago dumped by her one true love, a milkman.
* TheEnd: Or rather, "The Very Living End".
* ForcefulKiss:
** Swept up in excitement Rita smashes her and Rock's lips together in a smoldering romantic kiss, ignoring Rock's complaints she's hurting him during this tight embrace Rita deepens their smooch with a passionate moan, loving it too much to quit.
** Rock himself pulls Rita into a passionate surprise embrace after, reluctantly, accepting his boss urging to go along with the fake romance.
* FormatSpecificJoke: Tony Randall comes on screen out of character and compares film's big screen to the tiny TV screen.
-->'''Randall''': Ladies and gentlemen, this break in our motion picture is made out of respect for the TV fans in our audience, who are accustomed to constant interruptions in their programs for messages from sponsors. We want all you TV fans to feel at home, and not forget the thrill you get, watching television on your big, 21-inch screens.
* GoingFurASwim: As she's getting off the plane Rita opens up her full-length white mink to reveal that she's wearing nothing but a swimsuit beneath it.
* GroupieBrigade: In one scene, Rock is chased by a Groupie Brigade desperate for a piece of "Lover Doll". They corner him in an alley. When he makes it to Rita's apartment, his clothes are in shreds.
* HangoverSensitivity: Rock is much the worse for wear after going on a bender after he's fired.
* HavingAGayOldTime: "You're just a little... ''poop'' of a man. And that's the way the poop poops."
* HeroicWillpower: Rock has god tier willpower, able to resist the sensual charms of a curvy bombshell played by Creator/JayneMansfield in order to stay true to his beloved fiance. Most men in his position would've probably given in immediately.
* HollywoodKiss: Rita certainly lives up to her reputation for having "oh-so-kissable lips." As Rock can attest to.
* HomeSweetHome: Ends with Rock having left the advertising rat race (despite getting promoted to president of his company) and followed his true dream: running a chicken farm in the country with Jenny.
* HonestJohnsDealership: One of the montages of hilariously awful commercials that starts the movie is for a car dealer named Rambunctious Rupert. The door of the car he's trying to sell falls off when he opens it.
* HugeGirlTinyGuy: Rock worries that the height difference between him and Rita will make them look ridiculous (although it's clearly not that great), saying that his face only reaches her shoulder. To compensate, she gives him elevator shoes, which force him to stomp around like FrankensteinsMonster.
* IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou: Rita introduces her TV special by saying there will be no mention of Stay-Put Lipstick during the program, and then goes on to mention all the Stay-Put lipstick colors that won't be mentioned, but that she personally uses for her oh-so-kissable lips.
* InNameOnly: An adaptation of a stage play called ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' starring Jayne Mansfield. However, other than the idea of Mansfield playing a blonde bimbo named Rita Marlowe, nothing is taken from the play, which is actually an adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Faust}}''.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Vi tells Rita that she used to be young and pretty like her, "equipped with just as many extras."
* LogoJoke: The 20th Century Fox logo and famous fanfare is accompanied by a shot of Tony Randall, out of character, attempting to play that fanfare on drum, trumpet, and cello. He then grouses about being contractually obligated to do so.
* MediumAwareness: Starts with Tony Randall as Tony Randall introducing himself, telling his character's name, and telling the title of the movie. About 2/3 of the way through there's a decidedly odd intermission where Randall appears again as Randall.
* MrFanservice: Handsome bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, as Bobo, is there to be everything masculine that Tony Randall seems not to be.
* MsFanservice: It's Jayne Mansfield, so tight dresses and revealing outfits throughout.
* NewMediaAreEvil: The weird "intermission" before the start of Act III is an extended TakeThat to television, as the image is reduced from widescreen Technicolor to a tiny, blurry black-and-white window. An out-of-character Randall drips with sarcasm at the wonder of watching a story on a 21-inch screen, filled with interruptions.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** Much as Jayne Mansfield was a [[invoked]]PoorMansSubstitute for Creator/MarilynMonroe in RealLife, her character is clearly based on the ditzy Monroe persona.
** And in his one scene Bobo, clad in a fur leotard and hanging out in a tree with monkeys, is an obvious clone of Johnny Weissmuller's Franchise/{{Tarzan}}.
** The show Rock appears in (but is never shown) is implied to be ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow'', as the presenter speaks in Ed's distinct intonation.
* OperationJealousy: Rita uses Rock to make her boyfriend Bobo jealous. Rock only accepts in order to get Rita to endorse Stay-Put lipstick and save his job.
* PrettyInMink: Rita wears a lot of fur coats. And when a trio of ladies appear to say the film's title one is wearing a pink cape trimmed with white fox.
* QuestioningTitle: ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?''
* ShipTease: Rock and Rita. While he never ''fully'' relents to Rita's advances, returning her kisses with equal passion, it's made clear Rock does share the attraction and enjoys her company. If Jenny weren't in the picture...
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: When getting kissed by Rita, [[PopcornOnTheCob the popcorn in Rock's pockets keeps popping]].
* SpinningNewspaper: A montage of newspaper headlines from all over the world shows Rock's growing popularity as "Lover Doll". Newspapers from France and Russia claim that he's one of them (with the Russian paper having a picture of Rock made up as Stalin).
* TitleDrop: Comes at the intermission, where Randall wonders what will happen to his character, asking "Will success spoil Rock Hunter?"
* WidescreenShot: Lampshaded in the intermission, a TakeThat to television in which the screen shrinks from a widescreen shot to a TV-sized window focused on Randall's face.
* WondrousLadiesRoom: Or in this case, wondrous executive bathroom.
* WorstNewsJudgmentEver: Parodied. The supposed Hunter-Marlowe romance is huge front-page news all over the world. When Rita gives out a public statement, Rufus says that it's on every TV station, "like when the President speaks."
----