Kenneth More on the Well Endowed Actress

British actor, Kenneth More, Jayne Mansfield's latest movie costar, said Sunday that bust size, rather than measure of talent, has become the gauge for an actress' success at the box office.

More said Miss Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren were killing off such sophisticated performers as Lauren Bacall, Rosalind Russell and Barbara Stanwyck.

He told United Press International in an interview that he likes the last three because- "I like a little bit of wit and polish, but that kind of actress has sort of died out due to the bosom cult."

More, [who is] in the United States for the opening of his latest movie, "A Night to Remember," in which he is costarred with the sinking liner Titanic, offered these evaluations of the bosomy actresses:

On Miss Loren: "I don't see much in this woman at all."

Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield at a Paramount party for Miss Loren

On Miss Mansfield: "Her talent is very limited, but she is a good trooper. She's always on time and always knows her part. She knows all the other parts, too. She never fluffs."

On Miss Monroe: "She is wonderfully effective on the screen. She's like Lassie- one bark and she steals a scene."

Marilyn Monroe

More said he did not understand how Ingrid Bergman, a non-bosomy type, has remained popular at the box office in the face of this voluptuous competition.

"The idea that girls can get to the top on bosoms is extraordinary," he said. "It is not merely a passing phase, either. Films are bigger and showier than ever before. Bigger screen plays require bigger screens. Bigger screens require bigger girls. Perhaps there is no place for the flat-chested girl any more."

More, a veteran actor, has costarred with Vivien Leigh and Kay Kendall, both slender, witty and polished. His next picture will be with Miss Bacall, who, in his view, is even more so.

Kenneth More and Vivien Leigh in a scene from The Deep Blue Sea, 1955

He said that he had been less worried about appearing opposite the liner Titanic than with Miss Mansfield in a film they recently finished called "The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw."

"The idea of me getting the best of three falls with Jayne was amazing," he said. "People are still wondering how I got close enough to her to kiss her."

More said his fellow Britons rely mainly on American imports for their "bust pictures," despite the existence of Diana Dors and Sabrina.

"There are no British bust pictures," he said. "We haven't got any busts in England. We're flat-chested. Our actresses are deflated when it comes to bosoms. It must be because there is too much rain."


Article published by UPI, 1958