The French Line
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| The French Line | |
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 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Lloyd Bacon |
| Produced by | Edmund Grainger - Producer Howard Hughes - Executive Producer |
| Written by | Matty Kemp, Isabel Dawn Mary Loos Richard Sale |
| Starring | Jane Russell Gilbert Rowland Arthur Hunnicutt Mary McCarty Craig Stevens Kim Novak (uncredited) |
| Music by | Josef Myrow Constantin Bakaleinkoff |
| Distributed by | RKO |
| Release date(s) |  February 8, 1954 |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| IMDb profile | |
The French Line is a 1954 musical film made by RKO, directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes as executive producer. The screenplay was by Mary Loos and Richard Sale, based on a story by Matty Kemp and Isabel Dawn. It was filmed in three strip technicolor and Dual strip polarized 3-D during what many consider 3-D films "golden era" of 1952-1954.
The film stars Jane Russell and Gilbert Roland and featured an uncredited Kim Novak in her first film appearance.
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[edit] Background and production
The French Line captures Russell at the height of her career, the year after Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in a splashy musical comedy specializing in costumes so purposely skimpy that it garnered the usual stern condemnation by the Catholic Legion of Decency. The plot involves an oil heiress who takes an undercover cruise to escape being continuously pigeonholed by men as ultra-wealthy. The literally outrageous outfits were designed by Howard Hughes and the craftsmen at RKO to display Russell's truly stunning physique to best advantage, and they succeeded magnificently. Russell's singing, dancing, and superb comedic skills are also much in evidence, not that many of the men in the audience noticed at the time. The film was considered somewhat scandalous at the time of its release but by today's standard would barely elicit a blush.
[edit] Plot
Millionairess Mame Carson's (Jane Russell) oil empire spells trouble for her love life. Men are either after her fortune or afraid of it. Her money-shy fiancé Phil Barton (Craig Stevens) has just given her the brush off. Disappointed, Mame heads for Paris on one of the French Line cruise ships with friend and fashion designer Annie Farrell (Mary McCarty). She swaps identities with Myrtle Brown, (Joyce Mackenzie) one of Annie's models, hoping to find true love incognito. Aboard ship she falls in love with French playboy Pierre DuQuesne (Gilbert Roland) who, unbeknownst to Mame, has been hired by her zealous guardian Waco Mosby (Arthur Hunnicutt) to keep the fortune hunters at bay. Pierre professes his love for Mame. Is he sincere or is this just a ploy to gain access to her millions? Silliness ensues interspersed with several musical numbers until Pierre's real intentions are finally revealed.
[edit] Controversy
Producer Howard Hughes was no stranger to controversy, especially when it came to Jane Russell. His focus on Jane's cleavage in "The Outlaw" ran afoul of The Production Code in 1941. The film was held up until 1943 before it was finally given a limited release. "The French Line" had its own set of controversies. Jane's ample bosom literally popped out of the screen in 3-D. To stress the point Howard used the tagline "J.R. in 3D. It'll knock both your eyes out!" as part of the advertising campaign. He also added the raunchy song and dance number "Lookin for Trouble" performed by Jane in a revealing one piece outfit with three strategically placed cutouts. The Catholic National Legion of Decency condemned the film and called for a boycott. The Breen Office refused to give it a Production Code seal of approval. Howard smartly defied both by releasing the film without the seal. After the initial run he made substantial cuts to the offending scene then re-released the film flat (without the 3D process). Advertising changed the tagline to " THAT Picture! THAT Dance! - you've heard so much about!" The publicity surrounding the film guaranteed a success for both versions.
[edit] The Critics Speak
- Bosley Crowther of the New York Times had no kind words to say about the film. He found it full of "Smoking room humor" and felt "To say any more about the cheapness and obviousness of this R. K. O. film would be but to give it more attention. And that it most certainly does not deserve."
- TimeOut London said "some song-and-dance routines that look like outtakes from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire.
- Variety called it "a rather mild, gabby, fashion parade in 3-D".
- Craig Butler of All Movie Guide called the film "Loud, garish and trashy".
[edit] Trivia
- Jane Russell said she personally selected Gilbert Roland for the role of Pierre because she thought he was "the best looking guy I'd ever seen".
- Jane Russell was so upset by the original two-piece bikini designed for the "Lookin for Trouble" number that she refused to do any further filming until a new outfit was designed. Designer Howard Greer substituted the bikini with the now famous one piece outfit seen on the poster. The outfit appears as red on the poster although it is actually black in the film
- Kim Novak had an uncredited role as one of the models in the final fashion show sequence.
[edit] 3-D Films
- The French Line was filmed in RKO's own 3-D process which they titled "Future Dimension".
- Bwana Devil - 1952 is often credited as the first 3-D film. Although it did spawn "The Golden age of 3-D from 1952 to 1954" the history of 3-D films can be traced as far back as 1903.
- Recent advances in 3-D films including IMAX 3-D and Digital 3D are opening a new era of 3-D filmmaking.
[edit] Availability
- The only surviving 3-D print of "The French Line" was screened at The World 3-D Expo 2006 September 15th, 2006 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Ca. The print included the very rare uncensored version of the "Lookin for Trouble" number.
- Turner Home Entertainment released "The French Line" on VHS in 1989. Although the box claimed the print to be "The Original Studio Edition" it was the re-edited version with the censored "Lookin for Trouble" number. The VHS has been out of print for several years. It periodically surfaces on various auction web sites
- The Turner Classic Movie (TCM) cable channel occasionally shows the censored version on TV.
