The French Line
Encyclopedia
The French Line is a 1954
musical film
starring Jane Russell
made by RKO Pictures
, 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.
Gilbert Roland
co-stars and Kim Novak
makes her first film appearance.
and the craftsmen at RKO to display Russell's physique to best advantage. Russell's singing, dancing, and comedic skills are also much in evidence. The film was considered scandalous at the time.
) 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.
A disappointed Mame heads for Paris on the French Line's
Liberté 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 revealed.
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 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.
The uncensored dance sequence can be seen at Youtube - The French Line. This version appeared in the 3D release of the film prior to the drastic cuts made to appease the censors.
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
made by RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
, directed by Lloyd Bacon
Lloyd Bacon
Lloyd Francis Bacon was a screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director.-Life:Bacon was born in San Jose California, the son of actor Frank Bacon, later the co-author and star of the long running Broadway show 'Lightnin' , and Jennie Bacon. He was not related to actor Irving Bacon whom he...
and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
as executive producer. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was by Mary Loos
Mary Loos
Mary Loos was an American actress, screenwriter and novelist.Born in San Diego, California, she was the daughter of Dr. Clifford Loos, co-founder of the Ross-Loos Medical Clinic. She was the niece of screenwriter Anita Loos....
and Richard Sale
Richard Sale (director)
Richard Sale, was an American screenwriter and film director.He started his career writing for the pulps in the Thirties, appearing regularly in Detective Fiction Weekly , Argosy, Double Detective, and a number of other magazines...
, based on a story by Matty Kemp and Isabel Dawn. It was filmed in three strip technicolor and Dual strip polarized 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
during what many consider 3-D films "golden era" of 1952-1954.
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
co-stars and Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
makes her first film appearance.
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 a condemnation by the Catholic Legion of Decency. The outrageous outfits were designed by Howard HughesHoward Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and the craftsmen at RKO to display Russell's physique to best advantage. Russell's singing, dancing, and comedic skills are also much in evidence. The film was considered scandalous at the time.
Plot
Millionairess Mame Carson's (Jane RussellJane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
) 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
Craig Stevens (actor)
Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
) has just given her the brush off.
A disappointed Mame heads for Paris on the French Line's
Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique , typically known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established during 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was indicated during the Crimean War of 1856...
Liberté 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
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
) who, unbeknownst to Mame, has been hired by her zealous guardian Waco Mosby (Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
) 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 revealed.
Cast
- Jane RussellJane RussellJane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
as Mary 'Mame' Carson - Gilbert RolandGilbert RolandGilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
as Pierre DuQuesne - Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
as 'Waco' Mosby - Mary McCartyMary McCartyMary McCarty was a County Commissioner in Palm Beach County, Florida from November 1990 until her resignation - announced on January 8, 2009. Along with her husband, Kevin McCarty, she steered bond deals with the county government, the county's Housing Finance Authority, the city of Delray Beach,...
as Annie Farrell - Joyce MackenzieJoyce MacKenzieJoyce MacKenzie is an American actress who appeared in films and television from 1946 to 1961. She is best remembered for being the eleventh actress to portray Jane. She played the role opposite Lex Barker's Tarzan in 1953's Tarzan and the She-Devil.-External links:...
as Myrtle Brown (as Joyce MacKenzie) - Rita CordayRita CordayRita Corday was an American actress. She appeared in 30 films during the 1940s and 1950s.-Selected filmography:* The Falcon Strikes Back * The Body Snatcher * The Exile...
as Celeste (as Paula Corday) - Scott Elliott as Bill Harris
- Craig StevensCraig Stevens (actor)Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
as Phil Barton - Kasey RogersKasey RogersKasey Rogers was an American actress, best known for playing the second Louise Tate on the popular U.S. television sitcom Bewitched.-Career:...
as Katherine 'Katy' Hodges (as Laura Elliott) - Steven GeraySteven GeraySteven Geray, born Istvan Gyergyay on November 10, 1904 and died aged 69 on December 26, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. He was a film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs...
as François, Ship Steward - John WengrafJohn WengrafJohn Wengraf was an Austrian actor.Wengraf emigrated to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power. Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented...
as Commodore Renard - Michael St. Angel as George Hodges
- Barbara Darrow as Donna Adams
- Barbara Dobbins as Kitty Lee
- Sue CaseySue CaseySue Casey, born April 8, 1926, in Los Angeles, California, was an American actress and Hollywood extra who appeared in over 75 productions between the years 1945 and 2002....
as Model - Sandy DescherSandy DescherSandra "Sandy" Descher is an American former child actress of the 1950s.-Biography:Although born in Burbank, California, she was discovered by accident while on vacation. When Descher was about five years old, her family had travelled across country to New York City where the girl fell in love...
as Janie, Young girl on Liberte - Bess FlowersBess FlowersBess Flowers was an American actress. By some counts considered the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood, she was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in over 700 movies in her 41 year career....
as Farellie Saleslady - Anne FordAnne FordAnne or Ann Ford, after 1762 Mrs. Philip Thicknesse, was an 18th-century English musician and singer, famous in her time for a scandal that attended her struggle to perform in public.-Life and music:...
as Model - Joyce JohnsonJoyce JohnsonJoyce Johnson is an American author of fiction and nonfiction who won a National Book Critics Circle Award for her memoir Minor Characters about her relationship with Jack Kerouac.-Personal life:...
as Model - Joi LansingJoi LansingJoi Lansing was an American model, film and television actress, as well as a nightclub singer. She was most noted for her pin-up photos, and for her minor roles in B-movies...
as Model - Ellye MarshallEllye MarshallEllye Marshall is an American actress who appeared in five films in the early 1950s.-Filmography:* Champagne for Caesar * Second Chance * Rogue River * Cat Women of the Moon * The French Line...
as Model - Dolores MichaelsDolores MichaelsDolores Rae Michaels was an American actress.-Biography:She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Esther Marie "Essie" and Raymond Roscoe "Ray" Michaels .Her father was at one-time a professional baseball player who spent time as a catcher in the Chicago Cubs...
as Model - Jean MoorheadJean MoorheadJean Moorhead is an American actress and model. Using the name Jean Moorehead, she was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the October 1955 issue...
as Model - Kim NovakKim NovakKim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
as Model - Gloria PallGloria PallGloria Pall is an American model, showgirl, film and television actress, author and businesswoman.Pall was born in Brooklyn, New York to an English family. During World War II, she worked as an aircraft mechanic in upstate New York at Rome Army Air Depot...
as Model - Shirley PattersonShirley PattersonShirley Patterson, sometimes billed as Shawn Smith, was a Canadian born B-movie actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Patterson began her acting career after being a beauty contestant in pageants in California in 1940...
as Model - Pat Sheehan as Model
Controversy
Producer Howard HughesHoward Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
was no stranger to controversy, especially when it came to Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
. His focus on Jane's cleavage in The Outlaw
The Outlaw
The Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...
ran afoul of The Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
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
National Legion of Decency
The National Legion of Decency was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in motion pictures...
condemned the film and called for a boycott. The Breen Office refused to give it a Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
seal of approval. Howard 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.
The uncensored dance sequence can be seen at Youtube - The French Line. This version appeared in the 3D release of the film prior to the drastic cuts made to appease the censors.
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 MillionaireHow to Marry a MillionaireHow to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 romantic comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Jean Negulesco and produced and written by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoe Akins and Loco by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert. The music score...
. - Variety called it "a rather mild, gabby, fashion parade in 3-D".
- Craig Butler of Allmovie called the film "Loud, garish and trashy".
3-D Films
- The French Line was filmed in RKO's own 3-D process which they titled "Future Dimension".
- Bwana DevilBwana DevilBwana Devil is a 1952 drama based on the true story of the Tsavo maneaters. It was written, directed, and produced by Arch Oboler, and is considered the first color, American 3-D feature. It started the 3-D boom in the U.S. film making industry from 1952 to 1954...
- 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.
- For an extensive index of 3-D films see List of 3-D films.
Availability
- The only known 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.