The French Line Reviews

A cheap spinoff of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, THE FRENCH LINE is strictly a vehicle for Jane Russell. Here she plays Mary Carson, a Texas heiress who desperately wants to be loved, not for her millions, but for her own voluptuous self. To this end she discards stuffy, acquisitive Phil Barton (Craig Stevens) and takes off on a transcontinental sea trip, pretending to be a model for designer Annie Farrell (Mary McCarty), while hiring the statuesque Myrtle Brown (Joyce MacKenzie) to impersonate her. Also on board is playboy Pierre Duquesne (Gilbert Roland), who has been hired by Waco Mosby (Arthur Hunnicutt) to safeguard the heiress. While apparently believing Myrtle to be the real rich girl, he puts the moves on Mary, as he might any attractive but penniless female. It's not much of a story but Howard Hughes, by offering up Russell in 3-D and squeezing her into the skimpiest of costumes, was able to hype this potboiler into heavy profits. Most of the film is merely a buildup to the finale, "Lookin' for Trouble," in which Russell wears only high heels, gloves, and what was loosely termed a bikini. The number immediately got Hughes into hot water with critics and moralists alike, and the film failed to get the production code seal of approval, creating even greater box-office receipts. Songs include: "Comment Allez-Vous?" "Well, I'll Be Switched," "Any Gal from Texas," "What Is This That I Feel?" "With a Kiss," "By Madame Fuelle," "Wait Till You See Paris," and "Poor Andre" (Myrow, Blane, Wells).