THE FRENCH LINE (1953) *1/2 Don't let 'em fool you with all the talking early on, they're trying to get you to watch. Not that it's brilliant dialogue or anything, just that at least they aren't singing. But they do sing, and once they get started they don't do much else. And the songs they sing? Pretty stupid songs, mainly, sung by mediocre talents fronting elevator arrangements. So it's got that. Jane Russell strikes me as neither a very good actress nor a historic beauty, but there is something likable about her. Unfortunately it's not enough to carry something the rest of which is this . It's funny to consider that only a few decades ago the film was considered scandalous, presumably Ms Russell's outfit and closing number. The only thing anyone would consider scandalous about it this these days is that their time would be wasted by such a non-model-looking pop singer subjecting them to such a dreary number. It's almost enough to besmirch wild sexual abandonment with a smudge of boredom. I imagine lots of contemporary divas would groove on the outfit, though.
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