in a splashy musical comedy specializing in costumes so purposely skimpy that it received a "condemned" rating from the Catholic National Legion of Decency. The outrageous outfits were designed by Howard Hughes 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. 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 Breen Office refused to give the film a Production Code seal of approval, branding it "offensive" because of "indecent exposure" during the soon-to-be notorious dance number. Hughes defiantly arranged for the film to premiere at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis on December 29, 1953 without the seal. Russell refused to attend the premiere or do a publicity tour for the film, telling the press that "I certainly don't want to be associated with any picture that's denied the seal." RKO was fined $25,000 for advertising and exhibiting the film with neither the Production Code seal nor the approval of the film industry's Advertising Advisory Council, and the Archbishop of St. Louis Joseph Ritter forbade Catholics "under penalty of mortal sin" from seeing the film. Nevertheless, the film sold over 60,000 tickets in the first five days of its St. Louis engagement. On January 9, 1954, RKO announced it would withdraw the film in nine days, in the meantime submitting a new cut to the Breen Office in the hopes of getting certified. When the Office still refused to approve the film RKO decided to keep it in theaters, and the Catholic National Legion of Decency graded the film Class C or "Condemned" as a consequence. The film was banned in Chicago and Boston, and was only released in New York,