Posts in Category: Collection Spotlight
JR NOT in 3-D
Year of Jane Russell: Day 229
Howard Hughes originally wanted Underwater! to be in 3-D, but the underwater photography did not pair well with the other technology, so those plans were scrapped. The film did use Superscope, the widescreen format used by RKO.
Sparring Partners
Year of Jane Russell: Day 228
Jane and Underwater! costar Richard Egan loved to verbally spar. Jane said, “Other people thought we were serious, but we weren’t at all. We both adored each other, but we battled back and forth all the time.”
Acceptable Bathing Suit
Year of Jane Russell: Day 227
Jane rejected the bejeweled bikini Howard Hughes wanted her to wear in The French Line, but was agreeable to don this more modest two-piece designed by Michael Woulfe for Underwater!
Jane and Richard Egan
Year of Jane Russell: Day 226
Jane got to have input into casting for Underwater! and selected Richard Egan as her costar. She also though he should have blonde tips in his hair, something he ended up not having much of a say in!
On Location (Not Really)
Year of Jane Russell: Day 225
Many of the diving scenes in Underwater! were shot in Hawaii, but stunt doubles were used for Jane, Richard Egan, and Gilbert Roland during the location shoot.
Hughes Throws Jane “Underwater!”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 224
Following the French Line, Howard Hughes went all in with the bathing suits by casting Jane in Underwater!
Finnish French Line
Year of Jane Russell: Day 223
I love this Finnish French Line poster, which is simple certainly screams JANE! Hughes had this one shot in 3-D, though the prints that went to Helsinki may not have featured this technology.
Lookin’ for Trouble
Year of Jane Russell: Day 221
For “Lookin’ for Trouble,” the show-stopping number in The French Line, Howard Hughes wanted Jane to wear a bejeweled bikini. Jane went on strike in protest and this one-piece Michael Woulfe design was the compromise.
No Bubble Baths for Breen
Year of Jane Russell: Day 220
For a musical number in The French Line set in a bubble bath, RKO publicity claimed that the press had been banned from the set because it called for Jane to expose herself “down to Mr. [Joseph] Breen’s frown.”
Shuffleboard Swimsuit
Year of Jane Russell: Day 219
For this scene in The French Line, Howard Hughes had Michael Woulfe design a dozen swimsuits. “But seriously,” Woulfe later mused, “who would wear a swimsuit while playing shuffleboard?”