The Outlaw
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| Starring | Jack Buetel ... Billy the Kid Jane Russell ... Rio McDonald Thomas Mitchell ... Pat Garrett Walter Huston ... Doc Holliday | |
| Directed by | Howard Hughes | |
| Written by | Jules Furthman | |
| Released | 1943 | |
| Runtime | 116 min | |
| Notes | filmed in B&W | |
| IMDB Info | 0036241 on IMDb | |
The Outlaw is a 1943 Western movie, directed by Howard Hughes and Howard Hawks (uncredited), which turned Jane Russell into one of Hollywood's movie legends. The film also starred Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Buetel plays Billy the Kid in a classic western story.
Although the movie was completed in 1941, it was released to only a limited showing two years later. It did not see a general release until 1946. The delay was a result of Hughes defying the Hays Code, which set the standard of morally acceptable content in motion pictures. By showcasing Jane Russell's breasts in both the movie and the poster artwork, The Outlaw became one of the most controversial pictures of its time. Hughes even created a new type of bra just for this movie.
Even after Hughes did an "end-run" around the censors, the film was banned on a local level by several towns.
The film was colorized twice. The second colorized version, produced by Legend Films, is planned for a 2007 release.
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The classic Howard Hughes film which was censored and suppressed for years simply because of the ample cleavage of Jane Russell (if only those censors saw the films we have today...-grin- I'd pay to see *those* expressions;) it was completed in 1941, opened in *very* limited release in 1944 and then, finally, in wide release in 1949 (though still cut down).
This film is the film that catapulted Jane Russell into stardom...the film that Howard Hughes invented the bra for (so that he could show off those breasts and get suppressed for his efforts;)..and a film that is anything but a stereotypical western. It lacks the fast pace and action packed, horse-chasing, bullet-riddled scenes that encompass most westerns of the time. Most of the cliches, both in dialogue and scene, aren't apparent. And most of all it examines the interplay between characters, each character had character...no one-dimensional cowboys and outlaws here.
The dialogue is clever and often witty, the plot isn't predictable or full of holes, and most of all there isn't a proud, evil-fighting cowboy hero. In fact, the world is all grey, no black and white. The only other Western I can think of off the top of my head that paints a picture like that is High Noon (another absolute classic).
Walter Huston (Doc Holliday) does carry this film, however. He's the strongest actor, and the real standout. Jack Buetel (Billy the Kid) is too cheezy and innocent for my liking...he's the only real cliche in the film, and it's just his lack of talent that causes it. Jane Russell is simmering, but she look sour most of the time, which is a bit much. If she smiled just once in a while it would really add a bit more character to her...Rio didn't seem like a character that sulked too much.
Overall: a great watch, with a lot more to offer than the average western. It's not steamy or graphic, think 40s censorship and not present day;) but Jane Russell is a sultry one. It's not the greatest film, far from it, but some of the camerawork is brilliant (and obviously influenced by the arrival of film noir). Definitely worth seeing,
A Personal Note from Robin
In the movie, The Aviator, Howard Hughes is shown testifying before the Hays Commission as to why The Outlaw should not be banned. Using multiple charts and photographs, he argued that the "amount of flesh, percentage-wise" falls within the guidelines. Furthermore, her cleavage is, in actuality, percentage-wise, less than other stars of the day.
External links
- The Outlaw Official Movie Website
- Review The Outlaw at the Internet Movie Database
- The Outlaw at Google Video
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