The Outlaw (1943)

D. Howard Hughes



This infamous sex-western was millionaire director/producer Howard Hughes' B-grade pet project. It was marketed salaciously for full effect - such as with this tasteless slogan: "What are the two great reasons for Jane Russell's rise to stardom?"

Hughes' picture was notorious for leering camera views of statuesque and formidable Jane Russell's ample, buxom cleavage - displayed to the fullest and greatest effect to anger Hays Code censors. She was often pictured with an oft-unbuttoned, low-cut peasant blouse. The film was denied a Production Code Administration seal for the exploitative use of young star Jane Russell's prominent, bulging breasts and cleavage. One local judge in Baltimore, Maryland was quoted as saying that Russell's breasts "hang over the picture like a summer thunderstorm spread out over a landscape". However, it appeared that the publicity pin-up shots (example to left) were much more revealing, sultry and suggestive than the film itself.

The storyline -- the pursuit of Billy the Kid by Sheriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell), with Jane Russell as Doc Holliday's (Walter Huston) sexy, half-breed mistress Rio -- was considered too racy for contemporary audiences in 1941 when it was screened for the Hays Office. Its original release had to be postponed until 1943 - and then only in very limited release to theatres. After a ten-week run at that time, Hughes decided to shelve the film for three years after which it was finally placed in general release in 1946 (in a cut version) without a seal of approval.