The Outlaw (1943)

Remembering that The Outlaw was a product of its time (the early 1940s) when the censor board (headlined by the vicious Will Hays) was as-tough-as-nails on any Hollywood, mainstream picture that dared to push the limits of violence and sexual content - It took director Howard Hughes nearly 2 years of wrangling with the likes of Hays to finally get The Outlaw released in American theaters.And, now, looking back at this film, 72 years later, one really does end up asking themselves what the heck all of the fuss was about.But, with that said - I know one thing for certain - All of the legal battling that Hughes got involved in over The Outlaw's release sure provided some great publicity for his picture.As I understand it, curious spectators (especially the guys) were lined up right around the block for this Western-dud whose only selling point was the accentuation of Jane Russell's 38D bust-line. And, that's it!Anyway - Speaking about The Outlaw's story (in general) - It sure came across to me like some sort of a really screwy tale about vicious betrayal amongst cowboy-outlaws who were secretly, madly in love with each other, but were too afraid to admit it.

Here we have a movie about Jane Russell's breasts. Well, there is some sort of plot about some Western gunslingers and the sheriff who chases them. But really the only reason the movie exists is to show off Russell's cleavage. She certainly looks great and director Howard Hughes is more than happy to let the camera linger on her fine female form. But breasts can only take a movie so far. It's not worth sitting through 2 hours of absolute dreck to sneak a few peeks of a babe in a low-cut blouse.The story in this movie never grabs your interest, it's a dull movie pretty much beginning to end. Matters are not helped by some truly wretched acting. Jack Buetel, playing famed outlaw Billy the Kid, is just terrible. He's stiff, unnatural and has all the personality of a block of wood. Meanwhile Russell has little to offer besides her ample bosom. She may have gone on to a respectable acting career but here, in the movie which made her a star, it is safe to say she had not yet honed her craft. The movie relies on there being some kind of spark between Russell's character, Rio, and Billy the Kid. Sadly two rather inept performances mean there is no spark at all. That relationship falls flat, the whole movie follows suit. Reliable Hollywood veterans Walter Huston, playing Doc Holliday, and Thomas Mitchell who plays Sheriff Pat Garrett come off better than Buetel and Russell. But even they can't really make much of what is a rather lousy script. The movie takes real-life characters and tosses them into a completely made-up story. You'd think if you were going to make up a story you would at least make up an interesting one. No such luck. The movie is a real snoozer. Anytime there threatens to be even a little bit of heat between Rio and Billy censorship standards of the 1940s dictate an awkward cut away before we actually see anything. The story and the acting are laughable throughout which means the absurdly cartoonish score fits right in. Hard to take anything seriously with that absurd music blaring the whole time. It all leads up to a conclusion which is just impossibly bad, by this point you're definitely laughing at the movie, not with it. Howard Hughes fought so hard to be able to show the world Jane Russell's breasts. Unfortunately those breasts did not have a movie to support them.

I don't know if Howard Hughes was gay like some commentators maintain. I do know he was bat-shiat crazy. So the constant betrayal and backstabbing and shifting alliances are easy to see coming from his frightened mind. As a technical worker Hughes was also an Asperger's sufferer, who values things more than human relationships and can't understand humans anyway. So we see a pouch of tobacco and a horse traded around as casually as they do Jane Russell. Did anyone mention Johnny Carson's introduction of her on his show? "Here they are, Jane Russell." What disturbed me was her voice over-- what do you call it-- Foley stage? She sounds like a 12-year-old. Its quite off-putting and makes the creepiness of Hollywood shine through.So the lack of human motivations and operations give this a one star. But even if Howard Hughes knew how human beings felt or operated, the musical score would get this a one-star. Good gosh, is veered between over-dramatic Hitchcock and the Three Stooges (wha whaa whaaaa). In between was what others have described as bad Tchaikovsky. As you would expect for the guy that gave us Citizen Kane, the cinematography was pretty good. I bet I would have liked this a lot better if I turned off the sound. Closed-captioning would be far preferable to the wooden delivery and bad score.Double triple spoiler-- I do love the effect when Doc shoots big chunks out of Billy's ears. We need more of this in-camera stuff, CGI is boring me to tears.Now that the film is ending, I think of that guy that said it only makes sense if Pat, Doc, and Billy are gay, and he may have a point. But let's face it, if any real 1940s homosexuals were behind this film, it would be 100 times better.Quadruple spoiler-- Its nice that Doc dies saying he don't want to die in bed, and Val Kilmer picks up the meme in Tombstone.As a movie this is execrable, but as an exploration into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic Asperger suffer, it is a real treasure. I love how Hughes makes all the elements of a Jane Russell soft-core porno, since he has so little understanding of human beings he thinks that is the only reason we would watch this. Then again, maybe he was right.

Stories of the old West abound and Hollywood is no stranger to putting them onto the silver screen. However, tinsel town is not very careful when it comes to historical accuracy. Take this film for instance, the original script was written by Jules Furthman, for a special project directed by none other than Howard Hughes. The movie is called " The Outlaw " and is supposedly one of a few the late Hughes touted as his best. However, playing fast and loose with history is sure to cause historians to scratch their heads. In this fanciful tale, audiences are treated to a make believe story wherein we have two western legends 'Billy the Kid' aka, William Bonny (Jack Beutel) and 'Doc Holiday' aka, John Henry Holiday (Walter Huston) arriving in Lincoln, New Mexico and becoming fast friends. Unlikely as that is, we are also treated to Sheriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) who comes to dislike both men. Not because they are outlaws, but because they form a closer bond which many suggest boarders on the suspicious. Jane Russell is the Buxom bombshell Rio McDonald, who was the surprising sex-sensation and X-rated Eye-candy of the 1940s. The actors are likable enough and carry the fictional story along to it's rather slow, almost torturous ending. The motion picture has its ardent proponents, which equal it's cinematic detractors. However, the special reason why this film is sought after is due to its depiction of Jan Russell in a 'super' bra (Which she never wore). Indeed, I watched the movie with anticipation and realized in the year 2010 we have a whole plethora of "Full-Figure' want-to-be's who've revealed more than Russell ever did. I believe that were it not for the trashing of western myths, this movie might rank as a Classic, but as it is, many would warn its director to stick to airplanes. ****