Review of The Outlaw (1943) by Eric R — 29 Apr 2010

Continuing on my quest to see the Howard Hughes movies referenced in The Aviator, I watched this movie over the weekend. Some say the one notable thing (or maybe it counts as two?) about this movie is Jane Russell's bosom.

That's not quite true. Ms. Russell's assets are certainly notable, but even they pale in comparison to Hughes' leering close-ups of her "in heat" expressions. When I saw "The Aviator," I thought that perhaps that shot where Russell seems to be sucking lens with the camera was an extended outtake, but it's not----the shot is IN the movie this way! Yeesh!

Actually, Russell is solid in the film, as are the other principals, particularly Walter Houston's charming Doc Holliday. They make the movie likable, in a dopey sort of way. Take this material seriously for a second, and you're in trouble. Still, I can't help but wonder how the movie might have turned out if Howard Hawks, who directed roughly the first third, had completed it.

Still, one of Hawks' scenes is overheated too. Early on, Russell tries to attack Billy the Kid because she murdered his brother. After she tries and fails to shoot him, she tries to skewer him with a pichfork. (OW!) But as soon as Billy lays a smooch on her, never mind the whole vendetta thing, she's in love. So much for hard to get!