Hollywood is full of tall tales. Most are fake. Some are basically legends that have been polished so many times they’ve lost all original texture. But the story of the jane russell outlaw movie, officially titled The Outlaw, is a rare case where the reality is actually weirder than the marketing.
You’ve probably heard the headline. A billionaire recluse builds a "cantilevered" bra using aeronautical engineering to keep an actress's bust in place. It sounds like classic 1940s studio hype. Honestly, it was. But it also nearly destroyed the movie before anyone saw a single frame.
The 1941 Movie Nobody Saw Until 1946
The Outlaw wasn't just a film; it was a five-year hostage situation. Howard Hughes, the man who eventually became more famous for his long fingernails and hotel-room seclusion, directed this thing. Sorta. He actually took over after the legendary Howard Hawks walked away just two weeks into production. Hawks wanted to make a Western. Hughes wanted to make a sensation.
The plot is a mess. It’s a weird, psychosexual triangle involving Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel), Doc Holliday (Walter Huston), and a woman named Rio McDonald (Jane Russell). At one point, Doc and Billy basically gamble for the ownership of Jane Russell’s character. Then they gamble for a horse. The horse seems to be the more prized possession. It’s bizarre.
But nobody was watching for the plot. They were watching because the Hays Office—the Hollywood censors of the time—was having a collective heart attack. Joseph Breen, the head of the Production Code Administration, famously complained that the film’s shots of Russell were "shockingly emphasized."
He wasn't wrong. Hughes spent months obsessing over camera angles. He wanted the audience to see what the censors wanted to hide. Because of this tug-of-war, the movie finished filming in 1941 but didn't get a wide release until 1946.
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The Myth of the Cantilevered Bra
Let's talk about the bra. It’s the most famous piece of lingerie in history.
Hughes, using his background in aviation, supposedly designed a seamless, underwired contraption that used "structural engineering" to support Russell without showing any lines through her blouse. He was proud of it. He thought he’d solved a problem.
The truth? Jane Russell hated it.
In her 1988 autobiography, she finally came clean. The thing was "painful" and "ridiculous." She wore it for about five minutes before tossing it in the trash in her trailer. Instead, she just wore her own bra, padded it with some tissues to smooth things out, and tightened the straps.
Hughes never noticed. He’d walk onto the set, look at her, and nod, convinced his "engineering" was doing the heavy lifting. It’s a perfect example of his ego. He was a man who thought he could out-engineer nature, but a 19-year-old girl with some Kleenex outsmarted him.
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Marketing an "Outlaw"
If the movie was a slog, the marketing was a masterpiece of manipulation. Hughes hired Russell Birdwell, the guy who made Gone with the Wind a hit. Together, they decided that if the censors wouldn't let them show the movie, they’d make the public desperate to see what the fuss was about.
They released the "haystack" photo. You've seen it. Jane Russell, lounging in the hay, looking like she’s about to start a fire. It became one of the most popular pinups for GIs during World War II.
- The Billboard War: Hughes put up a massive billboard in San Francisco.
- The Slogan: "How would you like to tussle with Russell?"
- The Outrage: Women’s groups and religious organizations protested.
Hughes loved it. Every time a city tried to ban the film, he’d run ads about how the film was "too bold for the censors." He was the original "cancelled" artist, except he was doing it to make millions. By the time the jane russell outlaw movie finally hit theaters in a big way in 1946, it broke box office records. Not because it was a great Western, but because it was "forbidden fruit."
Why the Film Still Matters (Kinda)
Is The Outlaw a good movie? Not really. It’s slow. The acting from Jack Buetel is... wooden, to put it nicely. Walter Huston is the only one who seems to know what kind of movie he's in, playing Doc Holliday with a wink.
But it matters because it broke the back of the Hays Code.
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Before this, movie stars were presented as pristine. The Outlaw introduced a raw, earthy sexuality that Hollywood couldn't put back in the bottle. It paved the way for Marilyn Monroe and the bombshell era of the 1950s.
It also launched Jane Russell. She wasn't just a "pinup," though. She was smart, funny, and eventually proved she could act in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She outlived the scandal and the man who tried to engineer her image.
Actionable Insights for Film Buffs
If you’re planning to watch the jane russell outlaw movie, keep these things in mind to actually enjoy the experience:
- Look for Gregg Toland’s Cinematography: He’s the guy who shot Citizen Kane. Even if the story is clunky, the movie looks incredible. The lighting is moody and way ahead of its time for a Western.
- Ignore the "Action": This isn't a high-octane shootout film. It’s more of a weird chamber drama that happens to take place in the desert.
- Spot the Edits: You can almost feel the places where Hughes had to cut footage to appease the censors. The jumps in the "bedroom" scenes are particularly jarring.
- Watch it as a Time Capsule: Don't expect a masterpiece. Watch it to see the exact moment Hollywood decided that "sex sells" was more important than "decorum."
The film is currently in the public domain, so you can find high-quality versions of it for free on sites like YouTube or the Internet Archive. Just don't expect to see the bra—it was never there to begin with.