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The Outlaw Overview:

The Outlaw (1943) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by Howard Hughes and Howard Hawks (uncredited) and produced by Howard Hughes.

SYNOPSIS

An odd amalgam of sublime potential and fascinatingly silly result, this is now remembered mostly for one of the most famous ballyhoo campaigns ever executed for a movie. Huston and Mitchell were capable of delivering memorable performances, Toland was Orson Welles's preferred cinematographer, and Hawks a more than competent director. Unfortunately, they were no match for mogul Hughes's obsession with busty new starlet Russell and a pulpy, virtually fact-free storyline having something to do with Billy the Kid. Release was delayed for years as Hughes plastered the countryside with posters featuring a sultry Russell as he built a story of censorship and licentiousness that successfully reeled in the suckers.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Outlaw BlogHub Articles:

What’s Streaming in June on the CMH Channel at BCE? His Girl Friday, The Outlaw, and Father’s Little Dividend

By Annmarie Gatti on Jun 16, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Our June Picks on the Classic Movie Hub ChannelJune Birthdays and Fond Memories! Here we go… This month’s free streaming picks for our Classic Movie Hub Channel at Best Classics Ever (BCE) – the mega streaming channel for classic movies and TV shows! These titles will be available for FR... Read full article

Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales

By Rick29 on Mar 2, 2020 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

While Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) racked up the critical accolades, I still maintain that the best Eastwood-directed Western is The Outlaw Josey Wales. Made 15 years earlier, Josey Wales is an unflinching portrait of a man coping with the loss of his family as the U.S. tries to heal from the ... Read full article

Day of the Outlaw (1959)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 3, 2019 From 4 Star Films

Filmed in Central Oregon on the eve of winter, Day of The Outlaw displays gorgeously fluffy photography as the snow covers the ground. With the leading part anchored by Robert Ryan, I could not but help recall his portrayal in Nicholas Ray’s On Dangerous Ground (1951), another project that ma... Read full article

Mae West as the Outlaw: My Little Chickadee

By Judy on Nov 17, 2018 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

When asked what outlaw I wanted to feature for the Classic Movie Blog Association’s Outlaws blogathon, I immediately thought of Mae West’s character in My LIttle Chickadee. I know Mae West’s siren ways and bumpy pairing with W.C. Fields are more frequently associated with the film,... Read full article

Mae West as the Outlaw: My Little Chickadee

By Judy on Nov 17, 2018 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

When asked what outlaw I wanted to feature for the Classic Movie Blog Association’s Outlaws blogathon, I immediately thought of Mae West’s character in My LIttle Chickadee. I know Mae West’s siren ways and bumpy pairing with W.C. Fields are more frequently associated with the film,... Read full article

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The Outlaw Quotes:

[Pat and Doc rescue Rio, whom Billy has left bound, gagged and strung up by wrists within sight of a desert waterhole]
Doc Holliday: You know, I think he's in love with you.
Rio: What are you talking about?
Doc Holliday: The crazier a man is for a woman, the crazier he thinks and the crazier he acts.
Rio: He's only crazy about one thing - himself.
Pat Garrett: Hey, that gives me a thought. Maybe we'll get Mr. Billy after all.
Rio: How?
Pat Garrett: Like you said - if he's crazy enought to do you like this, maybe he's crazy enough to come back to turn you loose.
[first lines]
Townsman: Doc Holliday just got off the stagecoach! Do you want me and some of the boys to come along with you?
Pat Garrett: Why do ask that?
Townsman: Well, I certainly wouldn't want to fool around with him if I were alone.
Pat Garrett: I don't blame you, but I ain't gonna make no trouble for Doc Holliday. He's my best friend!
Doc Holliday: Cattle don't graze after sheep.
Doc Holliday: I need a little money and I thought maybe you'd like to come in with me.
[Pat laughs]
Doc Holliday: What's the matter?
Pat Garrett: I'll let you have the money, but if the deal's anything like that last one of yours, you better not tell me about it.
Doc Holliday: Why not?
[Pat pulls back his vest and reveals his Sheriff's badge]
Doc Holliday: Where'd you get that?
Pat Garrett: Oh, they stuck it on me about two weeks ago.
Doc Holliday: You're the last man I thought would be so easily satisfied.
Pat Garrett: Well, l... l... , a man's gotta settle down sometime.
Doc Holliday: Well, Billy, I guess this is it. Men are pretty much like children after all. Have you ever seen two kids wrestling in the yard? They push and they tussle and maybe they look like they're fighting... but they're not. They're really friends and everything is fun. Then pretty soon they play a little too rough. One of them gets mad. And in the end, somebody always gets hurt. So for you and me, this is where somebody gets hurt. But when it's over, and however it turns out, son, no hard feelings.
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The Outlaw Facts
Once they'd found her, Howard Hughes and his aircraft engineers designed a special cantilevered bra to enhance the appearance of Jane Russell's bust. She never wore it, but this movie was the reason the famous bra was designed.
In his book "Hollywood", Garson Kanin wrote that one day in New York, he and George S. Kaufman were walking down Broadway and counted five billboards with an alluring picture of Jane Russell advertising this film, prompting Kaufman to remark: "They ought to call it 'A Sale of Two Titties'".
Howard Hawks started as director but quit after 2 weeks, ostensibly to direct Sergeant York. But Howard Hughes, who had the dailies flown to Los Angeles daily, had complained that Hawks was not spending enough time filming, which probably precipitated his leaving. Hughes took over as director in December 1940 and announced all scenes would be re-shot by Gregg Toland, who replaced the original cinematographer, Lucien Ballard. However, screenwriter Jules Furthman filled in for Hughes as director on 31 December 1940 and often thereafter.
Debut of Jane Russell.
Although the film was finished and copyrighted in February 1941, it was not shown theatrically for another 2 years, mostly because of censorship problems which required cuts and revisions. By May 1941, the PCA agreed to approve the film, but Howard Hughes found that many state censor boards wanted a lot more cuts that he was not willing to make, so he shelved the film until 5 February 1943, when it was finally shown theatrically in San Francisco in the 115-minute version that we essentially see today. It caused quite a sensation, especially since Jane Russell and Jack Buetel performed a 20-minute scene that was cut from the film after each showing. More hassles about its possible release in New York caused Hughes to shelve the picture once again.
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