A fast-paced, entertaining lark of a film, The Outlaw is known today mostly for the buoyant performance of Jane Russell, whose career was engineered by the film's director, Howard Hughes, otherwise infamous for his reclusive millionaire ways. But more than that, the film boasts a set of finely tuned performances in the retelling of the story of Billy the Kid (Jack Beutel), whose burgeoning friendship with Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) arouses an intense hatred in Sheriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell, arguably the greatest character actor who ever lived). As Rio, Doc Holliday's girl, Jane Russell creates an irrepressible presence that lends an ample foundation to the story when her affections for Billy cleave his relationship with Doc. There are enough psychosexual rumblings to go around that the pace never sags. --Jim Gay
2.
Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) meets the notorious Billy the Kid (Jack Beutel), who has stolen his horse. Doc's old friend Pat Garrett, now a sheriff, wants to arrest the Kid for murder, but Doc helps his young friend flee to a hideout, where Billy meets Rio (Jane Russell), a beautiful young woman who soon finds herself falling in love with him. As Doc and Billy try to evade the law, they run into a series of adventures involving Indians and gunfights, culminating in a fierce showdown. Under the control of director/ producer Howard Hughes, THE OUTLAW became both a classic Western and a tribute to the charms of its leading lady, 19-year-old Jane Russell, whose cleavage was featured prominently in the film's publicity. As a result, THE OUTLAW became one of the most controversial films of the 1940s, leading to a protracted battle with censors that only added to the film's allure. The story of Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday, and Billy the Kid sharply veers from historical reality but the result is a fun and engaging classic that stands out from other Westerns of the era.
3.
The scandalous adult western, The Outlaw created a firestorm of protest and marked the notorious screen debut of voluptuous Jane Russell. Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) befriends his rival, Billy the Kid (Jack Beutel) after Sheriff Pat Garrett shoots the Kid in a personal vendetta. Near death, Billy is taken to the house of Doc's girl, Rio (Jane Russell), who falls in love with the outlaw. Despite their turbulent love affair, Rio is betrayed and seeks vengeance by helping Garrett and his posse track down Doc and the Kid. Alliances are made and broken as the four follow a course of treachery and deceit into the unforgiving desert .
4.
Tall… Terrific… and Trouble!
A notorious western that tells the tale of Billy The Kid, his sidekick Doc Holliday and the sexy dame with the bulging blouse (Jane Russell) who loves him.
Huston is great as Doc Holliday and Jane Russell keeps her best attributes forward in her screen debut.
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A Silver Screen Collector's Edition
Howard Hughe's The outlaw is the notorious "sex western" version of the Billy the Kid & Pat Garrett story. Hughes gave Jane Russell the sex bomb treatment in this, her first film, which set off 6 years of wrangling with the censors before the film was finally released in 1949. Billy the Kid and Doc Holiday are fleeing from lawman and former friend, Pat Garret. Russell plays the "half breed", Rio, who becomes their traveling companion and Billy's girl. Billy does manage to steal enough time with Rio for some torrid love scenes, but they are all pursued all the while by the Sheriff. Though Howard Hughes is billed as Director, some of the credit must go to Howard Hawks, who also had a hand in it.
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