The Outlaw

"Tall.... Terrific.... and Trouble!"

1943 1h 56m EN

😐

5.4

MID

🍅

71%

FRESH

⭐

5.4

IMDB

★5.4TMDB · 111🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes★5.4IMDB · 5,442

WesternDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl Rio's place after Billy is shot.

“Tall.... Terrific.... and Trouble!”

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Cast

Jack Buetel
Billy the Kid
Jane Russell
Rio McDonald
Thomas Mitchell
Pat Garrett
Walter Huston
Doc Holliday
Mimi Aguglia
Guadalupe
Joe Sawyer
Charley Woodruff
Gene Rizzi
Stranger
Bobby Callahan
Boy (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Howard Hughes
Writers: Jules Furthman
Languages: Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Howard Hughes, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Wallace Grissell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Buetel and Jane Russell and Thomas Mitchell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Tall.... Terrific.... and Trouble!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Howard Hughes directs. Gregg Toland behind the camera. Victor Young scores. Wallace Grissell cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
283 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
4Directed by Howard Hughes, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Wallace Grissell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jack Buetel and Jane Russell and Thomas Mitchell carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Tall.... Terrific.... and Trouble!".
9IMDB entry: tt0036241 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gregg Toland
Original score: Victor Young
Editing: Wallace Grissell
Makeup / hair: Mel Berns
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,400,000
Box office: $5,075,000
Return: 149% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Outlaw (1943)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 5.4/10 · 5,442 votes
MPAA: Approved

Also by

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-12-23
★ 5/10
Once notorious, now surreal, cornball and amusing In 1881 New Mexico, newly-appointed Sheriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) is upset after Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) comes to Lincoln and essentially steals his good friend, Doc Holliday (Walter Huston). After Billy is wounded, Doc drops him off with his girlfriend, Rio (Jane Russell). While she has reason to hate Billy, the opposite happens. Eventually the four are forced to team-up to escape some hostile Mescaleros before having a showdown. Shot in late 1940 and early 1941, “The Outlaw” was directed by the exceptional Howard Hughes with uncredited assist from Howard Hawks and Jules Furthman. It wasn’t released until 1943 due to censorship problems that required cuts & revisions and more widely rereleased in 1946-47. Due to the ballyhoo over it being "offensive to decency" it ended up setting records almost everywhere it was shown. The uproar was apparently over sultry Jane Russell, who got the role after a nationwide search by Hughes for a busty actress, and mostly the sexual innuendo between her character and Billy the Kid. Ironically, when it was reissued to theaters in 1976 it was given a ‘G’ rating. Speaking of Jane’s buxomness, Hughes & his aircraft engineers designed a special cantilevered bra to enhance her bust, but she admitted in her 1988 autobiography that she secretly never wore it because it was too uncomfortable, yet this flick was the reason the famous bra was designed. Ignoring the hullabaloo, what about the movie itself? Is it a worthy Western? Yes and no. Yes, because of Walter Huston’s charismatic performance as Doc Holliday and Jane’s pouty beauty (she looks like the sister Elvis never had). The movie can be entertaining if you acclimate to its corny surrealism, but the way the characters shift from mortal enemies to bosom buddies is jarring, yet amusing if you can roll with it. Meanwhile Thomas Mitchell is noticeably too old to play the role of Pat Garrett (who was only 31 in real-life when Billy was shot). It’s worth checking out for the reasons noted, but don’t expect the greatness of early Westerns like “Stagecoach” (1939), “Buffalo Bill” (1944) and “Duel in the Sun” (1946). The film runs 1 hour, 56 minutes, but there are also shorter versions, not to mentioned colorized ones, which I recommend unless you don’t mind B&W. It was shot at Red Rock Canyon State Park, Cantil, California, with studio work done in Los Angeles and second unit work done in New Mexico and Arizona (Tuba City & Yuma). GRADE: C
CinemaSerf2024-05-02
★ 6/10
It's all a little light-weight and what action there is is all sandwiched into the last ten minutes, but it's still quite an enjoyable western that pitches three of the most famed from the Wild West in an amiable scenario. "Doc Holliday" (Walter Huston) gets off the train to meet with old pal and sheriff "Pat Garrett" (Thomas Mitchell) only to bump into his old (stolen) horse and it's new owner. Introductions present us with "Billy the Kid" (Jack Buetel) who plans on keeping his new horse! Some entertaining manoeuvring now goes on between these men as the "Doc" begins to quite like the "Kid" and the "Kid" gets accused of a murder that pitches him against the lawman. Add to the mix the temptations of the glamorous "Rio" (Jane Russell) and a rather comedic soundtrack from Victor Young and we are delivered of a cheery soap-style adventure that is, admittedly, completely devoid of action and peril, but has just about enough charisma from Mitchell and Russell to keep it moving along. Nope, you'll never remember it, it's far, far, too long and Buetel is clearly only there for eye-candy purposes, but it's not the worst.