The Outlaw.

Review #1363: The Outlaw.

Cast: 
Jack Buetel (Billy the Kid), Jane Russell (Rio McDonald), Thomas Mitchell (Pat Garrett), Walter Huston (Doc Holliday), Mimi Aguglia (Guadalupe), and Joe Sawyer (Charley) Directed by Howard Hughes (#1332 - Hell's Angels)

Review: 
We live in an age of relentless promotion, don't we? Whether it is self promotion or social influencing, it can be a bit easy to become cynical about how a film can permeate our attention. Earlier decades aren't free of such statements, particularly when it comes to Howard Hughes, noted business magnate, investor, and engineer who also dabbled in films (he of course was known for purchasing RKO Pictures later in the decade). On the one hand, Hughes had plenty of highlights in thirty years of productions, with Hell's Angels (1930), The Front Page (1931), and Scarface (1932). On the other hand, his career also had films like His Kind of Woman (1951, which had two directors), The Conquerer (1956, known for inferior quality and being filmed 137 miles from nuclear testing), and Jet Pilot (1957, which Hughes tinkered with for four years). It was him who had brought Buetel and Russell for their debut performances, but their contracts to Hughes affected their careers, with the former not appearing in another film until 1951 and the latter was off the screen until 1946. Of course the film itself had plenty of trouble on and off filming. Hughes (who took over for Howard Hawks after he had griped about interference) had designed a special underwire bra for Russell to wear to emphasize her bosom. Interestingly enough, Russell didn't actually wear the bra for the film, discarding it secretly. You might notice the copyright of 1941 for the film, since production had finished in February. Hughes had plenty of trouble in releasing the film because of the Hollywood Production Code Administration. Simply put, they objected to Hughes' emphasis of Russell's features, wanting cuts made. The film was initially released for one week in February 1943 before objections were raised that led to shelving until 1946.

Of course with all that in mind, how's the actual film? It doesn't take a cynical eye to note that despite all of its daring attempts to stoke curiosity, it still comes in a film that is a tremendous bore, a deliberate insult to history that can't even stoke interest in the senses besides occasional glances to see how much is left in the tank (116 minutes, no less). While the film attempts to have back up with established stars in Mitchell and Huston (past and future winners of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), one does not really seem to feel too particularly interested in what is actually going on, beyond its attempts at humor and stoking excitement of passion. Sure, Russell does seem like she could be a star of some sort with raw presence, but Hughes does not seem quite the one to do so (this of course could have been said for Jean Harlow when she made her appearance in Hughes' other directorial effort). These are flat lines, ones that only barely register in entertainment no matter who says them. Buetel looks especially lost, looking like he wants to be in some other Western than this. Everybody looks like they are acting in completely different films, and Mitchell and Huston seem no different. In a better film, one could forgive some of the flailing attempts of re-telling legends of the Old West. But with this one, it seems almost intentional to irritate the fact-checkers. Did Doc Holliday ever meet Billy the Kid? Did he get killed in an accident with Pat Garrett? Did Billy the Kid escape death? Who cares?! You might as well have made a fictional composite while you are at it, or find another way to use your time, like social isolation or snarky Internet posting. On the whole, The Outlaw is a film more known for its attempts at promotion that were objectionable for the time rather than the true finished product, and it definitely shows in an aged ridiculous spectacle that flails as a Western in the worst ways.

Next Review - Onward, unless something stops it.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Hell's Angels.

Review #1332: Hell's Angels.

Cast: 
Ben Lyon (Monte Rutledge), James Hall (Roy Rutledge), Jean Harlow (Helen), John Darrow (Karl Arnstedt), Lucien Prival (Baron Von Kranz), Frank Clarke (Lt. von Bruen), Roy Wilson ("Baldy" Maloney), Douglas Gilmore (Capt. Redfield), Jane Winton (Baroness Von Kranz), Evelyn Hall (Lady Randolph), William B. Davidson (Staff Major), and Wyndham Standing (RFC squadron commander) Directed by Howard Hughes, James Whale (#069 - The Invisible Man, #071 - Frankenstein, #394 - Bride of Frankenstein, and #465 - The Old Dark House) and Edmund Goulding.

Review: 
Jean Harlow was a star that burned just as twice as bright as others that burned half as long as others for the 1930s during her short career. This was her first breakthrough film happened just appeared in bit roll since 1928 (when she was 17) before being noticed by James Hall while on production on this film which was in transition (having started in October of 1927). The film needed a new lead actress in order to be a talkie since Greta Nissen was being replaced in the lead role because of her Norwegian accent. The man behind the film as producer and director was Howard Hughes, business magnate/engineer who had produced films since 1926 most notably with Two Arabian Knights (1927). He spent nearly three million dollars on this film, sparing no expense in making his epic air story. The film went through multiple directors (Marshall Neilan, Luther Reed), multiple pilots being killed in airplane crashes, and a lawsuit by Hughes in order to provide to try and prevent another pilot film with The Dawn Patrol (1930) from beating it to theaters. The film was not a major success on upon original release, in part because of the large production costs, but it is now known as one of the earliest standout action films. Of note is the dialogue direction by James Whale, who had done direction for the stage production of Journey's End  (which coincidentally would be turned into a film by Whale that same year); there was also some direction done by Goulding, now known for his cultured dramas like Grand Hotel (1932) and The Razor's Edge (1946). There were two writers for the film - Marshall Neilan (story) and Joseph Moncure March (story and dialogue). The film certainly works better on the sum of its action sequences more so than its acting but it is generally interesting to sit through then as now. I will admit though that one film that definitely came to mind when watching this film was Wings (1927), which also featured a love triangle within a World War I plot alongside of notable flashes of color during sequences (although this does that through tinting and an eight minutes Multicolor filmed sequence). While Wings is definitely the better film in its composition, it shouldn't hinder the enjoyment of Hell's Angels - an imperfect but interesting experience that fits for some worthy escapism, albeit one that is a bit long at 131 minutes, but it sure is dreary enough for an epic aviation war film, I suppose.

The highlights of the film are the air sequences and Harlow, undeniably. It is a joy to see scenes done in the air, where one can always seem to sense riveting danger (whether for the character or for the actual pilot) without becoming bored by seeing plane flying and shooting at each other, probably because of how well crafted it is in filming and in execution. Hughes knows what he likes to see in the air come out on screen - this was the first of two films he directed (with the other taking just as long to come out in The Outlaw). The main two actors in Lyon and Hall do not fare as well with attention. Simply put: they are flat, and they barely even seem like siblings at all, with their interactions being the kind of wooden that plague films that know they can't be just action all the time but needs to pad themselves out anyway. Even though Harlow doesn't have as much screen experience as her two male stars, she excels in presence in each scene she appears in. She has that "it" factor like others before her, a bombshell that fits her era handily. Darrow is almost easy to forget, since his dilemma (a German Oxford student conscripted into the nation's Air Force) disappears halfway through (namely by dropping him from the sky) without much to say. Prival makes for an adequate adversary (he even gets to do a duel!), at least. If one is here for air action, you will get that will no trouble, with one even having blue tint to go with its night setting for wondrous effect (with the highlight being a plane crashing right into a blimp). The rest doesn't quite measure up, but it will prove adequate enough for entertainment for its era without trouble.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.