Geächtet (1943)

Geächtet: Directed by Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks. With Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, Walter Huston. Western legends Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid are played against each other over the law and the attentions of vivacious country vixen Rio McDonald.

“And run for the hills is exactly what Howard Hawks did after Howard Hughes couldnu0026#39;t keep his hands off the production. Mr. Hughes or someone took over direction and gave us the finished product which is a mess but a lot of fun just the same.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe build-up of Jane Russell (no pun intended) was one of the great publicity moves in film history. That famous shot of her lolling around on a bale of hay with her famous chest falling about was enough to entice most red-blooded males to this film And she didnu0026#39;t disappoint as Rio, the girlfriend of many, faithful to none. Throw in Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday (where did he come from?) and youu0026#39;ve got a mix of relationships that vies with u0026quot;Brokeback Mountainu0026quot; for male bonding. And just for the hell of it, add some Indians which cause our heroes to embark in a cloud of dust across the landscape.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI found Jack Buetel (or Beutel) a rather attractive actor in a wispy kind of way. Jane Russellu0026#39;s chest probably weighed more than he did. Unfortunately he never recovered from this film outing and sank into oblivion This film is about as coherent as a Marx Brothers romp but not nearly as intentionally funny. The whole thing is contrived, thereu0026#39;s a lot of talk, talk, talk, and if there is some underlying message, I missed it. BUT, you have to see it for the camp value……itu0026#39;s really more fun than it should be. Maybe Mr. Hughes meant it that way. On second thought, I guess not.”