Year of Jane Russell: Day 48

I love photos of Jane taken outside the studio and around Los Angeles. I recently acquired some snapshots of Jane taken at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool circa 1942. Here’s the first.

Year of Jane Russell: Day 47

What’s better than one photo of Jane exercising on gymnastic equipment? Why two!

Year of Jane Russell: Day 46

While Howard Hughes continued to delay release of The Outlaw, Jane was kept busy in front of still cameras for most of 1941-42. She was photographed so frequently and received so much press that she became known as the “Motionless Picture Actress.” For the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a look at some of the countless photos of Jane taken during her “motionless” period. This photo of Jane, sent out by Russell Birdwell’s office claimed now that she was done filming The Outlaw, she had plenty of time to exercise.

Year of Jane Russell: Day 45

Jane proved so popular as a pin-up that it wasn’t unheard of for her to be on the cover of a magazine for consecutive months. Here is the May 1942 issue of SPOT magazine with Jane. The following month’s cover would feature one of the Hurrell color images which we already took a look at. Of this decision, the editor of the magazine admitted it was “bad journalism but good business.”

Year of Jane Russell: Day 44

Yesterday, I highlighted Jane’s appearance on the cover of a November 1941 issue of PIC magazine. That same month, Jane along with Outlaw co-star Jack Buetel were featured on Click, another large format pictorial publication who followed the pair on a trip to Chet Ellicott’s Slash E Ranch, a dude ranch in Idaho. Since Jane was under 21 and still considered a minor, her mother served as a chaperone. 

Year of Jane Russell: Day 43

As this November 1941 issue of PIC shows, Jane was emerging as a popular pin-up before the United States entered World War II. Once the country was officially engaged in the conflict, Jane continued to be extremely popular and the press coverage continued.

Year of Jane Russell: Day 41

“How would you like to tussle with Russell?” was a question most magazine publishers were too scared to asked their readers. Hearst ran the ad in the American Weekly newspapers supplement, but fearing backlash, others refused. Instead, they agreed to run this modified version which proclaimed “Exactly how it was filmed! Not a scene cut!”

Year of Jane Russell: Day 40

Despite being premiered in San Francisco in 1943, The Outlaw wasn’t released until 1946 through United Artists. Even then, the release was limited. For the ‘46 campaign, the imagery of Jane reclining on hay with a gun received a refresh via noted pin-up artist and fellow San Fernando Valley resident Zoë Mozert. Jane posed for Mozert in person and the result was a stunning oil painting that was used for a full page magazine ad with the notorious tag line “How would you like to tussle with Russell?” The ad only ran in American Weekly, a supplement to Hearst newspapers as other publications deemed a tussle with Russell too scandalous.

Mozert’s original painting was massive and a piece Howard Hughes maintained in his personal collection. Last year, it came up for auction, and sold for $130,000!

Year of Jane Russell: Day 39

Nearly a year after they were taken, the Hurrell color photos of Jane were finally converted into billboards when The Outlaw premiered at San Francisco’s Geary Theatre in February 1943, and played for a limited run. A 24-sheet with one of the Hurrell photos was displayed outside the theater and 6-sheets (which occasionally pop up for auction) were displayed around the city, much to the chagrin of more the conservative minded residents of the city. The image of Jane was doctored to lower her top, and Jane was not happy with the final result. By the looks of this photo, any controversy surrounding The Outlaw only helped in drawing the crowds in.