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.

Year of Jane Russell: Day 37

The Hurrell haystack photos of Jane were alluring enough that one of them was used as a foldout in the June 1942 issue of Esquire. The staying power of these images was evident early on with the reuse of the Esquire exposure on this handout the following year for the Pioneer Safety Device Corp. Their use of the term “hay” to advertise their services is a stretch, but if nothing else, Jane certainly makes it eye catching! Of note is the credit to both Esquire and 20th Century-Fox who initially were going to distribute The Outlaw, but dropped out as the release of the film dragged out and the censorship issues intensified.    

Transportation Building (Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)

For being almost eighty years old, this handout, printed on a thick card stock has held up quite well. While the Pioneer Safety Device Corp seems to be long gone, the fetching Transportation Building located at 7th and Los Angeles streets in downtown L.A. is still alive and well!