ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

LeonLouisRicci If Nothing else, the Controversy, Hub-Bub, and Ballyhoo make this a Must See for Film Buffs. It sat on the Shelf for Years and when finally Released the Running Times were Erratic and Unpredictable, depending on the Location, and with that came more Controversy. It is Not Without Many Interesting Elements and is certainly one of the most Off-Beat Movies ever. Some of the Stuff Works, but the Film's Entirety Suffers mightily from a Horrible Musical Soundtrack and the Pacing is Glacial.The Acting is Not Bad, from Veterans Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell, and Tenderfoots Jack Buetel and Jane Russell. When Things Erupt in the Western Tradition, like Stand-Offs and Showdowns, Posses and Indians the Film Picks Up and the Violence is Shown in some Interesting Ways.But the relentlessly Tiresome Dialog Scenes just go On and On with Pauses and more Pauses, Talk and more Talk, many times Saying the Same Thing Over and Over.The Movie is Long, way, way too Long. It Unreels Forever until it reaches the Two Hour Mark and it does Try the Patience. Gregg Toland's Cinematography has some Edginess and although the Movie is Studio Bound it does have a Strange and Otherworldly, Surreal Appeal. The Movie's Strengths are Overwhelmed by its Weakness and Overall it is Recommended for its Place as a Misanthropic Misfire that is Quite a Sight.The Film's Reputation as a Sex-Western is Evident and Jane Russell's Cleavage does get a lot of Screen Time and Steamy Implications Abound. Many also Find it Homo-Erotic and there is a Case to be made. Note...Beware Public Domain Prints that can be pretty shabby.

arfdawg-1 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. She falls for Billy, although he treats her very badly. Interaction between these four is played out against an Indian attack before a final showdown reduces the group's number.Howard Hughes at his bra inventing finest.Jane Russel could never ever act. She had two assets.The movie is famous for them. And they go on and on for 2 hours in what could have been a 90 minute movie.That's about it.

hall895 Here we have a movie about Jane Russell's breasts. Well, there is some sort of plot about some Western gunslingers and the sheriff who chases them. But really the only reason the movie exists is to show off Russell's cleavage. She certainly looks great and director Howard Hughes is more than happy to let the camera linger on her fine female form. But breasts can only take a movie so far. It's not worth sitting through 2 hours of absolute dreck to sneak a few peeks of a babe in a low-cut blouse.The story in this movie never grabs your interest, it's a dull movie pretty much beginning to end. Matters are not helped by some truly wretched acting. Jack Buetel, playing famed outlaw Billy the Kid, is just terrible. He's stiff, unnatural and has all the personality of a block of wood. Meanwhile Russell has little to offer besides her ample bosom. She may have gone on to a respectable acting career but here, in the movie which made her a star, it is safe to say she had not yet honed her craft. The movie relies on there being some kind of spark between Russell's character, Rio, and Billy the Kid. Sadly two rather inept performances mean there is no spark at all. That relationship falls flat, the whole movie follows suit. Reliable Hollywood veterans Walter Huston, playing Doc Holliday, and Thomas Mitchell who plays Sheriff Pat Garrett come off better than Buetel and Russell. But even they can't really make much of what is a rather lousy script. The movie takes real-life characters and tosses them into a completely made-up story. You'd think if you were going to make up a story you would at least make up an interesting one. No such luck. The movie is a real snoozer. Anytime there threatens to be even a little bit of heat between Rio and Billy censorship standards of the 1940s dictate an awkward cut away before we actually see anything. The story and the acting are laughable throughout which means the absurdly cartoonish score fits right in. Hard to take anything seriously with that absurd music blaring the whole time. It all leads up to a conclusion which is just impossibly bad, by this point you're definitely laughing at the movie, not with it. Howard Hughes fought so hard to be able to show the world Jane Russell's breasts. Unfortunately those breasts did not have a movie to support them.

irishnswiss Loved the film. Although the movie was a bit of a stretch on the facts, it was interesting anyway. Jack Beutel is the Sexiest Man Alive ever in my opinion. This was his first film. Jane Russell was so gorgeous. Walter Huston was absolutely wonderful and so was Thomas Mitchell, but they were too old for the parts they played. Doc Holliday was only in his 30s when he died and Walter Huston was 59 when he played the part. Near the end of the film when Thomas Mitchell makes his very long speech to Doc, his voice sounds like a recording because the pitch changed. I heard that Hughes was very involved with the making of this film, required many re-takes and that Thomas Mitchell was absolutely furious by the time he filmed that scene. Although Jack Beutel's performance was wooden, I'm sure his acting would have improved over time. On the whole, the film seems poorly edited, but I enjoyed it all the same. I wish there were a lot more films starring Jack Beutel out there, but his acting career was very limited. I would like to see the full version, if there is one.