Jane Russell, who died on February 28 at age 89, was one of the last of the World War II pin-up girls. Along with Lana Turner, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth, Russell's face and figure were proudly displayed on the walls of army barracks and on the noses of air force bombers. But, unlike the other glamour girls of the 1940's and 1950's, Jane Russell always gave a hard edge to her characters.
Every female Russell portrayed onscreen was a tough-talking babe with a cynical outlook who barely tolerated male advances. Every line of dialogue was delivered with a hint of a sneer on her gorgeous face. With Jane Russell, an actor didn't know whether he was going to get kissed or slugged!
There doesn't seem to be any record of just where this persona came from. Did some studio exec urge her to play the no-nonsense gal who didn't want to be messed with? Or was it her own idea to approach every role with this cold and remote exterior? Regardless of her frosty demeanour, there was no denying her sex appeal. Onscreen, the harder she pushed men away, the faster they came running back for more.
Her first movie, The Outlaw, was always Russell's most famous... or perhaps infamous. There are countless Hollywood legends about this film: how it was released in 1941, withdrawn because of its sexual content, and then released again in 1943; that Howard Hughes designed a special bra for her to wear in the film; that the scenes of Russell rolling around in the hay with actor Jack Buetel brought screams of outrage from all corners of society. In fact, the film is pretty tame, but the billboards and posters designed by Hughes and showing off Jane's assets are what really caused the stir and whipped up plenty of great publicity for the film. Today, the only thing notable about The Outlaw is that it gives a great lesson for movie makers in how to grab the public's interest long before they've even seen the film, that is, hype it for all it's worth and they'll be lined up at the box office.There is no bad publicity; there is only publicity.
Once The Outlaw established Russell as a major star, she was featured primarily in action films with stars like Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable and Jeff Chandler. Always, she was the unreachable femme fatale who rejected her beefy co-stars in scene after scene, but finally succumbed in the final reel. Even in comedies such as The Paleface from 1948, she sneered contemptuously at Bob Hope for being a weakling. Everyone in this film seems to be having a good time except for Jane, who plays a two-fisted, gun-toting desperado.
One year after being teamed with Marilyn Monroe in the musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in 1953, Russell was given the lead in another musical called The French Line. Wearing a one-piece bathing suit with large chunks cut out of it, Jane Russell was once again the centre of controversy as church groups and other offended people voiced their objections to this blatant display of sexuality on the screen. Needless to say, this clamour guaranteed long line-ups at the box office.
Despite being labelled as a pin-up or glamour girl, Russell's private life was free from the scandals that plagued other actresses. She became a devoted Christian and made recordings with a Hollywood gospel group.
After her final film in 1970, Russell continued to appear on television, in nightclubs and on Broadway. She also founded the World Adoption International Agency, which has helped with the adoptions of more than 40,000 children from overseas.
Jane Russell will definitely be remembered as not just another pretty face, but as an actress who had more in common with Barbara Stanwyck than Betty Grable. She was always the loner, the tough dame with a past who was not interested in any guy's sweet talk.
Despite the storms of controversy caused by the clothing she wore in The Outlaw and The French Line, Jane Russell was always interesting to watch on the screen. Not for her the role of the giggling purring sex kitten. I guess we can say... she did it her way.
