< Islamic Attitudes Towards Women's Bodies and Dress" A Short Pictorial History:
Cultural Attitudes Towards Female Breasts
The Myth of the Bra-burners >
Jane Russell wearing Howard Hughes new uplifting bra in The Outlaw, 1941.

Uplift Gets Banned by the Censors

The Outlaw is a loose retelling of the story of gunslinger Billy the Kid and lawman Pat Garrett. But what it is most remembered for is the introduction of a new, well-endowed young actress named Jane Russell.

Russell fairly smoldered with sex appeal, practically taunting the Hollywood Production Code Administration with her sharply defined bustline, a new element to Hollywood movies of the time.

In 1941, Howard Hughes was dissatisfied with the emphasis given on camera to Jane Russell's breasts. He applied some of his aeronautical engineering talent and came up with an underwire, push-up brassiere that emphases the contours of Russell's breasts. Hughes fabricated a relatively new material—rods of curved structural steel—that were sewn into the brassiere below each breast and which connected to the bra's shoulder straps. The rigid steel allowed the breasts to be pulled upward, and for the shoulder straps to be moved away from the neck. The engineering allowed any amount of bosom to be freely exposed.

The film was finished in 1941 but not released until 1943. Thanks to Hughes' inventive brassiere improvements and the films' emphasis on Jane's breasts, he could not get the film past the Hollywood Production Code Administration. Critics that had already seen the movie were panning it left and right. He had to remove about 40 feet (about a half-minute) of shots and frames at the ends of shots that displayed too much of Jane Russell's bosom to finally qualify for the Boards' Seal of Approval.

However, Century-Fox cancelled their agreement with Hughes to release The Outlaw. Hughes stood to lose millions of dollars. Ever the resourceful businessman, in 1943 Hughes had all his managers call ministers, women's clubs and housewives telling them about the 'lewd picture' Hughes was about to release starring Jane Russell. The public responded by protesting and trying to have the film banned, which turned into just the publicity Hughes needed to create demand for the film and get it released. It was in the theatres in 1943 and withdrawn after only a week due to censor's objections. Hughes out-waited the censors and the film was finally generally released in 1950. The film was a smash at the box office. It was the bra that saved Hughes' movie.

Of sex appeal, Jane Russell said, "Sex appeal is good—but not in bad taste. Then it's ugly. I don't think a star has any business posing in a vulgar way. I've seen plenty of pin-up pictures that have sex appeal, interest,and allure, but they're not vulgar. They have a little art to them. Marilyn's [Monroe] calendar was artistic."

The Myth of the Bra-burners >

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