British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 786. Photo: United Artists. Jack Beutel in The Outlaw (Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks, 1943).
Vintage postcard. Photo: George Hurrell. Jane Russell in The Outlaw (Howard Hughes, 1943).
The legendary outlaw Billy the Kid
Jack Beutel (the spelling of his surname was changed to 'Buetel' in publicity to avoid mispronunciation) was, according to his gravestone, born as Jack Allender Beutel (Find A Grave writes Warren Higgins, Wikipedia writes John Alexander Beutel) in Dallas, Texas, in 1917 (Wikipedia writes 1915). His parents were Otto J. Beutel and Norma Allendar Beutel. He had stage experience in a little theatre in his hometown.
In the late 1930s, he moved to Los Angeles, California, with the intention of establishing a film career. Unable to find film work, he worked as an insurance clerk. Then he was noticed by talent agent Henry Willson, who was impressed by his looks. Introduced to Howard Hughes, who was about to begin filming The Outlaw, Buetel was signed to play the lead role as the legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. The previously signed David Bacon was dropped from the film. Hughes changed his name from Beutel to Buetel because the legendary billionaire feared that people would pronounce it "Beetle".
Hughes also signed another newcomer, Jane Russell, for the female lead. Realising the inexperience of his two stars, he also contracted veteran actors, Thomas Mitchell and Walter Huston. Buetel was signed to a standard seven-year contract at $150 per week and was assured by Hughes that he would become a major star. During WWII, he first served in the Navy. Although filmed in late 1940 and early 1941, The Outlaw officially premiered in 1943 but was not widely seen until 1946.
Wikipedia: "It was notable for suggesting the act of sexual intercourse, uncommon in mainstream films of the era, and for allowing characters to 'sin on film', without a suitable punishment also being depicted, in violation of the Production Code." Joseph Breen of The Hays Office had 108 objections to the film.
The original version of the film was severely cut by Howard Hughes himself, and because of his need to find a distributor for the re-release, Hughes bought RKO. The nationwide publicity campaign for the 1946 release of the film focused on Jane Russell and her sensation-arousing breasts. She established a solid film career, despite critics giving her performance in The Outlaw poor reviews.
American Arcade postcard by Mutoscope. Caption: Cordially, Jack Beutel.
Spanish postcard by Sobe, no. 684. Jack Beutel in The Outlaw (Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks, 1943).
Little more than a footnote in film history
Although Jack Buetel's performance was also highly criticised, many producers wanted to borrow Buetel after the infamy and box office success of The Outlaw. Howard Hawks, who had served as a co-director on The Outlaw, tried to secure Buetel's services for the Western Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948) with John Wayne, but Hughes refused to allow Buetel to work in projects for the remainder of their exclusive contract. Montgomery Clift was chosen and went on to a successful film career.
Neither Howard Hughes nor Jack Buetel ever gave details about what motivated mogul Hughes to make such a poor business choice. On IMDb and the forum of TMF, film fans suppose that Buetel had a sexual relationship with Howard Hughes during production. Apparently, the straight actor wanted to please his reportedly bisexual director. At IMDb, reviewers of The Outlaw write about the gay references in the film and a budding romance between Billy and Doc Holliday (Walter Huston).
Certainly, homo-erotic are the scenes where Doc lets Billy take the cigarettes, which implies they share much intimacy. At the end of the film, Pat Garrett confesses that he is consumed with jealousy over Doc and Billy's relationship: "You've treated me badly ever since he came to town", after which Pat kills Doc. Was the film a recreation of the real-life relationship between director Hughes and his star Buetel? If so, that gives the film and its title a whole new dimension.
By the early 1950s, when Jack Buetel was free to explore his options, Jane Russell was a legitimate star, and he was already little more than a footnote in film history. Finally, he appeared in the Western Best of the Badmen (William D. Russell, 1951) with Robert Ryan and Claire Trevor. It was his first film appearance in 8 years. Over the next few years, he appeared in five more films, including The Half Breed (Stuart Gilmore, 1952) with Robert Young, and Jesse James' Women (Don 'Red' Barry, 1954) with Peggie Castle.
He also made infrequent appearances on television. He landed the role of Jeff Taggert in Edgar Buchanan's Western series, Judge Roy Bean (1955-1956). Others who appeared regularly in the 39-episode series were Jackie Loughery and Glenn Strange. He also appeared in episodes of such popular series as Hawaiian Eye (1959-1963), Maverick (1957-1962), and 26 Men (1957-1959). Buetel's last acting role was in an episode of Wagon Train (1961). He relocated to Portland, Oregon, sometime in the 1970s. The last time he was seen publicly was with Jane Russell at the TV extravaganza Night of 100 Stars (1982). In 1989, Jack Buetel died in a Portland hospital after a long illness and was buried at Portland Memorial Mausoleum. The name on his grave is John Allender Beutel, and his birth year is 1917. Buetel was married five times: to Jill Meredith, Cereatha Browning, twice to Gloria Jean Bailey, and finally to Joann Jensen Crawford, and he had three children with three different wives.
Belgian postcard by Kores Carboplan. Photo: United Artists. Sent by mail in the Netherlands in 1957.
British postcard in the Picturegoer series, London, no. D. 176. Photo: R.K.O. Radio.
Sources: William Bjornstad (Find A Grave), TCM Forum (Page now defunct), Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
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