Day of the Outlaw MR

In Andre De Toth’s Day of the Outlaw, the women are treated as nothing more than mere objects. The first piece of evidence supporting this occurs shortly after Jack Bruhn’s gang arrives in Bitters when Bruhn asks, “Who does (Helen Crane) belong to,” implying that her husband Hal has ownership of her. Perhaps the most disturbing instance where the women are treated as objects is the scene where Tex and Pace convince Bruhn to allow them to dance (quite violently, too) with the women of the town. Although the idea of “No Means No” did not become law until long after the film was made, this scene was very similar to the idea of a man not taking no for an answer and continuing to pursue sex. The women are again treated as objects in the very next scene, as they are, for the most part, ragdolled up and down, side to side, and across the room dancing with the men of Bruhn’s gang. During this scene, there was another instance where it seemed like the issue of rape was at the forefront. After being completely overwhelmed with aggression in a dance with one of Bruhn’s men, Helen has a much tamer dance with Bruhn and the following dialogue is spoken:

Helen Crane: [Dancing with Bruhn] Why did you have to do this terrible thing?
Jack Bruhn: There are things worse, ma'am, than dancing with lonely men.
Helen Crane: Please, let us go.
Jack Bruhn: Soon.
Helen Crane: Why did you have to come here?
Jack Bruhn: You should be grateful. Our coming saved the life of your husband.
Helen Crane: I don't believe Blaise would have gone through with it.
Jack Bruhn: Mrs. Crane, when my men and I leave here, there will be a showdown and you will be a widow. (Courtesy of IMDb.com)

This dialogue sound almost like a man who is trying to have sex with an unwilling partner and who continues to pursue that endeavor even though she clearly does not want to go through with it. This is also the kind of situation often when women do not report instances of rape because they feel like it was not the man’s fault or they deserved it. The only difference here is that Bruhn is trying to justify evil actions because it serendipitously caused something good.

As a male, it is much harder to try to understand what goes through a woman’s mind when thinking about a subject as sensitive as rape, but from these are some of the things that Bentley has taught me during freshman seminars explaining rape.