The amazing poster above made for the 1943 western The Outlaw, a stinker of a movie that’s one of the earlier ones to prove that a film can be terrible yet still be a hit. In fact, it was one of the most financially successful westerns of the 1940s, but really, really bad, as we discussed in our write-up a few years ago. The poster is shocking. Look at Jane’s almost exposed boobs. Look at her clearly visible nipple. The movie was first slated to show in Japan in 1946 but censors wouldn’t allow it, so it didn’t actually didn’t premiere there until 1952, but still, 1952 strikes us as pretty early for a design this racy. But the date is confirmed, because it’s signed by an artist named Miya, and next to his or her name is “1952.” It’s a great piece. We have another, less envelope pushing poster, unsigned and probably by a different artist, below. The Outlaw originally premiered in Japan today in 1952.
1961—Soviets Launch Venus Probe
The U.S.S.R. launches the spacecraft Venera 1, equipped with scientific instruments to measure solar wind, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation, towards planet Venus. The craft is the first modern planetary probe. Among its many achievements, it confirms the presence of solar wind in deep space, but overheats due to the failure of a sensor before its Venus mission is completed.