The Outlaw was Jane Russell's first major film

The poster features the Hollywood star Jane Russell in her first major movie role looking sultry in a revealing outfit.

But the classic 1943 western, directed by the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, was only shown for a week before censors withdrew it because of its sexually explicit nature.

It was several years later that the film could be seen by a wider audience.

The poster was expected to fetch up to �15,000 when it went up for sale at Christie's in London but after frantic bidding an anonymous British collector snapped it up.

It is the only one known to be in existence.

The price was the third highest ever paid for a film poster at a Christie's auction.

The sale also included posters from classic Alfred Hitchcock movies including Psycho and one from the original 1952 version of Moulin Rouge.