His film debut in Mexico was "¡Qué bravas son las costeñas!" ("Coastal women are so temperamental!") (1955), directed by Roberto Rodríguez and co-starring Cuban actress María Antonieta Pons and Mexican actors Joaquín Cordero and Evangelina Elizondo. Filming began on 16 August 1954 in Churubusco Studios in Mexico City and on location in Acapulco. It premiered on 2 June 1955 at Cinema Olympia, where it played for 3 weeks. Around this time, Russell and Elizondo made a live appearance at the historic Million Dollar Theater to promote the film for the United States Latino public in Los Angeles, California.