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Belle Starr (film)

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Belle Starr
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIrving Cummings
Screenplay byLamar Trotti
Story by
Produced byKenneth Macgowan
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byFrederick Wilson
Music byAlfred Newman
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • September 12, 1941 (1941-09-12)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Belle Starr is a 1941 American Western film directed by Irving Cummings and starring Randolph Scott, Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Shepperd Strudwick. Written by Lamar Trotti and based on a story by Niven Busch and Cameron Rogers, it was produced by Kenneth Macgowan for 20th Century Fox, and shot in Technicolor.[1]

The film is very loosely based on the life of 19th-century American outlaw Belle Starr. It was the fourth film and the third sound film to portray Starr on the screen, but it was the first major Hollywood production to do so. Its success led to many more such portrayals, although the real Starr was fairly obscure during her lifetime.

Plot

Shortly after the Civil War, Belle Shirley hides the guerrilla leader Sam Starr, whose discovery and capture leads to the burning of the family mansion by Yankee soldiers. Vowing revenge, Belle breaks Sam and her brother out of jail and joins his band for a series of raids on banks, railroads, carpetbaggers, and enemy troops. Belle's bravado during the attacks earns her a reputation among the locals, as well as the love of Starr himself. The pair get married, but when Sam Starr lets a couple of psychotic outlaws into the gang, Belle wonders if he really cares about the Confederate cause and her doubts deepen when her brother visits and is shot down. She decides to surrender in hope that Sam will follow her, but learning of an ambush is shot by a bounty hunter as she returns to give warning. Sam and the Union commander collude in not identifying her body, allowing her to live on in legend.

Cast

See also

References

  1. ^ Hal Erickson (2014). "Belle Starr (1941)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.


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