Belle Starr (Full Screen)

In a little town outside Dallas, Belle Starr bears the weight of a reputation as an outlaw and loose woman. Possibly even worse, she has married a Native American. Although she wants to lead a quiet life with her children, her neighbors burn her house and drive her out of town. Now, forced into the criminal life she has tried to leave, Belle Starr organizes one last raid with the notorious Dalton, Younger and James gangs.

The real Belle Starr was a homely, ill-tempered woman whose career as a western bandit was blown out of proportion by the "dime novels" of the era. Previous media Belle Starrs have included such attractive performers as Gene Tierney, Isabel Jewell and Abby Dalton, all of whom appeared to have included a cosmetician amongst their bandit cohorts. To her credit, Elizabeth Montgomery tries hard to deglamorize Belle in this 1980 TV movie, but she's still Elizabeth Montgomery. The script, by James Lee Barrett, attempts to stick closer to the facts than the earlier versions of Belle's exploits.

Biographical | Old West | Outlaws

Genre:

• Western Movies

Product Series:

• Warner Archive Collection