La Femme aux revolvers

This horrifically bad movie would be less laughable if they had taken the time to shoot on location that did not betray the Sierra Mountain range in the background, despite supposedly taking place in Oklahoma. Also on full display way too often is Jane Russell's block chin and vulgar underbite. Film making 101 states to NEVER reveal your star's bad angles.

Here's an odd one: sexy Jane Russell as western sharp-shooter Belle Starr, here competing with rivals The Dalton Gang. Movie opens with fruity bravado, but don't expect a camp-fest. Things gets surprisingly serious in the film's second-half, leading to a curiously downbeat conclusion. Very strange, and not particularly successful. Worth a look for the curio value alone. Supporting players George Brent and Forrest Tucker take turns getting out of Jane's way; Russell poses, pouts and scowls as Belle, her high-point coming in a crowded saloon where she warbles "The Gilded Lily". ** from ****

Jane Russell plays a (very) fictionalized Belle Starr. (Going off contemporary photographs the real Belle Starr looked closer to Ernest Borgnine), also Jane gets away with being disguised as a man during a holdup!! You can see we are not talking reality here.

Originally filmed in color, most prints now available are black and white. Jane does a couple of not bad (and rather racy) musical numbers that are a little out of place and appeared to have filmed at a different time. It seems as though cuts may have been as the plot gets a little muddled sometimes and now and again we get the impression we are entering scenes in progress.

After completion this movie was held up for a few years before distribution, which is usually a bad sign. In this case though it seems no worse than many of the second string westerns produced in the forties.

Okay with popcorn and if you're in the right mood.

Alright folks, so far I've pretty much raved about Jane Russell's week as she enjoys her time as Star of the Week, but now is the time to skip one of her movies: Montana Belle. I didn't even make it through this one.

With an unflattering haircut and a perpetual scowl, Jane Russell stars in another western as a tough broad. She starts the movie handcuffed because the local law enforcement, headed by Ray Teal and Scott Brady, intercepted a lynch mob about to string her up. Since she's a woman, the guys go a little soft on her and try to reform her instead of just hanging her along with the rest of her male cohorts. And when Scott and banker George Brent both fall for her, she has a tough decision on her hands. After all, a gutsy, tough outlaw needs a man to protect her, right? Seriously, folks, just rent The Outlaw instead.

I'm watching this on the Grit channel. It has been colorized, and the color is awful. And the beauty of a good black and white image seems to be gone too. Sad to ruin it this way.