A Pistoleira de Virginia

Had I been able to view "The Belle Star Story" at the time of its 1968 release I assume that I would have seen a much better film or at least some story-telling that was possible to comprehend; what with good film stock and the original Italian audio track (with English subtitles).

What I just saw instead was a fourth generation analog video recording burned to an American Pop Classics DVD with no closed captioning. With such poorly dubbed English audio that about every third word was unintelligible. The video resolution and contrast was hopeless and the only clear images were the extreme close-ups.

The film was jointly made by Piero Cristofani and Lina Wertmüller, both essentially second unit directors, what with Lina just starting out and a few years away from her 1970's masterpieces.

Unlike the standard busty and fleshy Italian actress of the 60's, Elsa Martinelli was tall, thin, and classy. Somebody for which you could effortlessly suspend disbelief just to adore and lust after. And from the promotional photos you can appreciate how sizzling she was in her tight black leather outfit and gun belt. And she wears that trademark costume for much of the film although the spectacle suffers considerably from the poor video quality. For some reason they made her into a Marianne Faithful clone with red hair and freckles. Surprisingly it is a good look for her and she compares favorably with Faithful - coincidentally also clad head to toe in tight black leather in the 1968 release "The Girl on a Motorcycle" for which there are some decent quality DVD's available.

Otherwise "The Belle Star Story" is basically a cross between "The Legend of Frenchie King" (1971) and "The Doom Generation" (1995); both stylishly incomprehensible.

The Story of Belle Starr with Elsa Martinelli and George Eastman

This spaghetti western was directed by the recently deceased honorary ACADEMY AWARD winner (she received it in Los Angeles in 2019) Lina Wertmüller (1928-2021). When the film was released in West German cinemas in October 1968, Lina Wertmüller, who was the first woman to be nominated for a directing Oscar in 1977 (for "Seven Beauties"), was still hiding behind a male pseudonym. Fortunately, those times are over.

It tells the story of the gunslinger Belle Starr (Elsa Martinelli), who, after starting out as the good officer's daughter Mirabell Shelley - spurred on by injustice towards women - develops into a cunning master marksman. The focus is on the checkered relationship between the heroine and a rancid gunfighter named Blacky (George Eastman). In flashbacks you see a lot about the protagonist's past life and also learn how she was influenced by her father (Vladimir Medar), her childhood friend Cole Harvey (Robert Woods, *1936) and the housemaid Jessica (Francesca Righini).

Typical elements of a spaghetti western include hearty fights and wild shootings. But all from the perspective of a woman who is absolutely at the center of the plot! The enchanting Elsa Martinelli (1935-2017) credibly gives this character her star power, which she has steeled in Hollywood (see "Hatari"). Martinelli also performs the song "No Time for Love".

The German dubbing is smarmy and snarky (the German title of the film also fits this) as always, which is also true for the love and verbal battles between Belle Starr and her tall lover (Luigi Montefiori (George Eastman), who was born in Genoa in 1942). Fits. In Italian or English, however, the plot comes across a bit more serious, which is probably more in line with the director's intention. At least 188,000 tickets were sold at the box office in West Germany (distributed by Neue Constantin) (source: InsideKino).

Good spaghetti western that is particularly interesting from a film perspective, as Lina Wertmüller remained the only female director in the spaghetti western genre. And the phenomenal Cinecitta diva Elsa Martinelli is always worth a look because she can convince in every role.

"The Belle Starr Story" (1968) is, to my knowledge, the only Spaghetti Western ever directed by a woman, Lina Wertmüller (who was the first female to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Direction, for "Seven Beauties" [1976]). This fact somewhat overshadows this frankly bizarre movie that should probably be seen by fans so they can say at least "I've seen it!".

The screenplay by Piero Cristofani is merely passable: Belle Starr (Elsa Martinelli) meets Larry Blackie (a fine George Eastman) during a card game, commencing a love/hate relationship coming to a head when both try and steal a diamond shipment from right underneath the noses of the Pinkertons.

The middle of the film is taken up by long flashbacks to Belle Starr's past (which feature the ever reliable Robert Woods. He was originally going to have more screen time than he does, but he fell out with Wertmüller and thus his role was shortened); these are good scenes, but they rather unbalance the film and put the pacing off. The acting is mostly good, with Bruno Corazzari doing wonders in his small role. The direction is, like the cinematography and editing, solid but not inspired. Over all, an interesting oddity in the harsh desert of Spaghetti Westerns that aficionado's will want to watch.

If you buy the "Wild East" DVD for the fine film, "Black Jack", you can skip this second feature, "The Belle Star Story", altogether. It is a real mishmash of poker games, flashbacks, sexual tom foolery, outrageously inappropriate makeup, sexual teasing, forgettable gunplay, and the like. The fact that it was directed by a woman, shows how the west might have looked through female eyes, but the audience is men, and they will be bored beyond belief with "The Belle Star Story." Believe me this is a real snooze fest, and the story is not only not believable, but beyond boring. I feel sorry for George Eastman and Robert Woods being dragged through this loser of a "Spaghetti Western." Not recommended. MERK.

Bit of a strange one and something of a curate's egg although on balance I liked it. The only spaghetti western directed by a woman and, I believe the only one starring a woman, also. Elsa Martinelli was in her 30s when she made this and altogether made over 60 films, including, funnily enough, Vadim's Blood and Roses that I only watched the other day. I think it is probably poor dubbing but she does not have the assurance she needs here and tends to come over a little hysterically at times. Fortunately the very solid George Eastman is here to save the day. Bit sexy and some particularly strong violence towards the end, this wavers a bit and is not helped by the oft repeated love song and its lilting romanticism.