THE BELLE STARR STORY (1968) SPAGHETTI WESTERN

THE BELLE STARR STORY (1968) – (Original title Il Mio Corpo per un Poker) This movie was directed by Lina Wertmuller, making it the only Spaghetti Western directed by a woman. It has nothing to do with the real Belle Starr, but for name recognition you can’t beat that title!

In any event, our heroine Belle (Elsa Martinelli) faces the ugly issues a lot of women faced in the old west regarding predatory men but rises above it all to become a sharp-shooting, butt kicking, hard drinking ball of fire. She blazes a trail across the west, becoming one of the greatest outlaws of her time.

Early in the film, Belle is in a high stakes poker game at a saloon. The other players fall one by one until it’s just her and the handsome, devil-may-care bandit Larry Blackie (Larry Blackie?).

Because The Belle Starr Story is good but not original sparks fly between her and Blackie. She’s reluctant to admit it, though, so we get some battle of the sexes bickering between the two of them. Presently, Belle has all her cash already in the pot but is very confident in her cards so she calls a raise by telling the clearly interested Larry that they can spend the night together if he wins. 

Blackie has the better hand and the pair couple through the night. This cements their love-hate relationship and they spend most of the remainder of the movie trying to outdo each other in their outlaw careers.

There’s a supporting character named Cole Harvey who might be meant as a riff on the real Belle Starr’s temporary romantic partner Cole Younger, but who can say with Spaghetti Westerns. Remember, this is a subgenre which gave us Billy the Kid as Jesse James’ son among other mutilations of history. (Not that American westerns are all that accurate, either.) 

Whenever circumstances force Belle and Blackie to work together they still plot to rip each other off while periodically getting in shootouts with the law and with rival bandits while also trying to stay ahead of Pinkerton Detectives.

Belle sings at one point but it’s really just Elsa Martinelli being badly dubbed. A massive jewel heist sets in motion the climactic events of the story. 

This flick is down in the C tier of Spaghetti Westerns with schlock like the Holy Ghost westerns or some of the very subpar Sartana or Gringo movies. The rareness of a female gambler/ gunslinger in a Eurowestern makes it a must see, though, especially with a director like Wertmuller behind the camera.

Typical of the lower tier Eurowesterns, there aren’t as many gunfights as a viewer would expect, but what can ya do? I’ll take The Belle Starr Story over Raquel Welch’s Spaghetti Western Hannie Caulder any day.

P.S. Enjoy the sloppy Italian to English translation in flicks like this for the Wanted poster below.