| Montana Belle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Allan Dwan |
| Screenplay by | Horace McCoy Norman S. Hall |
| Story by | M. Coates Webster Howard Welsch |
| Produced by | Howard Welsch |
| Starring | Jane Russell |
| Cinematography | Jack A. Marta |
| Edited by | Arthur Roberts |
| Music by | Nathan Scott |
Production company | Fidelity-Vogue Pictures |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release dates | |
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1 million (US)[2] |
Montana Belle is a 1952 AmericanTrucolorWestern film directed byAllan Dwan and starringJane Russell. It is one of several fictionalized movies about outlawBelle Starr. The story is set inOklahoma, where the real Starr was killed. The word "Montana" in the title refers to the part of the plot in which Starr, wanted by the law, alters her appearance, poses as a widow fromMontana and becomes a saloon singer.
Oklahoma outlawBelle Starr meets theDalton gang when she is rescued from lynching byBob Dalton, who falls for her. So do gang member Mac and wealthysaloon owner Tom Bradfield, who's enlisted in a bankers' scheme to trap the Daltons. Dissension among the gang and Bradfield's ambivalence complicate the plot, as Belle demonstrates her prowess with shootin' irons,horses, and as a saloon entertainer.
Shot between late October and late November 1948, this film was intended to be issued byRepublic Pictures. In April 1949, Howard Welsch, who had produced the movie for his company,Fidelity Pictures, sold the negative toRKO for $875,000, about $225,000 above the picture's cost. Finally, this Western obtained aManhattan debut at theBroadway Palace Theatre on November 7, 1952.
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