Montana Belle

Montana Belle
Directed byAllan Dwan
Screenplay byHorace McCoy
Norman S. Hall
Story byM. Coates Webster
Howard Welsch
Produced byHoward Welsch
StarringJane Russell
CinematographyJack A. Marta
Edited byArthur Roberts
Music byNathan Scott
Production
company
Fidelity-Vogue Pictures
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • November 7, 1952 (1952-11-07) (New York)[1]
  • November 11, 1952 (1952-11-11)[2]
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1 million (U.S. rentals)[3]

Montana Belle is a 1952 American Trucolor Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Jane Russell and George Brent.

Plot

Oklahoma outlaw Belle Starr meets the Dalton gang when she is rescued from lynching by Bob Dalton, who falls in love with her, as do gang member Mac and wealthy saloon owner Tom Bradfield, who has enlisted in a bankers' scheme to trap the Daltons.

Cast

Production

Shot between late October and late November 1948, the film was intended to be distributed by Republic Pictures. In April 1949, Howard Welsch, who had produced the film for his company, Fidelity Pictures, sold the negative to RKO Radio Pictures for $875,000, about $225,000 more than the film's budget.

Release

The film premiered at the Palace Theatre in New York on November 7, 1952.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Howard Thompson called the film "the most overstated Western of the year" and wrote: "The picture strikes no new sparks, even with Miss Russell masterminding a gang of smitten desperadoes ... In a half-hearted attempt to turn a sow's ear, producer Howard Welsch has sprayed a fuzzy, garish color process over the cast and scenery. Allan Dwan's direction is lackadaisical and familiar. And the script, by Horace McCoy and Norman S. Hall, rattles with so many hand-me-down clichés that even diehard horse opera fans are apt to pine for the unvarnished vehicles of William S. Hart. At any rate, Miss Russell shares his jawline but precious little else and R. K O. has displayed her accordingly."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Thompson, Howard (November 8, 1952). "The Screen: At the Palace". The New York Times. p. 9.
  2. ↑ "Montana Belle: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Top Grossers of 1953". Variety. 193 (6): 10–11. January 13, 1954.
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