Il mio corpo per un poker (1968)

Abused and dominated by men in her youth, Belle Starr now out-rides, out-smokes, out-shoots, and out-gambles them as she makes her way around the Old West, usually wearing male garb. One ... See full summary »

Directors:

Piero Cristofani, Lina Wertmüller

Writers:

Piero Cristofani (screenplay), Piero Cristofani (story),

Stars:

Elsa Martinelli, Robert Woods, George Eastman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elsa Martinelli	...	Belle Starr
Robert Woods	...	Cole Harvey
George Eastman	...	Larry Blackie
Francesca Righini	...	Jessica
Bruno Piergentili	...	Pedro (as Dan Harrison)
Bruno Corazzari	...	Pinkerton Man
Vladimir Medar	...	John Shelley
Eugene Walter	...	Velvet Fingers
Remo De Angelis	...	Gang Member

Storyline

Abused and dominated by men in her youth, Belle Starr now out-rides, out-smokes, out-shoots, and out-gambles them as she makes her way around the Old West, usually wearing male garb. One man who's her equal is Larry Blackie with whom she has an on-again, off-again relationship which is often argumentative and sometimes violent. Together they become involved in a robbery which goes awry. Belle has to rescue Larry and though he's grateful, he now wants to go his own way. However, he expresses the hope that someday they'll once more cross paths and then ... who knows?

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Plot Keywords:

action heroine | cigar smoking | saloon | male earring | bullet | 

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

15 March 1968 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Belle Starr Story

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eureka Films, Mercurfilm, United Productions International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Quotes

Pinkerton Man: You think you're a brave man, don't you. Resisting all this pain, all this torture. I hope you haven't got to the stage when you don't feel it. It doesn't usually happen so quickly, but we can wait until you get your strength back again, Larry, so you get the most out of this experience. We don't want you to miss anything, do we. It would be a pity, don't you agree? Ready for more?

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Soundtracks

"No Time for Love"
Music by Charles Dumont
Lyrics by André Salvet and Norman Newell
Performed by Elsa Martinelli

User Reviews

An Oddity in the Spaghetti Western Genre.

"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.