The Woman Who Robbed the Stagecoach (2021)

Lorraine Etchell is Pearl Heart, a woman let down by the men in her life.

That’s especially true of husband Fred Hart, who turns out to be an abusive drunk and leaves her pregnant and alone.

They eventually reconcile and make their way to Arizona. But Fred can’t shake the bottle, Pearl winds up in an opium den and he leaves her again, this time to fight in the Spanish-American War.

Left to fend for herself, Pearl begins washing clothes for a living. And providing other services to the miners working nearby.

Then, just as the mine is about to close, Joe Boot (Travis Mills) shows up, looking for female companionship for the night, but offering more as well.

In fact, he wants Pearl to become a partner in the small mining property he’s bought.

But mining takes money, and Pearl and Joe decide the quickest way to get that money is to steal.

They wind up robbing a stagecoach near Globe, Arizona, and making off with more than $400.

But, just as Pearl predicted, the law is on their trail.

Review:

The trailer touts this as the first feature-length Western film made on an iPhone. It also appears to be the first feature-length Western film about the exploits of Pearl Hart.

And in that sense, it’s quite faithful to what’s known and believed about the woman who became known nationwide as the Bandit Queen and briefly starred in a Wild West show about her life.

But it’s also far from the best of Travis’ Mills “12 Westerns in 12 Months.” Way too many cast members turn in wooden performances or act as though they’re reading their lines for the first time.

And while the film picks up considerably once director Mills shows up in the role of Joe Boot, his broken English is annoying. Etchell’s performance in the lead role can best be described as uneven.

Courtney Odom provides an intriguing soundtrack, which includes two versions of “Buffalo Gals (Won’t You Come Out Tonight”).

Western fans should be sure to check out Mills’ “Bastard’s Crossing” and “She Was the Deputy’s Wife.”

Directed by:
Travis Mills

Cast:
Lorraine Etchell … Pearl Hart
Travis Mills … Joe Boot
John Marrs … Judge Fletcher M. Doan
Kevin Gross … Fred Hart
Michael Estridge … Dan Bandman
Michael P. Walker … Prison officer
Babe McGuire … Julia Ward Howe
Todd South … Sheriff Truman
John Schile … The warden
D. Reride Smith … Henry Bason
Elizabeth Broeder … Mary Allen
Jacob Nichols … Ed Hogan
Sandey Lock … Pearl’s mother
Wade Everett … Gunsmith
Corey Busboom … The john
Robert Emery … Jury foreman

Music by:
Courtney Odom
“Bandit Queen”

Runtime: 85 min.

Memorable lines:

convinces her estranged husband to take her to Arizona

Fred Hart: “Pearl, you know that intolerable drunk in Chicago is not truly the man you married.”
Pearl Hart: “Then where did he come from?”

Fred Hart: “I can be your Buffalo Bill. And you can be my Annie Oakley.”

Joe Boot, as he and Pearl work in the mine: “We close.”
Pearl, doubtful: “Yeah? You might just dig yourself back to where you came from.”

Pearl Hart to Joe: “You never did pull the wool over my eyes. That’s more than any other guy can say.”

Pearl Hart: “It’s a wonderful and terrible thing to be found. I hope he never is.”