Belle Starr (1980)

In many ways, the Wild West was a wide-open society, where preconceived notions of gender roles could be set aside in a fresh spirit of equal opportunity for swindlers and robbers of either sex to fleece whatever chumps happened by, male or female. The infamous lady bandit Belle Starr (1980) comes to life as a self-empowered mistress of her own destiny. Whether robbing trains, bedding down with whatever buckeroo suits her fancy, including the odd redskin, or telling the town preacher to go play with himself, Belle Starr speaks her mind, struts her behind, and behaves entirely like a high-profile woman of our current times.