Fort Smith in the Movies: Outlaws, Lawmen and the Hanging Judge on Screen

Any serious western fan knows Fort Smith. Its best-known screen moment is John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, the story of a deputy marshal working out of Judge Parker's court. But Fort Smith has supplied the stories — and even some of the actors and sets — for a score of films.

Films drawn from Fort Smith

Lawmen in front of the camera

Parker's federal court sent real people to the screen, too. Famous deputy Bill Tilghman appeared in The Bank Robbery (1908) and directed The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws (1915), which featured former deputy marshal Chris Madsen in the cast.

Henry Starr plays himself

Who better to play a bad guy than the bad guy? Debtor to the Law (1919) was written and directed by, and starred, Henry Starr — by far the most interesting outlaw ever to pass through the Fort Smith court.

• The story: his 1915 holdup of two banks at the same time. It succeeded — but Starr was the only gang member who didn't get away: a kid shot him off his horse.
• The film: out of prison early, Starr decided a movie could make money. It was shot where the robbery happened, and his co-star was the kid who had shot him.
• The end: whether he made any money is doubtful. He was soon robbing banks again and died in 1921 in Harrison, Arkansas.
• Another first: besides the double robbery, Starr was the first bank robber to use an automobile in a crime.

The Daltons and Belle Starr

The Dalton Gang, with many ties to Fort Smith, has always been a screen favorite. Emmet Dalton, released from prison in 1907, went into movies and made The Last Stand of the Dalton Boys in 1912. It was remade six years later as Beyond the Law, with Emmet and his brothers cast as themselves. At least fifteen other films featured the Daltons — including the Three Stooges' The Outlaws Is Coming.

Belle Starr, already famous from cheap dime novels, was a sure bet for Hollywood. First mentioned in 1928, she has been the subject of at least ten movies and a 1980s television series, Belle Starr, starring Elizabeth Montgomery.

Filmed at the courthouse

Several productions were shot around the old courthouse itself, including Frank and Jesse (1993) and the Civil War mini-series The Blue and the Gray. The acclaimed mini-series Lonesome Dove had a Fort Smith connection too. Who knows when Hollywood will call again?

Sources

Based on "Fort Smith in the Movies (Site Bulletin)," Fort Smith National Historic Site, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's movie poster for Belle Starr: The Bandit Queen is a studio's work and is not reproduced.