No stranger to comedy Westerns, Bob Hope's film with Roy Rogers in the early Fifties ("Son of Paleface") is better regarded than this one, but "Alias Jesse James" has it's share of laughs and offers a terrific punch at the finale. Hope's character is a hapless insurance salesman who's latest client is the notorious outlaw, who figures on cashing in by having his alter-ego Martin Farnsworth (Hope) replace him in a pine box.
In hindsight I guess one could question the choice of Wendell Corey to portray Jesse James, since he doesn't have any significant Western movie or TV screen credits. By contrast, Jim Davis starred as Matt Clark, Railroad Detective in the early Western TV series "Stories of the Century", and also appeared in a passel of movie Westerns. Corey did portray Frank James in 1951's "The Great Missouri Raid", so maybe flip-flopping their roles here might have made more sense, but Corey did a pretty good job anyway.
As saloon gal and Jesse's fiancé Cora Lee Collins, Rhonda Fleming seemed to get prettier throughout the picture, but falling for Hope's Farnsworth character seemed a bit of a stretch for me. But let's face it, it would have meant a one way ticket out of the Dirty Dog saloon, so I guess you can't blame her.
Say, did you catch the bit with Milford Farnsworth's horse pushing him along to his showdown with Snake Brice? Back in 1952's "Son of Paleface", Bob Hope was upstaged by Roy Rogers' horse Trigger in a bedroom scene that was just hilarious. You read that right, but I won't give it away here, you'll just have to look it up yourself.
Getting back to my earlier tease - the final shoot out with Farnsworth and Jesse's gang was a veritable trip down memory lane for long time Western fans. Making cameos in order of appearance were Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian), Major Seth Adams (Ward Bond), Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), Roy Rogers, Davy Crockett (Fess Parker), Annie Oakley (Gail Davis), Gary Cooper, and Tonto (Jay Silverheels). Each one shot a bad guy, only to be upstaged by the Bingster who told the viewer Hope could use all the help he could get. Actually, I think he got it.
In hindsight I guess one could question the choice of Wendell Corey to portray Jesse James, since he doesn't have any significant Western movie or TV screen credits. By contrast, Jim Davis starred as Matt Clark, Railroad Detective in the early Western TV series "Stories of the Century", and also appeared in a passel of movie Westerns. Corey did portray Frank James in 1951's "The Great Missouri Raid", so maybe flip-flopping their roles here might have made more sense, but Corey did a pretty good job anyway.
As saloon gal and Jesse's fiancé Cora Lee Collins, Rhonda Fleming seemed to get prettier throughout the picture, but falling for Hope's Farnsworth character seemed a bit of a stretch for me. But let's face it, it would have meant a one way ticket out of the Dirty Dog saloon, so I guess you can't blame her.
Say, did you catch the bit with Milford Farnsworth's horse pushing him along to his showdown with Snake Brice? Back in 1952's "Son of Paleface", Bob Hope was upstaged by Roy Rogers' horse Trigger in a bedroom scene that was just hilarious. You read that right, but I won't give it away here, you'll just have to look it up yourself.
Getting back to my earlier tease - the final shoot out with Farnsworth and Jesse's gang was a veritable trip down memory lane for long time Western fans. Making cameos in order of appearance were Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian), Major Seth Adams (Ward Bond), Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), Roy Rogers, Davy Crockett (Fess Parker), Annie Oakley (Gail Davis), Gary Cooper, and Tonto (Jay Silverheels). Each one shot a bad guy, only to be upstaged by the Bingster who told the viewer Hope could use all the help he could get. Actually, I think he got it.