Jesse James (1939)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writer:

Nunnally Johnson (original screenplay)

Release Date:

27 January 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

The Epic Story of the most Colourful Outlaw who ever lived

Plot:

After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Railroad | Bank | Train | Reward | Farmer

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Jesse Woodson James
Henry Fonda	...	Frank James
Nancy Kelly	...	Zerelda 'Zee' Cobb, later Zerelda 'Zee' James
Randolph Scott	...	Marshall Will Wright
Henry Hull	...	Major Rufus Cobb
Slim Summerville	...	Jailer
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Mr. Runyan
Brian Donlevy	...	Barshee
John Carradine	...	Bob Ford
Donald Meek	...	Mc Coy
Johnny Russell	...	Jesse James Jr. (as John Russell)
Jane Darwell	...	Mrs. Samuels - Jesse's mother
Charles Tannen	...	Charles Ford
Claire Du Brey	...	Mrs. Bob Ford
Willard Robertson	...	Clarke

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Norway:16 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #4590) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Lake Ozark, Missouri, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After the two horses that were blindfolded and forced to go over a cliff were killed, a new rule was enforced and later endorsed by The Humane Society of America in which strict standards were created to protect Animal Actors in which at the end of the movie and added to the credits listed as "No Animals Were Harmed or Injured in the Production of this Film...". Now all films involving any Animal Actors must have present a member representing The Humane Society of America to insure that all animals are treated humanly and given a safe environment in which to work.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After they get Jesse out of jail, in the head-on shot of Frank and Jesse riding while being chased by the posse, road dust from the camera truck is visible ahead of them.

Quotes:

[last lines]
[about Jesse James]
Major Rufus Cobb: He was one of the doggonedest, gawl-dingedest, dad-blamedest buckaroos that ever rode across these United States of America!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Magkapatid na Jesse at James (1965)

Soundtrack:

Oh Susanna

Dated, but still worth seeing

Jesse James was one of the first westerns made in color, and this feature made it look actual during many years. Nowadays it looks dated, but this gives it a certain charm, you can compare it with the early western printed stories that glorified outlaws and gunfighters. There is a lot of Jesse's life missing here, where are the Younger brothers and what about the civil war? Henry Hull gives a good performance as Major Rufus,but he keeps repeating himself about the editorials, that is funny up to a certain point, then it gets tiring. Henry Fonda does not have much of a chance to act, his role is secondary,but he is excellent as Frank.