I Shot Jesse James (1949)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (story)
Homer Croy (article)

Release Date:

26 February 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | Western

Tagline:

THE THRILLING AND COLORFUL LAST DAYS OF AMERICA'S MOST FABULOUS OUTLAW...POWERFULLY WRITTEN IN GUNSMOKE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust.

Plot Keywords:

Jesse James | Amnesty | Prospector | Pardon | Reward

Cast

Preston Foster	...	John Kelley
Barbara Britton	...	Cynthy Waters
John Ireland	...	Bob Ford
Reed Hadley	...	Jesse James
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Harry Kane
Victor Kilian	...	Soapy
Tom Tyler	...	Frank James
Tommy Noonan	...	Charles Ford (as Tom Noonan)
Eddie Dunn	...	Joe, Silver King Bartender
Margia Dean	...	Saloon Singer
Byron Foulger	...	Silver King Room Clerk
Jeni Le Gon	...	Veronica, Cynthy's Maid
Barbara Woodell	...	Mrs. Zee James (as Barbara Wooddell)
Phillip Pine	...	Man in Saloon (as Phil Pine)
Robin Short	...	Troubadour

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lippert Pictures

Trivia:

Director Samuel Fuller said that he wanted to make this picture because, unlike many filmmakers in Hollywood, he did not see Jesse James as a "folk hero" or someone to be admired. Fuller saw him as a cold-blooded psychopath who shot down women, children, the elderly, the helpless (his gang once stopped a Union hospital train and executed every wounded federal soldier on it) and, in Fuller's words, Bob Ford "did something that should have been done quite a bit earlier in the life of Jesse Woodson James".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final shootout the background lighting on the closeups and master shots of John Ireland do not match.

Quotes:

Harry Kane: Gold is nothing but that last corruption of degenerate man. But to be a little corrupt for the sake of art, that I wouldn't mind.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Best of Sex and Violence (1981)

Soundtrack:

The Jesse James Song

Samuel Fuller's directorial debut is a B-western...

There's nothing in I SHOT JESSE JAMES to raise it above the level of a B-western. JOHN IRELAND has given some good performances in certain roles but he approaches this one in an almost zombie-like mode, especially during the first half of the movie where he ponders thinking about killing Jesse James (REED HADLEY). The film is a fictionalized version of the events surrounding the killing of Jesse James by the coward Bob Ford.

BARBARA BRITTON is attractive as the worried miss who is afraid to tell Bob Ford (Ireland) that she no longer loves him after the James killing. PRESTON FOSTER is the rugged man she tales a shine to after realizing that Bob Ford is jealous of their relationship.

There are obvious signs that the film was made quickly and on the cheap, making good use of small sets and big close-ups of the actors. None of the acting is inspired, so there's little that can be said about the performances in stock roles.

It's a strictly by-the-numbers sort of script that tells what ought to be a taut tale in a slow and cumbersome way with occasional bursts of dramatic music on the soundtrack to make up for the lack of compelling drama in the script.

Nothing distinctive about this one.