lugonian
JESSE JAMES (20th Century-Fox, 1939), directed by Henry King, stars Tyrone Power in the title role as the legendary outlaw of Missouri, Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882). Aside from Jesse James, there's his brother, Frank James (1843-1915) also taking the spotlight, perfectly played by Henry Fonda as part of "The Legend of Frank and Jesse James." Released at the time when westerns were becoming full scale productions, with actors who've never appeared in westerns before now taking part of that genre, this one offered Power a chance to broaden his range from light romantic comedies, occasional costume dramas, or occasional musical to western setting where his guns do the talking. Rather than an accurate account on Jesse James, the writers mix fact and fiction instead. Taken from an original screenplay by Sam Hellman and Nunnally Johnson, with historical data assembled by Rosalind Shaffer and Jo Frances James, the "Forward" passage fills the viewer to what's to be shown: "After the tragic war between the states, America turned to the winning of the West. The symbol of that era was the building of the Trans-Continental railroads. The advance of the railroad was, in some cases, predatory and unscrupulous. Whole communities found themselves victimized by the ever-growing orge - the Iron Horse. It was this uncertain and lawless age that gave to the world, for good or ill, its most famous outlaws, the brothers of Frank and Jesse James." As the opening (and later closing) titles begin to roll using the same underscoring borrowed from Tyrone Power's earlier success, IN OLD CHICAGO (1937), the story, set in Liberty, Missouri, fades in with Barshee (Brian Donlevy), a representative from the St. Louis Midland Railroad, and his three assistants, going from farm to farm informing its landowners of a railroad coming through their property with the government to confiscate it and owners getting nothing. In "good faith," Barshee offers them a dollar an acre. Anyone refusing to believe his scare tactics and sign over their property to him, Barshee's men use their methods of "persuasion." This is not the case as the men approach the farmland of widow woman, Mrs. Samuels (Jane Darwell). Her son, Frank (Henry Fonda), comes to her aide when he finds she's being peer pressured to sign and not to bother seeing a lawyer. A fight ensues between Frank and Barshee, with Jesse (Tyrone Power), the other son, standing guard holding his pistol on the other men until the Frank is finished with Barshee. After the intruders get forced off their land, the James brothers form a meeting with neighboring farmers to fight for their rights and acquire enough money for a lawyer. In the meantime, Barshee gets a warrant from the sheriff to have the James boys arrested for assault with attempt to kill. Major Rufus Cobb (Henry Hull), editor and publisher of the Liberty Weekly Gazette, whose daughter, Zerelda (Nancy Kelly), loves Jesse, runs over to the farm to warn the boys to advise them to hide in the mountains, which they do. After Barshee comes to arrest the brothers, an accident on his part takes place, causing the death of their sickly mother. This incident soon starts Frank and Jesse James' vengeance against the railroad, followed by train and bank robberies that lead to their rise as wanted outlaws. Will Wright (Randolph Scott), United States Marshal, is hired by railroad president Mr. McCoy (Donald Meek), to have the James gang, consisting of Bob (John Carradine) and Charlie Ford (Charles Tannen), arrested and put in jail. Easier said than done.Others members of the cast include J. Edward Bromberg (George Runyan); Slim Summerville (The Jailer); Ernest Whitman ("Pinky" Washington, Frank and Jesse's loyal farmhand); and little John Russell (Jesse James Jr.). Keep a sharp eye for the bearded Lon Chaney Jr. playing one of Jesse's gang members; and Gene Lockhart in a cameo as a bearded citizen commenting on Jesse James' Wanted-Dead or Alive sign with $1,000 reward.Of the many movies dealing with the legend of Jesse James, including the long forgotten 1927 silent edition starring Fred Thomson for Paramount, this edition is obviously one of the best. Whether the film toys with the facts or not really doesn't matter. There's plenty of action-packed excitement ranging from robberies, chases and humor to keep this 106 minute product from being anything but a disappointment. Power may seem all wrong at in his title role, but as the film progresses, he convincingly changes from boyish farmer to mustached hard-hitting outlaw. Fonda on the other hand, is excellent as his brother Frank. Sporting a heavy mustache himself, he nearly draws more attention from Power with his interpretation of a soft-spoken, self-confident spitting tobacco chewer who, in one memorable scene, has a brother-to-brother talk to Jesse about his mad ways and treatment towards one of his friends, even at the risk of getting shot himself. Nancy Kelly, still new to the movies in leading lady capacity, makes a fine "Zee," the woman who loves and marries Jesse, becoming his long-suffering wife, while Henry Hull hams it up with his constant catch phrase of "Shoot them down like dogs." Another bonus besides Randolph Scott in fine support is its rich full Technicolor along with its reported actual location filming in and around Missouri.One of the most televised of the Power and/or Fonda movies, JESSE JAMES, distributed to home video and later DVD, was also broadcast on numerous cable TV networks, including American Movie Classics (1999-2003); Fox Movie Channel, and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 25, 2012). Highly recommended viewing along with its sequel: THE RETURN OF FRANK JAMES (1940) once again with Henry Fonda. (****)
jotaemesg
Now, first and foremost let me put this straight: I don't care about the historical lack of accuracy, I don't care about some cattle getting hurt in the making of this film, I don't care about Henry King being an allegedly rank-and-file director - Baloney!! What I see is a masterful movie, a tragic and epic tale of how America was made, a proof that also the WASPS were often victimized by the corporations and the Govermnemt, an extraordinary screenplay getting the most from the hero's and his beloved ones' ups and downs, as well as a superbly beautiful cinematography, all set on the original location where the events took place around the 1870s (quite different from the Arizona landscapes we are used to). All these elements were not put together by way of accident. A major studio, run by a very intelligent Zanuck was behind it. This is the evidence of what the old studio system could achieve in the golden age. This is the kind of movies that made Henry Fonda and Tyrone Power the big stars they were. This is why MGM got to admire, envy and plagiarize 20th Century Fox's ideas. No wonder it became instantly a legend when it was first released early in 1939. Indeed, one of the most glorious years of that era.This film is priceless. To my taste, it is the best western of the thirties. The story is told ruthlessly, just as reality was, but not without tenderness and utmost respect for the characters. You're not given a chance to breath a sigh of relief. The players work like masters. The very young Nancy Kelly is incredibly convincing as Jesse's wife. Silent star Henry Hull's performance throughout the movie is beyond telling. You have to see and hear. Not a single shot or line is wasted and the story is wise enough to be sprinkled with some bouts of good American sense of humour, very much in line with the ironic style of Mark Twain, another Southerner, very much in the 19th century mood. To think this was filmed in 1938 leaves me with a feeling of awe and admiration. Those guys and girls did know their business. I can't find the right words to praise this sensational movie as strongly as it deserves it. I shall only say this: This is one of the very few films that had me weeping and crying and I insist there's very good reason to be moved and touched by it. I give it 10 out of 10.
MartinHafer
Of all the films Hollywood made during the golden years, my least favorite were ones that played very fast and loose with the facts about the Old West. And, of all the Westerns, those about Jesse James as well as the gunfight at the OK Corral are the worst. Think of it from my point of view. I am an American history teacher and for some bizarre reason, I like my historical films to actually bear some semblance to what actually occurred!! JESSE JAMES, like all these other films, is a historical nightmare from start to finish. The life of this evil killer and thief is practically impossible to discern in this silly but entertaining film from 20th Century-Fox Studios. Instead of a bad man, according to the film, he is unfairly pushed to a life of crime by an evil railroad AND he and his brother, Frank, are good boys at heart!! With such stupid revisionism, we should soon expect to see films where Hitler, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jeffrey Dahmer are heroes!! There are tons more mistakes about the characters--but simply too many to bother mentioning. In fact, what is NOT wrong would be quicker and easier to discuss!! Additionally, there are just every cliché known to Westerns, such as the shootout ("count three and fire"), Frank giving the town an ultimatum to give him back Jesse by midnight "or else", happy and intensely loyal Black servants, the Robin Hood-like quality of the gang (though at least they showed how eventually he became more of a hardened criminal), the death of Frank and Jesse's momma pushing them to crime, Henry Hull's character from start to finish as well as his comments like "Jesse played fair" and "he was one of the gol-dangedest gol-darnestest buckaroos"! As for the non-historical aspects of the film, there is a lot to like. The film is shot in glorious Technicolor and the camera work is incredible. I especially loved the extremely difficult shot of the nighttime raid on the train--the moving external shot was NOT an easy thing to do and it looked great. Additionally, being an A-picture from the studio, the cast was spectacular--Tyrone Power (Jesse), Henry Fonda (Frank), Henry Hull (playing a role much like you might expect Walter Brennan to usually play), Randolph Scott, Jane Darwell, Donald Meek and Brian Donlevy make for an excellent cast. And, I must admit the film was fun to watch if you could care less about the facts and just want to be entertained. Unfortunately, for folks like me, it's a chore to watch even a well-made film if it's so historically inaccurate.By the way, it should also be mentioned that according to the IMDb trivia section, this film should be remembered for its total disregard for the welfare of the horses during filming. In exciting scenes, horses actually died to make the shots look good and although I am NOT a bleeding-heart, I just can't help but be appalled with this disregard for the animals. Not surprisingly, this film led to changes in the industry to protect animals in future films.
