Jesse James (1939)

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Tyrone Power is the outlaw Jesse James brought to life in director Henry King's 1939 treatment of the story. This holds nothing back and packs a wallop from beginning to end. We begin with Brian Donlevy going from house to house swindling people out of their property and paying little to no money for it. Apparently, he's a representative of the railroad company, whose new tracks have to go through their property. When they get to Jesse James' mother, played by Jane Darwell, to sign the deed, she shows some sense and flat out won't sign it. A ruckus is started when sons Jesse and Frank order them off their property with a gun and a fistfight. When Brian Donlevy goes to the law and asks to be deputized to arrest Jesse James, they go back after them. But someone has already told them to 'git,' so they ran. It's easy to say these things, I know, but that was their first mistake. From there on, one sees the path that Jesse James and brother Frank get on. Through a series of bad decisions and poor judgment, they rationalize what they do against the railroad company that did wrong by so many of their neighbors, by robbing trains of the passengers' money and encouraging them to sue the company for compensation, because the railroad company is liable for it. They segue to banks and continue their criminal activities. The movie also stars Henry Fonda, as brother Frank James, Randolph Scott as the law, Donald Meek as the railroad president, John Carradine as "the coward" Robert Ford, and Slim Summerville, as a jailer who has a plum role as a jailer who says "them James boys keep their word. When they say they's going to do something, they do it." He was quite good. But despite the whole production and treatment of the story, Henry Hull practically stole the show as the crankiest, sermonizing, over-the-top, over-acting, hammiest newspaperman ever, who's all the time dictating another editorial on lawyers (liars), governors, or you name it. "If we are ever to have law and order in this here area, we have to take out all the (fill in the blank) and shoot 'em down like a dog." Also, Nancy Kelly is memorable and touching as "Zee," who devotedly and almost stubbornly loves Jesse, no matter what. I still can see her in bed distraught over Jesse and having just had a baby. If you want a non-stop, emotional film about the story behind Jesse James, which has no music score throughout the film (I was very impressed by that,) then this is for you. But having said all that, I was a little miffed about the ending speech given by Henry Hull, who says they're not ashamed of Jesse James, because he represented the fighting spirit and gumption of the human race needed in order to overcome wrongs done to you. He did interject they don't have much to say to the fact that Jesse James ultimately became an outlaw. What can family say or do, when a loved one goes down the wrong path, but stay on their side and love them and pray for their salvation? The movie shows what Jesse's original motivations were and also when and where he started to be out of control. And while I know they tried to be fair to Jesse James and to its subject matter and to show him as human, I still feel it glamorizes the outlaw lifestyle, as the film Bonnie and Clyde does. But, I do recommend this film, because it is an example of movie-making at its best. If Henry Hull's speech was made at the end to leave you thinking about who we see as our role models and to question the real credibility of the choice of Jesse James as one, then that's good. His life is here to scrutinize. Decide for yourself.

We are at the time of the Iron Horse birth, the railroads are buying out the farm land at ridiculously low prices, even resorting to bully tactics to get the signature rights. When one particularly nasty railroad agent tries his strong arm tactics on the mother of the James brothers, he gets more than he bargained for. In an act of almost vengeful negligence, the agent causes the death of Mrs James and thus sets the wheels in motion for what was to become folklore notoriety, Jesse James, his brother Frank, and a gang of seemingly loyal thieves, went on to etch their names in outlaw history.There is no getting away from the fact that history tells us that this is a highly fictionalised account of Jesse James and his exploits. What we are given here by director Henry King and his screenwriter Nunally Johnson, is a more romanticised look at the legend of the man himself; which sure as heck fire makes for one dandy and enjoyable watch. The cast is one to savour, Tyrone Power (Jesse James), Henry Fonda (Frank James), Randolph Scott (Will Wright), Brian Donlevy (Barshee) and John Carradine (Bob Ford) all line up to entertain the masses with fine results, with Fonda possibly owing his subsequent career to his appearance here. He would return a year later in the successful sequel The Return Of Frank James and subsequently go on to greater and more rewarding projects. Power of course would go on and pick up the trusty blade and start swishing away, a career beckoned for this matinée idol for sure, but it's nice to revisit this particular picture to see that Power could indeed be an actor of note, capable of some emotional depth instead of making Jesse just another outlawish thug. If the makers have made the character too "heroic" then that's for debate, it's one of the many historical "itches" that have irked historians over the years. But Power plays it as such and it works very well. One of the film's main strengths is the pairing of Power and Fonda, very believable as a kinship united in ideals, with both men expertly handled by the reliable Henry King. The Technicolor from Howard Greene and George Barnes is wonderfully put to good use here, splendidly capturing the essence of the time with eye catching results. While the film itself has a fine action quota, gun play and galloping horses all feature throughout, and the characterisations of the main players lend themselves to pulse raising sequences. To leave us with what? A highly accomplished Western picture that ends in the way that history has showed it should, whilst the rest of the film is flimsy history at best... Yes. But ultimately it really doesn't matter if one is after some Western entertainment, because for sure this picture scores high in that regard. 8/10

The life of times of the James brothers gets the big-budget treatment. The facts are twisted, portraying Jesse as a good kid who is pushed into a life of crime through circumstances. Power is well cast in the title role, displaying some acting chops and proving that he is more than a pretty face. Fonda is also effective, although his role here is limited; Frank James would be the focus of the sequel. Kelly plays the comely love interest while Scott makes a valiant Marshall. The supporting cast features such familiar faces as Hull, Donlevy, Carradine, Meek, and Darwell. It is filmed in gorgeous Technicolor. The action scenes are quite exciting.

This is an extremely enjoyable movie. It does not follow historical accuracy, and mixes some of the actual events into different time sequences.One thing I liked about this movie is that it illustrates how the Pinkertons actually did throw a grenade through the window of Jesse's mother's home. In reality, it killed his little brother and blew off his mothers arm. In this movie it kills his mother, but does illustrate how Jesse had more motive for his actions than just money.Being produced less than 60 years after the death of the real Jesse James, it provides a view into the popular "feel" for this outlaw and how the public viewed him at that time. Henry Fonda is great as Frank James and Randolph Scott makes a good Marshall. But, Henry Hull is an all time classic as "Uncle Rufus" and really adds a lot to this movie. This movie is one of my favorites.