1939 proved a particularly fruitful year for the movie industry, featuring such blockbusters as "Beau Geste", and "Gone With The Wind". Another 1939 movie that deserves to be seen is Director Henry King's "Jesse James", starring Tyrone Power, as Jesse, and Henry Fonda, as Frank James, the leaders of the outlaw band that became known as "The James Gang".
The James Gang has become a particularly cherished part of American history. Most youngsters are familiar with the tale of "that bold and wicked band... that robbed many banks and trains." Many feel that Jesse is the American Robin Hood, who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Whatever the truth is, Jesse James has entered that particular realm of American myth and folklore populated by the chosen few: Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Wild Bill Hickok, and very few others.
The tale begins by showing the wrongs inflicted on the James family and neighbors by big business -- the railroads and banks. Following the Civil War, heavy Brian Donlevy is going from farm to farm in Missouri telling the owners the land has been condemned and offering $1.00 an acre. If they refuse to sell, he beats them by sucker punching them and setting on them with his band of goons.
The old residents are too frail to resist such aggressive tactics, that is, until Donlevy visits the James farm... Jesse is away in the fields but Frank is home when Donlevy confronts Mrs. James (Jane Darwell) with the bad news. She calls out Frank for advice. Donlevy goes into his sucker punch routine, but, Frank knocks him down, time and again! When Donlevy's goons try to rush Frank, the returned Jesse fires a shot over their head and stops them cold. Frank beats Donlevy to a pulp, without even working up a sweat. Well, that is not going to stop "progress," so Donlevy and company return to the James farm by night and bomb the house, killing Mrs. James. Jesse follows him to the local saloon and guns him down in a fair fight, but now, James is branded as an outlaw.
With nothing to lose, Jesse and Frank begin preying on the railroad and banks. An interesting scene shows Jesse giving money to a farmer to pay off his mortgage, then waylaying and robbing the collector after he has received payment and given the owner a bill of sale!
A complicating subplot is Jesse's relationship with Zerelda "Zee", his lady love, played by attractive Nancy Kelly. Zee wants Jesse to go straight and detests having to continually move and live under assumed names. Well, as anyone who knows the story of Jesse James knows, she was destined to be disappointed!
All good things have to come to an end, and the Northfield Minnesota Bank robbery proves the gang's undoing. The townsmen are tipped off in advance of the robbery and deal the gang telling wounds.
Jesse is hunted like an animal. Finally, a member of his gang turns on him: Jesse dies, shot in the back by a trusted friend.
Excellent performances by Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, and Brian Donlevy. Excellent supporting cast, including old movie diva Jane Darwell as Frank and Jesse's mama, along with Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, and Slim Summerville. A standout was Henry Hull as Major Rufus Cobb, Zee's father and editor of the local newspaper. He continually stopped the presses and told his copy boy to "Take an editorial. The first thing we need to do is hang all the __________ ." His performance added comic relief and may have been the forerunner of other great editors portrayed in film, such as Thomas Mitchell (I think :>) in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
The film was shot in beautiful Technicolor as was "The Four Feathers" and "Gone With the Wind" the same year and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" the year before, back when color was a rarity and the studios used it sparingly and with great effect.
Viewers who enjoy a good Western shoot-em-up should also see "Wild Bill", "Tombstone", "My Darling Clementine", and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".
The legend of Jesse James stars Tyrone Power as the most infamous bandit in the history of the West. Jesse James was a young Missouri farmer forced ou...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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