Jesse James

1939
Approved
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

5.1K

YOUR RATING

Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, Randolph Scott, and Nancy Kelly in Jesse James (1939)

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

Play trailer0:48

2 Videos

99 Photos

Classical Western Western

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

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

5.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The film shows both Jesse and Frank going off the cliff on horseback. In reality the stunt was performed once and shot with two cameras.

Goofs
The movie shows a bomb killing Frank and Jesse's mother. In reality, the bomb thrown through the window by the Pinkerton agents killed their little brother and seriously wounded their mother, who survived although she lost an arm in the explosion.

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!

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: After the tragic war between the states, America turned to the winning of the West. The symbol of this era was the building of the trans-continental railroads.

The advance of the railroads was, in some cases, predatory and unscrupulous. Whole communities found themselves victimized by an ever-growing ogre - 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 Frank and Jesse James.

Alternate versions
All UK versions were cut by 13 secs by the BBFC to remove footage of horse-falls including the controversial scene of a horse fatally falling from a cliff.

Connections
Edited into Myra Breckinridge (1970)

Soundtracks
The Battle Cry of Freedom
(1862) (uncredited)
Written by George Frederick Root
Played by the band at the railroad station

User reviews66

Review

Featured review

8/10

Robin Hood of the West

The first western shot in color focuses more on mythology than facts of this famous outlaw. Tyrone Power in the lead role shows acting abilities not seen in his previous movies,and delivers an intense portrayal of Jesse James. Underplaying his part as Frank James to great effect, Henry Fonda steals the movie.Although a supporting part he's missed in the scenes his not in. Randolph Scott as the marshal delivers one of his best performances. Nancy Kelly makes a beautiful love interest for Power. Henry Hull's crusading editor is fun to watch. The movie is wonderful to look at and one of the great westerns.I hope this classic western will be out on DVD soon.