Frank & Jesse

1994
R
1h 45m

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

Bill Paxton and Rob Lowe in Frank & Jesse (1994)

Western starring Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton, based on the lives of Frank and Jesse James. After the Civil War Frank and Jesse return to their family's farm. When their younger brother is murdered they embark on a mission for revenge.

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Biography Drama Western

Western starring Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton, based on the lives of Frank and Jesse James. After the Civil War Frank and Jesse return to their family's farm. When their younger brother is murde... Read allWestern starring Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton, based on the lives of Frank and Jesse James. After the Civil War Frank and Jesse return to their family's farm. When their younger brother is murdered they embark on a mission for revenge.Western starring Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton, based on the lives of Frank and Jesse James. After the Civil War Frank and Jesse return to their family's farm. When their younger brother is murdered they embark on a mission for revenge.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Even though, in the film, Jesse's home is shown as a big two-story house, the original house is in fact much smaller and was located in town. However, the actual house still stands, but has been moved three times to its current location, next to the Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri. The final scene with Jesse, the chair and picture is exactly how it happened according to Bob Ford. In the original house, there is still a dent and blood stain on the floor where Jesse fell.

Goofs
Jesse would not be standing taking the oath of fidelity to the union, he was shot in the chest trying to surrender and was bedridden for months.

Quotes
Frank James: Hell of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most.

Connections
Referenced in Buttcrack (1998)

Soundtracks
Auld Lang Syne
Performed by Randy Travis

User reviews24

Review

Featured review

7/10

A paraphrase of history does reveal some truths.

Regarded as a paraphrase rather than a real docudrama, this film does reveal some truths amid the fiction. Whatever one may think about the exploits of the James brothers and their various gangs, one cannot but have grave misgivings about the proto-fascist activities of Alan Pinkerton as the paid lackey of the railroad and banking interests in the post Civil War era. This "great detective" hired by the U.S. government to organise espionage against the Confederacy has been reliably reported as "manufacturing" most of the information submitted to President Lincoln.

The characters ascribed to the James brothers here is likely close to the truth, but why the contradictions of known facts. Their step-father Samuels was hanged by Pinkerton agents, not shot. Bob Ford, not Charlie, is the known assassin of Jesse James. This could have been a fine historical film, but some truth does emerge as initially said. The railroads and banks of the post Civil War era were proto-fascism at work in a very vicious form, and Alan Pinkerton was their "Himmler".