Jesse James
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Actor: Henry Fonda, Henry Hull, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Tyrone PowerBrand: POWER,TYRONE
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-03-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Jesse James
DVD Review: All-star cast, spectacle overcome plot & character problems in the first Technicolor western
Summary: 4 Stars
The first Technicolor western (released in January of 1939, three months before DODGE CITY), this big-budget, big-scale affair is loaded with talent: Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda as the outlaw brothers Jesse and Frank, Randolph Scott as sympathetic Marshall Will Wright, John Carradine as Jesse's eventual killer Bob Ford, Nancy Kelly as "Zee", Jesse's beloved, and Brian Donlevy as Barshee, the railroad purchasing agent who is the initial villain and the main impetus in the James brothers' turning towards a life of crime.
Or so it is in this Hollywood fantasy which has very, very little to do with the facts, such as they are known. Of course Hollywood westerns shouldn't be expected to take the place of history books even on the best days, but JESSE JAMES is a worse offender than most. The Civil War is barely mentioned in the film - the real James Gang were Confederate raiders and the lost cause was certainly an element in their turning to crime; the Younger gang is never identified as such, with the Northfield Minnesota raid being present as wholly a "James Gang" effort; Bob Ford, a man of 20 when he killed Jesse, is played by the middle-aged John Carradine and presented as a main member of the gang when in reality he was a new recruit overshadowed by his older brother Charlie (played by a much younger actor here). And so on. So historical accuracy is out the window here.
That out of the way - and really, the accuracy stuff in this case should only matter to historians, not viewers just going for a rousing western - the film is overall a success, though not a complete one. It's got some spectacular scenes - the first train robbery, with Jesse jumping from car to car as a mere silhouette against the setting sun, is just stunning, and the Northfield raid and chase afterwards (where a horse was killed in the filming, which helped to lead to the monitoring of films for animal cruelty that we have today) are pretty exciting. Scott and Fonda are pretty solid in their roles, and Donlevy does his usual villainy well; unfortunately Power in the central role just doesn't have a lot of gravity and just doesn't project a lot of personality. Power of course became a star initially because of his looks, but he did end up doing some great serious work on occasion, most especially in the great noir Nightmare Alley a decade after this film. He did take a while to develop though and wasn't always used well early on - this falls into the category of an ill fit, I think. And he isn't helped out by the screenplay's efforts to make him out to be an outright heroic figure at first, with a steady and fairly quick descent into something like madness. Jesse's motivations after the first revenge killing and the first couple of robberies just aren't clear or believable, and as the film revolves around him - with brother Frank and Scott's lawman as generally ineffective foils against his growing instability - it becomes rather hard to really care what's going on, especially given the inevitable outcome.
All in all, it's worth seeing for the color and most of the cast as I said are fine. Added to the leads we have Henry Hull as Zee's uncle Rufus, a die-hard southern sympathizer and muckraking newspaper publisher who might provide a bit more than enough comic relief (though he's always fun when he's around), and Jane Darwell shows up for a couple of scenes at the beginning as the brothers' ill-fated mother. So I think this is a film that will probably appeal more to the "classic Hollywood" audience than the "hardcore western" crowd, despite Scott's appearance. It's certainly not the best western from 1939 by a long shot, but it's hardly the worst I've seen either. The following year's sequel, The Return of Frank James, is just a tad better I think, with Fritz Lang's direction more than making up for the lack of Scott and Power.
DVD note: As a couple of others have said, the color here isn't terrific, though I don't think it's bad enough to warrant downgrading my rating; it's hard to imagine at this point a better, remastered edition showing up anytime soon, and the film is certainly worth seeing for those interested in westerns of this period or fans of any of the stars. Minimal extras include a couple of Movietone clips from 1939 showing the red carpet premiere, and Power getting a star of the year award.
Description of Jesse James
The story of Jesse James, how he started his gang and became both an infamous outlaw and a hero.Genre: Westerns
Rating: NR
Release Date: 6-MAR-2007
Media Type: DVD
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