Great Film overall

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This film's beauty is that it is so simple. This is by far the best version of the Jesse James story - there is not a sign of formalism as is regularly seen in later westerns, especially modern ones. When you are able to tell a story the way Henry King does, simply and clearly, then you begin to discover many other stories inside the main one. And then you know you have the original, the prototype.

The good news is that this film is a cut above the average Western. The bad news is that it's "notoriously inaccurate", painting the James' as good, misunderstood boys...which they were not by a long shot (pun intended). The further bad news is that the film is also notorious for cruelty to horses.Knowing the overwhelming inaccuracy of the movie, why would one watch it. 4 words -- Tyrone Power / Henry Fonda. And that pairing is one of the things that makes this film a cut above the average Western. Superb acting. The film also shows the destruction of relationships when good men (?) go bad. Another admirable feature of the movie is the relative respect the Black "sidekick" (for wont of a better term) gets here. Atypical of Hollywood in that era.Aside from the inaccuracies in the plot, there is a point in the film where, suddenly, Jesse goes from being a basically good boy (even though he's an outlaw) to becoming surly and a bad man. It just seems to happen overnight...no moving toward that point gradually. A serious flaw in the movie. On the other hand, the nearly last scene with his son is quite touching...well done.Tyrone Power is, as always, terrific in this part. It's not his fault the movie is a lie. Likewise, Henry Fonda is excellent, although he really only has one particularly strong scene, where he tells Jesse he has become bad. Nancy Kelly is very good as the love interest, and shows well the angst of someone whose life is being ruined by an outlaw. Randolph Scott is good as the sheriff, although his role sort of disappears later in the film. Henry Hull is a hoot as the newspaper editor, although just maybe it's a bit overplayed. Slim Summerville is funny as the jailer...and I enjoyed his memorable performance in a Shirley Temple film. Brian Donlevy is his typical menacing self early in the movie, but is shot to death by Jesse, so you don't see him much past the opening scenes. John Carradine, as the man who shoots Jesse, is...well, John Carradine. Donald Meek is welcome character actor in any film...and does nicely here. Jane Darwell is another magnificent character actor, though her pivotal role (Jesse's mother) only lives through the opening scenes. Special attention should be paid to Ernest Whitman, who plays Pinkie, the Black sidekick. There's respect shown in the script, although his billing was very low.I recommend this film because it is good film-making...despite gross historical inaccuracies. Interesting to compare it to the recent Brad Pitt film about Jesse James.

Now, first and foremost let me put this straight: I don't care about the historical lack of accuracy, I don't care about some cattle getting hurt in the making of this film, I don't care about Henry King being an allegedly rank-and-file director - Baloney!! What I see is a masterful movie, a tragic and epic tale of how America was made, a proof that also the WASPS were often victimized by the corporations and the Govermnemt, an extraordinary screenplay getting the most from the hero's and his beloved ones' ups and downs, as well as a superbly beautiful cinematography, all set on the original location where the events took place around the 1870s (quite different from the Arizona landscapes we are used to). All these elements were not put together by way of accident. A major studio, run by a very intelligent Zanuck was behind it. This is the evidence of what the old studio system could achieve in the golden age. This is the kind of movies that made Henry Fonda and Tyrone Power the big stars they were. This is why MGM got to admire, envy and plagiarize 20th Century Fox's ideas. No wonder it became instantly a legend when it was first released early in 1939. Indeed, one of the most glorious years of that era.This film is priceless. To my taste, it is the best western of the thirties. The story is told ruthlessly, just as reality was, but not without tenderness and utmost respect for the characters. You're not given a chance to breath a sigh of relief. The players work like masters. The very young Nancy Kelly is incredibly convincing as Jesse's wife. Silent star Henry Hull's performance throughout the movie is beyond telling. You have to see and hear. Not a single shot or line is wasted and the story is wise enough to be sprinkled with some bouts of good American sense of humour, very much in line with the ironic style of Mark Twain, another Southerner, very much in the 19th century mood. To think this was filmed in 1938 leaves me with a feeling of awe and admiration. Those guys and girls did know their business. I can't find the right words to praise this sensational movie as strongly as it deserves it. I shall only say this: This is one of the very few films that had me weeping and crying and I insist there's very good reason to be moved and touched by it. I give it 10 out of 10.

Another movie from Hollywood's wonder year 1939, but this time not of the first rank, being a watchable but slightly underpowered western on the life and times of legendary bandit figure Jesse James. The premise is set up from the off, those gol-darned railroad company men hornswoggling the innocent farmers of their land to make way for the Iron Horse and making the mistake of being responsible for the death of old Ma James, whose two sons Frank and Jesse immediately take up the cudgels on behalf of the little people. Herein lies the problem, there's very little light and shade in the film, the bad guys, railway owner McCoy, chasing lawman Runyan and mostly of course the treacherous Ford brothers (assassin Robert suitably nervous in the act of murder, replete with Judas Iscariot beard) are painted in broad strokes against which Jesse and Frank James can't help but look whiter than white, when in truth, matters were much greyer, I would imagine. Even nice guy marshal Randolph Scott turns near the end with his designs on Jesse's missus. Naturally 30's Hollywood runs with the legend but it does reduce the film to a fairly predictable good guys versus bad guys plot with only the downbeat ending (Jesse shot in the back by Robert Ford) adding some depth and gravitas to proceedings, ending as it does with the famous epitaph on James' tombstone. Action sequences are few and rarely thrilling. Tyrone Power is suitably handsome if somewhat slight in the lead part but he's well backed up by the more down to earth conviction acting of Henry Fonda. The remainder of the cast are adequate and while Henry Hull gets some mileage out of a good running gag on his editorials against everybody who upsets him at a given moment, he, like many others, frequently slips into caricature. The colour photography is lovely to behold and the direction stolid rather than spectacular. There are a couple of unwitting racial slur terms I could have done without too but there's probably more of that to rail against in "Gone with the Wind", so I'll let them pass. Spawned a sequel in the Fritz Lang directed "Return of Frank James", again to mixed results, but at least therein the double-crossing Ford brothers get theirs in the end!