| Jesse James | |
|---|---|
_01.jpg) Jesse Jamesmovie poster | |
| Directed by | Henry King |
| Screenplay by | Nunnally Johnson |
| Produced by | Nunnally Johnson (associate producer) |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | George Barnes W. H. Greene |
| Edited by | Barbara Mc Lean |
| Music by | Louis Silvers (musical direction) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million |
| Box office | $2.335 million (U.S. and Canada rentals)[1] |
Jesse James is a 1939 AmericanWestern film directed byHenry King and starringTyrone Power,Henry Fonda,Nancy Kelly, andRandolph Scott. Written byNunnally Johnson, the film is loosely based on the life ofJesse James, the outlaw from whom the film derives its name. The supporting cast includesHenry Hull,John Carradine,Brian Donlevy,Jane Darwell, andLon Chaney Jr.
TheAmerican Humane Association began to oversee film production's care of animals shortly after this film's release, in response to outcry over a scene in which a horse died after it was driven off a cliff.[2]
The film has been described by the BritishChannel 4 website as being "notorious for its historical inaccuracy".[3]
A railroad representative named Barshee forces farmers to give up the land the railroad is going to go through, giving them $1 per acre (much less than fair price) for it. When they come to Jesse's home, Barshee is told by Jesse that his mother Mrs Samuels is the farm's owner.
Barshee repeatedly tries to force her into selling, until her other sonFrank James gets involved. Frank fights and easily beats Barshee, but Jesse shoots Barshee in the hand, in self-defense. When arrest warrants are issued for Frank and Jesse, Major A. Rufus Cobb, an editor in nearbyLiberty, Missouri, and uncle of Zerelda (Zee) Cobb, Jesse's lover, quickly comes to tell them to leave.
Frank and Jesse learn that Barshee is responsible for the death of their mother and Jesse kills him in revenge. This begins Frank and Jesse's career as outlaws. They are pursued relentlessly by the unscrupulous railway boss, McCoy. Three years later, with a $5,000 reward on his head, Jesse marries Zee and turns himself in, at her insistence, having been promised a light sentence by Marshall Will Wright. But McCoy manages to manipulate the situation through his connections, by having the judge dismissed pre-trial, and installing a new judge, who is likely to favour McCoy's recommendation of imposing the death penalty for Jesse.
Frank breaks Jesse out of jail, and the James gang continue their life of crime. Eventually Zee leaves him, taking their son Jesse Jr. with her. Years later, following an unsuccessful robbery, a wounded Jesse returns home and Zee joins him in the belief that they will escape to California. Meanwhile,Bob Ford, an old member of the James gang, together with his brotherCharlie Ford, contact Jesse, claiming that Frank sent them to ask Jesse to participate in their next robbery. They assert that the job will earn them all a large sum of money for very little risk. Jesse nevertheless refuses the Ford brothers' offer, and the brothers exit the house. However, sensing an opportunity to claim the generous reward for Jesse's death, Bob Ford sneaks back inside, and shoots Jesse in the back, thereby killing him.
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Much of the filming forJesse James took place around the town ofPineville inMcDonald County, Missouri, because at the time the town and surrounding area looked much as it would have in the 1880s and 1890s. The town's historicOld McDonald County Courthouse, aNational Register of Historic Places site, was featured in the film serving as a stand-in for theLiberty, Missouri, courthouse. Pineville still celebrates Jesse James Days annually in homage to the film and the movie stars who descended on the small town to make it. In their off time from filming, the films' stars and crew, including Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, and Randolph Scott, would seek relaxation at the Shadow Lake resort inNoel, Missouri, on the shores of theElk River (Oklahoma).
After its release the film would gain a measure of misplaced notoriety for a scene in which a horse appears to fall to its death down a rocky slope toward the end of the film. This scene was one of many cited by theAmerican Humane Association againstHollywood's abuse of animals, and led to the association's monitoring of filmmaking.[4] However, according toLeonard Mosley's biographyZanuck: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's last Tycoon, none of "the horses [had] been injured. Under Zanuck's direction, a short distance down the cliff, on a conveniently broad platform, the unit roper had arranged a soft landing for the horses."[5]
The most difficult riding stunts were performed for high fees byCliff Lyons who doubled both costars.[6]
Jesse James was thethird highest-grossing film of 1939, behindGone with the Wind andMr. Smith Goes to Washington. A sequel,The Return of Frank James, directed byFritz Lang withHenry Fonda reprising his role asFrank James along with other actors playing the same characters as they had inJesse James, was released in 1940.
The film was on continuous release in the United States for more than 15 years. The film was reissued in March 1946 and was released for a fourth time in July 1951. By May 1954, it had played over 52,000 bookings in the United States andCanada.[7]
A remake was directed byNicholas Ray in 1957,The True Story of Jesse James.[3]
The film gained a measure of notoriety for a scene in which a horse falls down a rocky slope, apparently to its death, toward the end of the film. This scene was one of many cited by theAmerican Humane Association againstHollywood's abuse of animals, and led to the association's monitoring of filmmaking.[4] According toLeonard Mosley's 1985 biographyZanuck: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's last Tycoon, none of "the horses [had] been injured."[5] But according to Time in 1939, Darryl Zanuck confirmed "in print and letters" the death of the horse was an "accident."[8] According to most sources, the horse died, having to be put down after the 70 foot fall.[9][10][11]
