THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES

US, 1957, 92 minutes, Colour.
Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lang, Agnes Moorhead, Alan Hale Jnr, Alan Baxter, John Carradine.
Directed by Nicholas Ray.

The True Story of Jesse James is one of many films about the famous outlaw. He was played very effectively by Tyrone Power in Jesse James. In that film, Henry Fonda played Frank James and was to have his own film in The Return of Frank James. They were to appear in a number of films including The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, the story of the bank robbery failure that led to their downfall. They also appeared in The Long Riders as well as American Outlaws and the Brad Pitt vehicle The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

This film was directed by Nicholas Ray. In his comments after the film’s release, he was highly critical of the producer Buddy Adler who he said ruined the kind of film that he intended, the producer saying that the film was too hard to follow with its time-shifts. However, in its present structure it starts with a bank and goes to eighteen years’ development through flashbacks.

Rising stars at 20th Century- Fox Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter portray Jesse and Frank James. Hope Lang portrayed Zee. John Carradine, who played Bob Ford in The Return of Frank James, appears here as the Reverend Jethro Bailey.

The film then takes its place in the creation of the legends about Jesse James, the nature of the oppression that the James family felt, his experiences with Quantrill’s Raiders and the outlaw gangs and their robberies – as protest against American government officials. There was a humorous variation at the same time with Alias Jesse James and Bob Hope posing as Jesse James or as someone who knew him.

1. The statue of the Jams brothers in American history, legend and myth? Response of the nineteenth century Americans? 20th century? Their place, right or wrong, in the American heritage?

2. The status of the James’ brothers in stories and film from the 20th century? The many versions of their lives and time? The indication of the present title? Is it correct?

3. The use of colour, cinemascope? The use of natural western locations? The musical score? The status of the young stars and the interpretation of the James’ Brothers? The overall effect in terms of entertainment, interest, a Western, American legend and heritage?

4. The significance of a true story? Is it just the facts, how much meaning, how much interpretation? At what level of facts did the film work? How much meaning? interpretation?

5. The significance of the structure in starting with the failure at Northfield? The dramatise of the failure? The long return home, the pursuit? The recurrence of the Northfield failure throughout the film? The effect of such a flashback structure and the beginning with failure? How did it colour interpretation of the Jameses and their exploits? The initial attitudes of the brothers with which we were presented: Jesse and his hardness, sense of failure, being pursued, crisis, crisis with Frank? How did this give a slant on the rest of his behaviour – seeing his early decisions in the light of the end?

6. How important was their mother in the true story? Her place in the American West? Her place in the flashback structure - her illness and her memories? The farm, support of her sons, attacks and injustice? Widow, her remarrying? The importance of Zee as a parallel with their mother? Her place in the West, her brother, the farm? Her marriage with Jesse and trying to support him? The significance of the flashbacks in their mother's mind, in the
preacher's mind? The importance of the preacher's flashback?

7. The significance of the Civil War in the history of the James brothers, their belonging to the South, the reactions of their neighbours, hostility, Quantrill’s raiders?

8. The humiliation of Jesse, the violence, the death of the younger brother? The reaction of Jesse, the reaction of Frank? Their participation in the war, the raiders, revenge?

9. Robert Wagner's interpretation of Jesse? As a young man going to the war? Love for his family? The importance of his return, the work, the courting of Zee and marrying her ? His reaction to the burning?

10. How credible were his motives for the robberies? His participation in the robberies and their effect on him? Questions of justice? The reasons for his establishing a gang? Justice versus ordinary exhilaration of risk? How deeply involved was he? How deeply involved was Frank? The picturing of the rest of the group and our knowing them in the light of the Northfield failure?

11. The James’ family and their trying to survive? Frank's support? The older brother trying to help Jesse? The transition for Jesse and Zee to being the Howard family? Their life In the city? Their lawyer friends? Why could Jesse not stop? The killing of the neighbour in anger and the consequences?

12. The importance of the trial, the attitude of the lawyer who was a friend of the Howards? Public opinion about the James brothers, pro and con? The importance of the Pinkerton detectives and their trying to track down the James brothers? Jesse's and Frank's knowledge of this? the train trip, their going to their mother? The amnesty?

13. The decision to go to Northfield? The reasons for and against? 'The build-up to the bickering of the group with their strengths and their weaknesses? The long ride, the mistakes, the excuses? The deaths? The pursuit, the explosives, the shooting of Tucker? now did the exploit go sour?

14. Frank and Jesse throughout the film and their bonds and mutual support? Frank different from Jesse? Was their clashing inevitable? The rights and the wrongs?

15. Jesse’s disappearance and people’s reaction? Frank's, Zee's, his mother’s? His changing and his return? The hope to build up a new life?

16. The irony of being on the verge of happiness and the Ford brothers killing him? The sequence of his play with the children? irony of the death of Jesse James as played by the children? The reality?

17. The treatment of the themes of the American West in the 19th century, outlaws, the law, justice,
survival? Violence? The American heritage?