The True Story of Jesse James
The True Story of Jesse James | |
---|---|
20th Century Fox | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,585,000[1] |
Box office | $1,500,000 (US rentals)[2] |
The True Story of Jesse James is a 1957 American
Plot
Jesse and Frank James ride with their gang into Northfield, Minnesota for a raid. While robbing a bank, gun fighting breaks out and two of the gang are killed. The James brothers and another gang member head out of town and hide out while investigators from the Remington Detective Agency search for James to receive a $30,000 reward. While the three are hiding, the film tells the story of how the James brothers came to be criminals in flashback.
Cast
- Robert Wagner as Jesse James
- Jeffrey Hunter as Frank James
- Hope Lange as Zerelda "Zee" James, wife of Jesse
- Agnes Moorehead as Zerelda Cole James, mother of the James brothers
- Alan Hale, Jr. as Cole Younger
- John Carradine as Rev. Jethro Bailey
- Biff Elliot as Jim Younger
- Charley Ford
- Carl Thayler as Robby Ford
- Adam Marshall as Dick Liddell
- Anthony Ray as Bob Younger
- Louis Zito as Clell Miller
- Paul Wexler as Jayhawker
- Clegg Hoyt as Tucker (uncredited)
- Frank Overton as Maj. Rufus Cobb
- John Doucette as Sheriff Hillstrom
Production
Shortly after his success with 1955's
It is speculated that had James Dean not died in a car crash before production began, he would have starred in this film as Jesse James.[6][7] In place of Dean, director Ray hoped to cast Elvis Presley, who had successfully completed his first film, Love Me Tender.[8] Ray's son Tony also was cast in the film as Bob Younger, the first time he appeared in one of his father's films.[8]
Ray shot the film using CinemaScope[3] in 1956. Stock footage that had previously been used on the earlier James film which inspired this one was re-used and reconfigured for CinemaScope.[3]
Characterizations
In the film, Jesse James is portrayed as a "Nicholas Ray hero"—a consistent type of character seen throughout Ray's films and thought to be based on Ray himself.
Comic book adaptation
- Dell Four Color #757 (March 1957)[9][10]
See also
References
- ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p251
- ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p227
- ^ a b c d Hal Erickson (2008). "The True Story of Jesse James (1957)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "The True Story of Jesse James (1955)". Cinemagora.co.uk. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ a b c "THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES". Electric Sheep Magazine. October 4, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- New York Sun. Archived from the originalon January 28, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ French, Philip (December 2, 2007). "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". The Observer. London. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 9780743291187. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ "Dell Four Color #757". Grand Comics Database.
- ^ Dell Four Color #757 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
External links
- The True Story of Jesse James at IMDb