In the movies of the late 1960s and into the 1970s the Jesse James character follows the trend of many other films and the main character becomes an anti-hero. In the 1962 movie The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, director Philip Kaufman changes Jesse from the innocent rural ex-soldier to a psychopathic killer who believes the Civil War is not over (Life, June 16, 1972; New York Times, June 15, 1972). In this film Robert Duvall portrays Jesse as cruel, cold-blooded, and a little stupid. In general, he is the exact opposite of the 1939 Tyrone Power character.
William T. Pilkington and Don Graham (1979) in their book, Western Movies, draw parallels between the king and the Kaufman films. For Kaufman’s Jesse, the raid on Northfield is not revenge against injustices, but another act of guerilla warfare. Jesse is not a romantic lover, but a neurotic, impotent loser. Kaufman does retain the widow’s mortgage scene. However, instead of behaving like Robin Hood, Jesse kills the banker and then leaves a clue to incriminate the old lady. The escape from the Northfield posse is not a brave, adventurous one, as Jesse returns to kill the old widow and masquerades in her clothes to dodge the posse and make it safely back to Missouri.
One of the most recent, and in most ways the most factually accurate, portrayal of Jesse James in a film is in the 1980 release, The Long Riders. Director Walter Hill centers most of the attention of the movie on family ties and friendships. Unlike its predecessors, this film does not try to sway the audience’s opinion either for or against the outlaws. Hill gives the impression that Frank and Jesse James chose a life of crime due to the short hours and big paychecks, not because of outside influences and pressures (Newsweek, June 2, 1980; Time, June 16, 1980).
The Long Riders, unlike any of the previous films, leaves most of the legend aside and presents a story of Jesse James the outlaw, the brother, the husband, the father, and the friend. In short, a real man and not a “whitewashed being” assembled from someone’s mind. The other characters in this movie are also real, although at times they are treated peripherally.
As in most movies, facts are sometimes distorted, and this is apparent in The Long Riders, although on not so grand a scale. For instance, when the Pinkerton’s throw the bomb into the James; home, it comes through the front window and not the back door. Archie, the half-brother, is seen as a simple-minded teenager, instead of a normal nine-year-old boy. In addition, Jesse really died in the morning and not after the supper meal. Frank did not surrender to the authorities in order to bury Jesse, but actually held out for several months. And the train robbery from horseback and the ride through the front window in Northfield, which is also seen in the 1939 movie, may have been exciting viewing, but did not take place (Kansas City Times, June 13, 1980). Other characters — the Youngers, Fords, etc. — also take part in fictitious, entertaining scenes throughout the movie.
For eighty years Jesse James has been a part of the movie-goer’s life. And because of this exposure to his life, many people feel that they know the facts and can distinguish them from a legend that has carried over from popular literature. However, what they believe to be true is in part due to Hollywood. The movie industry, as with any industry, is in business to make money. To make money, the industry produces films that people will attend. The public sometimes forgets this aspect when they are viewing a movie. If you are watching a movie in which the title happens to begin with The Absolute, Unquestionable, Historically Accurate, True Life Adventure of . . . . Just plan on being entertained throughout the movie.
JESSE JAMES IN THE MOVIES
Year Title Actor
1921 Jesse James Under the Black Flag Jesse James, Jr.
1921 Jesse James as the Outlaw Jesse James, Jr.
1927 Jesse James Fred Thompson
1939 Jesse James Tyrone Power
1939 Days of Jesse James Don “Red” Barry
1940 Return of Frank James Jesse James – Not a Character
1941 Jesse James at Bay Roy Rogers
1941 Bad Men of Missouri Alan Baxter
1942 The Remarkable Andrew (non-western) Rod Cameron
1942 The Kansan George Reeves
1946 Badmen’s Territory Lawrence Tierney
1947 Jesse James Rides Again Clayton Moore
1948 Adventures of Frank and Jesse James Clayton Moore
1949 Fighting Man of the Plains Dale Robertson
1949 James Brothers of Missouri Keith Richards
1949 The Younger Brothers
1949 I Shot Jesse James Reed Hadley
1950 Kansas Raiders Audie Murphy
1951 The Best of the Badmen Lawrence Tierney
1951 The Great Missouri Raid Macdonald Carey
1953 The Great Jesse James Raid Willard Parker
1953 Woman They Almost Lynched Ben Cooper
1954 Jesse James’ Woman Don “Red” Barry
1954 Jesse James vs. The Daltons Not a character
1955 Outlaw Treasure Harry Lauter
1957 The True Story of Jesse James Robert Wagner
1957 Hell’s Crossroads Henry Brandon
1959 Alias Jesse James (Bob Hope comedy) Wendell Corey
1960 Young Jesse James Ray Stricklyn
1961 The True Gang Murders Documentary . . .
1965 The Outlaws is Coming (3-Stooges) Wayne Mack
1966 Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter John Lupton
1969 A Time for Dying Audie Murphy
1972 The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Robert Duvall
1980 The Long Riders James Keach
1994 Frank and Jesse Rob Lowe
Eyles, The Western, pp. 90-91; Kansas City Times, June 13, 1980, pp. C-2 & C-3.; and the IMDb: Internet Movie Database — http://www.imdb.com/
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