The Return of Frank James (1940)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writer:

Sam Hellman (original screenplay)

Release Date:

16 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Frank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.

Plot Keywords:

Telegraph Office | Racial Stereotypes | Theater | Redemption | Black Stereotype

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Frank James aka Ben Woodson
Gene Tierney	...	Eleanor Stone
Jackie Cooper	...	Clem aka Tom Grayson
Henry Hull	...	Major Rufus Cobb
John Carradine	...	Bob Ford
J. Edward Bromberg	...	George Runyan
Donald Meek	...	McCoy
Eddie Collins	...	Station agent - at Eldora
George Barbier	...	Judge
Russell Hicks	...	Prosecutor
Ernest Whitman	...	Pinky
Charles Tannen	...	Charlie Ford
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Randolph Stone
Victor Kilian	...	Preacher
Edward McWade	...	Colonel Jackson

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #6330)

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The studio bought the rights to the James Brothers' lives, but changed the facts for entertainment. Although Frank surrendered 6 months after Jesse's murder, both Ford brothers were already dead and Frank had nothing to do with their deaths.

Quotes:

Frank James: I can't talk without thinking, not being a lawyer.

Movie Connections:

Features Jesse James (1939)

A less than impressive sequel to "Jesse James"...

Fritz Lang directed this pallid western filmed in muted Technicolor and starring HENRY FONDA as Frank James, seeking to shoot down the man (JOHN CARRADINE) who shot his brother Jesse in the back.

It's a tale of revenge, but not as dark a tale as you might expect, prettily photographed but lacking the grittiness one would expect from this sort of tale. Fonda makes a completely acceptable Frank James, but GENE TIERNEY is rather wasted in her film debut, decorative but given a thinly written role which she plays in a high-pitched, whining sort of voice. It's no wonder she got the bad reviews she did early in her career. Nor were her looks as sharply defined as they were later on when her acting skills improved considerably.

While she underacts, the same can't be said for any of the supporting players, all of whom are guilty of extravagant ham acting--especially in the long, drawn-out courtroom scene for the finale. Crotchety HENRY HULL is worst of all, LLOYD CORRIGAN (as Tierney's father) not far behind, and J. EDWARD BROMBERG, EDDIE COLLINS, THURSTON HALL and DONALD COOK are all guilty of cringe-worthy overacting that just makes Fonda's performance more refreshing for its naturalness. JACKIE COOPER too, gives a more even performance as Fonda's sidekick.

Fritz Lang makes the most of the final suspenseful shoot-out in the shadows of a barn between Frank James and Bob Ford, but the film is hardly a distinguished western. In fact, it's rather routine and one can only wish that someone like Henry Hathaway or Henry King had been assigned to direct this one.

A disappointment as a western and as a film debut for Tierney.