I do not know if this is true or not, but I heard from someone that in order to make Grapes of Wrath, which he really wanted to do, Fonda had to make Jesse James, which he did'nt really want to do, because they were on the same contract, and any sequels or prequels to that. But it does'nt really matter if Fonda did not want to do Jesse James or Return of Frank James, because he has such a great acting ability, which he displays on screen. I think this one is superior to Jesse James for many reasons, all of which are hard to explain. Cooper turns in a worthy role as Frank's sidekick, Clem. But don't you think that the African-American servant is kind of silly? Some people say that Carradine is not a good villain, but when that happens, just refer to McCoy and Co. to fill in that role. I love Henry Hull's character, especially his rantings and ravings in the courthouse, and also his rantings and ravings while he paces up and down the floor of his newspaper office. There isn't very many people that he does not think should be taken out and shot down like a dog, is there?