Scenarist Walter Newman adapted Nunnally Johnson's screenplay from the 1939 Henry King western "Jesse James" with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda for his script for "Johnny Guitar" director Nicholas Ray's quasi-remake "The True Story of Jesse James" with Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter as Jesse and Frank James. Ray and Newman cover all the main narrative points that the King film handled, but "The True Story of Jesse James" lacks anything in the way charisma, suspense, or surprises. Wagner plays the legendary folk hero here with little of the luster than most movies about the James' Gang muster. Whereas Power and Fonda were sympathetic outlaws, Wagner and Hunter are far from likable. "The True Story of Jesse James" differs in many respects from "Jesse James." This film lacks the sentimentality of the King epic. Mind you, Twentieth Century Fox encores scenes from the original where Jesse and Frank plunge their horses off a cliff into a river to elude a posse as well as their escape from the botched Northfield robbery by riding through a store. The final scene when Jesse is shot in the back by Bob Ford is virtually identical to the Power version. The problem with this revisionist take of the notorious James gang is that is consists of several flashbacks. Ray and Newman open the western with the disastrous bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, and the James' gang's desperate bid to escape the authorities. While they are holed up in a cave waiting for nightfall to elude the search parties, Frank and Jesse recount their lives, going back as far as when Jesse was beaten up by Union troops in the Civil War. The Younger Brothers emerge as far more likable than the James' brothers, and Cole Younger (a portly, pipe smoking Alan Hale, Jr., of "Gilligan's Island") is as close as any character comes to serving as comic relief. The scene when the gang is eating lunch at the home of a widow woman who needs $600 to pay off her landlord is as close as this movie comes to having comic relief. Cole gives the old woman the sum of twenty dollars rather than the ten cents that she says he owes her. He adds that he is Cole Younger and wants to be remembered well. Jesse hears the part about the old woman needing the $600 and gives her the money to prove that he--Jesse James--does take from the rich and give to the poor. No sooner has the gang left the premises than the landlord shows up and takes the $600 from the widow. Since the gang hasn't left the premises, Jesse holds up the landlord and recovers the six-hundred dollars that he gave the old woman. The fire-eating publisher that Henry Hull played in the original appears but doesn't hog the comic relief. Once again, the title suggests the reason for this remake. Ray and Newman try to imbue the legend with authenticity. Wagner's Jesse is a cold-blooded, callous individual, and Wagner makes his performance a business only effort. Wearing a mustache, he displays nothing that would endear us to him.
Ray and Newman don't follow the straight-forward, chronological narrative pattern of "Jesse James." They fracture the story line with the memories that the James boys have and they show the horrible conditions that prompted the protagonists to pursue the owl hoot trail. This time, however, Jesse is far more violent and willing to kill. The irony is that Jesse spends considerable time and detail orchestrating his elaborate plans, only to see them collapse like a flimsy deck of cards because of ill-fated luck and/or incompetence by his underlings. At one point, it appears almost certain that the James brothers are bound to receive amnesty after the Remington Detective Agency blows up their mother's house, depriving his mother, Mrs. Samuel (Agnes Moorehead of "Raintree County'), of an arm and her youngest son Archie of his life. Instead, Jesse guns down the man who helped the detectives; indeed, he pumps four bullets into the unarmed man. Jesse's treatment of his accomplices is pretty callous and he threatens at least one of them, Tucker (Clegg Hoyt of "The Brass Legend"), with death when he botches an important role in the Northfield robbery. Basically, aside from Joe MacDonald's elegant Cinemascope lensing of the action, "The True Story of Jesse James" qualifies as little more than a potboiler. The outlaws do look cool in this white dusters that they all wear when they ride into Northfield. The last scene reflects the feeling of the times. After Bob Ford shoots Jesse in the back and kills him, the neighbors pour into the premises to gawk at the corpse. Frank runs them out, but as some leave, they appropriate souvenirs from the James' possessions. Clearly, this film reflects some of director Nicholas Ray's concerns about youths in the 1950s as it is essentially about a "Rebel with a Cause." The production values are above-average.
Ray and Newman don't follow the straight-forward, chronological narrative pattern of "Jesse James." They fracture the story line with the memories that the James boys have and they show the horrible conditions that prompted the protagonists to pursue the owl hoot trail. This time, however, Jesse is far more violent and willing to kill. The irony is that Jesse spends considerable time and detail orchestrating his elaborate plans, only to see them collapse like a flimsy deck of cards because of ill-fated luck and/or incompetence by his underlings. At one point, it appears almost certain that the James brothers are bound to receive amnesty after the Remington Detective Agency blows up their mother's house, depriving his mother, Mrs. Samuel (Agnes Moorehead of "Raintree County'), of an arm and her youngest son Archie of his life. Instead, Jesse guns down the man who helped the detectives; indeed, he pumps four bullets into the unarmed man. Jesse's treatment of his accomplices is pretty callous and he threatens at least one of them, Tucker (Clegg Hoyt of "The Brass Legend"), with death when he botches an important role in the Northfield robbery. Basically, aside from Joe MacDonald's elegant Cinemascope lensing of the action, "The True Story of Jesse James" qualifies as little more than a potboiler. The outlaws do look cool in this white dusters that they all wear when they ride into Northfield. The last scene reflects the feeling of the times. After Bob Ford shoots Jesse in the back and kills him, the neighbors pour into the premises to gawk at the corpse. Frank runs them out, but as some leave, they appropriate souvenirs from the James' possessions. Clearly, this film reflects some of director Nicholas Ray's concerns about youths in the 1950s as it is essentially about a "Rebel with a Cause." The production values are above-average.