The True Story of Jesse James

1957 92 min ★ 6.3 Western

Having fought with the Confederacy during the Civil War, Jesse James and his brother Frank dream of a farm life in Missouri. Harassed by Union sympathizers, they assemble a gang of outlaws, robbing trains and becoming folk heroes in the process. Jesse marries his sweetheart, Zee, and maintains an aura of domesticity, but after a group of lawmen launch an attack on his mother's house, Jesse plans one more great raid -- on a Minnesota bank.

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Cast

Robert Wagner

Jesse James

Jeffrey Hunter

Frank James

Hope Lange

Zee James

Agnes Moorehead

Mrs. Samuel

Alan Hale Jr.

Cole Younger

Alan Baxter

Barney Remington

John Carradine

Rev. Jethro Bailey

Rachel Stephens

Anne James

Barney Phillips

Dr. Samuel

Biff Elliot

Jim Younger

Details

Director

Nicholas Ray

Screenplay

Nunnally Johnson

Tagline

"The real story… really told for the first time!"

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Production

20th Century Fox

Reviews

T

tmdb76622195

September 27, 2023

★ 6/10

Director Nicholas Ray, hot off of "Johnny Guitar" and "Rebel Without a Cause," had a bit of contractual obligation to take care of before leaving for Europe, and handed in this short biopic of the infamous American outlaw. Mostly told through overly long flashbacks, all the major points of Frank and Jesse James' lives are touched on. Robert Wagner plays Jesse, and Jeffrey Hunter is well cast as ol...