''The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid'' is a 1972 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. It was written and directed by Philip Kaufman in a

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or ...

style and starring

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...

. The film purports to recreate the James-Younger Gang's most infamous escapade, the September 7, 1876, robbery of "the biggest bank west of the Mississippi", in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

Plot

In the mid 1870s, outlaws

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...

Cole Younger Thomas Coleman Younger (January 15, 1844 – March 21, 1916) was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw leader with the James–Younger Gang. He was the elder brother of Jim, John and Bob Younge ...

and their brothers are granted amnesty by the Missouri legislature, sympathetic to the troubles created for all citizens by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. The bankers victimized by the James and Younger gangs are vehemently opposed to this action and hire a Pinkerton agent to follow the outlaws' every move. Younger has put aside plans to rob a bank in

, said to be the largest west of the Mississippi River. The job appeals, however, to Jesse and Frank James, who have no intention of changing the way they make a living. Cole is ambushed by the Pinkerton's agent men, who use a prostitute as bait. And when the bankers succeed in overturning the amnesty by bribing the politicians, Cole travels by train to Minnesota to check out the bank. Once there, Cole discovers that townspeople are unwilling to risk placing their money in the bank owing to concerns over its safety from thieves. Jesse, Frank, and their men arrive on horseback and, together with Cole, persuade the locals that a gold shipment is on its way to the bank because it is supposed to be the safest possible place for it. Once the citizens begin banking their money, the robbery commences. Many things go wrong, though, including one outlaw being locked inside a vault. Younger and his men flee to a nearby farm, but a posse tracks and apprehends them. The James brothers get away. But when Jesse mentions to Frank his intention to permit Bob Ford to join the gang back in Missouri, his fate is sealed.

Cast

as Cole Younger *

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

as Jesse James * Luke Askew as Jim Younger *

R. G. Armstrong Robert Golden Armstrong Jr. (April 7, 1917 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor and playwright. A veteran performer who appeared in dozens of Westerns during his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director ...

as Clell Miller *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Allen *

Donald Moffat Donald Moffat (26 December 1930 – 20 December 2018) was a British–American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in '' The Wild ...

as Manning * John Pearce as Frank James *

Matt Clark Matthew Clark is a United Kingdom-based drinks distributor. Matthew or Matt Clark may also refer to: *Mat Clark (born 1990), Canadian ice hockey defenceman *Matt Clark (actor) (born 1936), American actor and director *Matt Clark (baseball) (born 19 ...

as Bob Younger * Wayne Sutherlin as Charley Pitts * Robert H. Harris as Wilcox * Jack Manning as Heywood *

Elisha Cook Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film n ...

as Bunker (as Elisha Cook) *

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

as Gustavson * Mary-Robin Redd as Kate *

William Callaway William Ronald Callaway (born March 11, 1940) is an American retired voice actor. He is also known as Bill Callaway and Bill Calloway. He is known for playing Aquaman in ''Super Friends''. Filmography Animated roles * ''Aladdin'' - Zarasto * '' ...

as Callipist (as Bill Callaway) * Arthur Peterson as Jefferson Jones * Craig Curtis as Chadwell * Barry Brown as Henry Wheeler * Nellie Burt as Doll Woman *

Liam Dunn Liam Dunn (November 12, 1916 – April 11, 1976) was an American character actor. Life and career The New Jersey native's early career was spent in television in series such as ''Bonanza'', ''Room 222'', ''Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Mannix'', ...

as Drummer * Madeleine Taylor Holmes as Granny Woman * Herbert Nelson as Chief Detective * Erik Holland as Sheriff *

Anne Barton Anne Barton (previously Righter, born Barbara Ann Roesen; 9 May 1933 − 11 November 2013) was a renowned American-English scholar and Shakespearean critic. Life Born in Scarsdale, New York, the only child of Oscar and Blanche (née Williams) ...

as Clell's Wife * Marjorie Durant as Maybelle * Inger Stratton as Singing Whore * Valda Hansen as Nude Girl (as Valda J. Hansen)

Production

The film was shot in

Jacksonville, Oregon Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately west of Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer gold claims in the area. It includes ...

. It is classified by

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

as a

revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of th ...

and a

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid, The 1972 films 1972 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Biographical films about Jesse James 1972 crime drama films 1970s English-language films Films about bank robbery Films directed by Philip Kaufman Films scored by Dave Grusin Films set in 1876 Films set in Minnesota Films shot in Oregon Revisionist Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links