''The True Story of Jesse James'' is a 1957 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

adapted from Henry King's 1939 film '' Jesse James'', which was only loosely based on James' life. It was directed by

Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features p ...

, with

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

portraying Jesse James and Jeffrey Hunter starring as

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger ...

. Filming took place during 1955. Originally titled ''The James Brothers'' in the United Kingdom, the film focused on the relationship between the two James brothers during the last 18 years of Jesse James' life.

Plot

Jesse and Frank James ride with their gang into Northfield, Minnesota for a raid. While robbing a bank, gun fighting breaks out and two of the gang are killed. The James brothers and another gang member head out of town and hide out while investigators from the Remington Detective Agency search for James to receive a $30,000 reward. While the three are hiding, the film tells the story of how the James brothers came to be criminals in flashback.

Cast

as Jesse James * Jeffrey Hunter as

Hope Lange Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...

as Zerelda "Zee" James, wife of Jesse *

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

as Zerelda Cole James, mother of the James brothers * Alan Hale, Jr. as

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 ...

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

as Rev. Jethro Bailey *

Biff Elliot Biff Elliot (born Leon Shalek; July 26, 1923 – August 15, 2012) was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of ''I, the Jury'' and for his guest appearance as Schmitter i ...

Jim Younger James Hardin Younger (January 15, 1848 – October 19, 1902) was a notable American outlaw and member of the James–Younger Gang. He was the brother of Cole, John and Bob Younger Life Born in Missouri on January 15, 1848. Jim Younger wa ...

* Frank Gorshin as

Charley Ford Charles Wilson "Charley" Ford (July 9, 1857 – May 6, 1884) was an outlaw, and member of the James Gang. He was the lesser known brother of Robert Ford, the killer of Jesse James. Charlie Ford was introduced to Jesse and Frank James by Wood ...

*Carl Thayler as Robby Ford *Adam Marshall as

Dick Liddell James Andrew "Dick" Liddil (September 15, 1852 – July 13, 1901) was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang. His surname is often misspelled as Liddel, Liddell, or Liddle. Early years Liddil ...

*Anthony Ray as

Bob Younger Robert Ewing Younger (October 29, 1853 – September 16, 1889) was an American criminal and outlaw, the younger brother of Cole Younger, Cole, Jim Younger, Jim and John Younger. He was a member of the James–Younger Gang. Life Born in Missou ...

*Louis Zito as

Clell Miller Clell Miller (1849 or 1850 – September 7, 1876) (also known as Cleland D. Miller or Clenand Miller or McClelland Miller) was an outlaw with the James-Younger Gang who was killed during the gang's robbery at Northfield, Minnesota. Miller was ...

* Paul Wexler as Jayhawker * Clegg Hoyt as Tucker (uncredited) *

Frank Overton Frank Emmons Overton (March 12, 1918April 24, 1967) was an American actor. He was best known for the roles of Maj. Harvey Stovall in ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1964-1967), Sheriff Heck Tate in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) and General Bogan in ' ...

as Maj. Rufus Cobb

Production

Shortly after his success with 1955's ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social com ...

'', Ray was hired to direct this movie based on Jesse James' later life. He had only one movie left under his contract with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, before he would depart for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and film ''Bitter Victory''. The studio suggested a remake of King's 1939 biography of Jesse James. It is speculated that had James Dean not died in a car crash before production began, he would have starred in this film as Jesse James. In place of Dean, director Ray hoped to cast

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, who had successfully completed his first film, '' Love Me Tender''. Ray's son Tony also was cast in the film as Bob Younger, the first time he appeared in one of his father's films.

, a contract player for

, was hired for the role of Jesse's wife after her

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated success with '' Peyton Place''.

had appeared in the first Jesse James film as Bob Ford and appears in the 1957 version as Rev. Jethro Bailey. Ray shot the film using CinemaScope, a new technology at that time. The movie was shot in 1956. Stock footage that had previously been used on the earlier James film which inspired this one was re-used and reconfigured for CinemaScope.

Characterizations

In the film, Jesse James is portrayed as a "Nicholas Ray hero"—a consistent type of character seen throughout Ray's films and thought to be based on Ray himself. Ray's similar characters include Jim Stark ( James Dean) in ''

'' and

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in '' King of Kings''.

Comic book adaptation

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#757 (March 1957)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:True Story Of Jesse James, The 1957 films 1957 Western (genre) films 1950s biographical drama films American Western (genre) films American biographical drama films Remakes of American films Biographical films about Jesse James Films directed by Nicholas Ray Films set in Minnesota Films adapted into comics Films about bank robbery Films with screenplays by Walter Newman (screenwriter) Films scored by Leigh Harline 20th Century Fox films 1957 drama films CinemaScope films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films