''Alias Jesse James'' is a 1959 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 ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

and

Rhonda Fleming Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis, August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamor ...

. Based on a story by Robert St. Aubrey and Bert Lawrence, the film is about an outlaw who tries to kill an insurance agent who has been mistaken for him in order to collect on a big policy. Costumes by

Edith Head Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...

Plot

Milford Farnsworth is a bumbling insurance agent who unknowingly sells a life insurance policy to the outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

. Farnsworth is sent out west to shield the insurance company's investment by "protecting" James. James has his own plan: to have Farnsworth killed while the insurance man is dressed as the outlaw so that James and his soon-to-be "widow", Cora Lee Collins, can collect on the $100,000 insurance policy. Farnsworth avoids several attempts on his life while he and Collins fall in love. After the last attempt is made on his life, Farnsworth impersonates the Justice of the Peace, who is supposed to marry James and Collins. When Farnsworth and Collins make a run for it, they end up in a gun battle with the

James Gang James Gang was an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass) a ...

; several Western heroes make their cameos to surreptitiously help Farnsworth. In the end, Farnsworth is celebrated as a hero, marries Collins, and becomes president of the insurance company. He boasts to a potential client that he offers protection for every contingency. His secretary announces Mrs. Farnsworth. It is Collins, followed by their six red-headed children, the youngest a pair of twins. "Well, you can't get insurance against everything," he says to the audience. His wife whispers in his ear and, as "The end" appears on screen, Farnsworth shrugs and rolls his eyes at the audience.

Cast

as Milford Farnsworth *

as Cora Lee Collins *

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a board member of the Screen Actors Guild, and also served on the ...

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986) was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's '' The ...

as a train porter *

Gloria Talbott Gloria Maude Talbott (February 7, 1931 – September 19, 2000) was an American film and television actress. Early life and career Gloria Talbott was born in Glendale, California. Her great-grandfather Benjamin F. Patterson arrived from Ohi ...

as Princess Irawanie * Jim Davis as

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate American Civil War, soldier and Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War, guerrilla; in the Reconstruction era, post-Civil War p ...

* Will Wright as Titus Queasley * Mary Young as 'Ma' James * Jack Lambert as Snake Brice * Mickey Finn as Tough #2 in Dirty Dog Saloon * Bob Gunderson as

member * Fred Kohler, Jr. as James Gang member *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, from 1923 to 1962. Laidlaw was born in Bu ...

as James Gang member *

Glenn Strange George Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 – September 20, 1973) was an American actor who appeared in hundreds of Western (genre), Western films. He played Sam Noonan, the bartender on Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS's ''Gunsmoke'' televisio ...

as James Gang member *

Trigger (horse) Trigger (July 4, 1934 – July 3, 1965) was a palomino horse which appeared in American Western films with its owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers. Pedigree Trigger, originally named Golden Cloud, was born in San Diego, California. Though o ...

as Trigger

Cameo appearances

The gunfight scene at the end of the film features a number of cameo appearances by movie and television personalities who help Farnsworth and Collins defeat the James Gang. Although none are identified by character name in the film, each actor is dressed in the costume they wear playing the iconic Western character he or she portrayed on television or film. Most repeat the cliché of blowing non-existent smoke from their gun barrels, and they speak dialogue evoking their characters. *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ' ...

as ''The Life and Legend of'' ''Wyatt Earp'': "That got 'em!" *

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...

as Major Seth Adams from '' WagonTrain'': "Well, back to the wagon." *

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series ''Gunsmoke''. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in f ...

Marshal Matt Dillon Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of ''Gunsmoke''. He is the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character w ...

in the television series ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'': "Well, another one for

boot hill Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the generic name of many Cemetery, cemeteries, chiefly in the Western United States. During the 19th and early 20th century it was a common name for the burial grounds for Potter's field, paupers. Origin of term Al ...

." *

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

(as himself), known for the Roy Rogers

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

programs, and many films, as well as the song, "Happy Trails to You". *

Fess Parker Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.;Weaver, Tom.Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers p. 148 (McFarland 2012). August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010)(March 18, 2010Daniel Boone Actor Fess Parker Dies at 85" '' CBS ...

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

, as he portrayed him in the Disney film and

television miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, says, "Shoot at my friend, will ya", as he moves to reload his flintlock (which does smoke). *

Gail Davis Gail Davis (born Betty Jeanne Grayson; October 5, 1925 – March 15, 1997) was an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television series '' Annie Oakley''. Life and career Early years The ...

as ''Annie'' ''Oakley'': "A little high…" *

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

as himself: "Yep". Cooper also wears a dark blue shirt, a black hat and a badge. He is not dressed as

Will Kane William "Will" Kane is the protagonist of the film ''High Noon'' (1952). He was first played by Gary Cooper, then by Lee Majors in '' High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane'' (1980), and by Tom Skerritt in ''High Noon'' (2000), a remake f ...

from ''

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western (genre), Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in Real time (media), real time, centers ...

.'' *

Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Mohawk people, Mohawk actor and athlete, descended from three Iroquois nations. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the ...

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native Americans in the United States, Native American (either Tonto Apache, Comanche, or Potawatomi) Friendship, companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western (genre), Western character crea ...

, the ''Lone Ranger'''s partner on the television show, shoots one of the villains with an arrow. "Paleface bite dust." *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, dressed in TV-style Western regalia and wearing a badge, ends the gunfight by shooting Jesse James' gun out of his hand. Crosby coughs when blowing into his gun, shakes his head, then shrugs and says to the audience, "This fellow needs all the help he can get," a reference to similar comments breaking the fourth wall in the Hope and Crosby " ''Road to…''" pictures. Following the theatrical release of the film, some later versions did not include all the cameos due to myriad legal problems with the rights, but Hope's clout at the time was so great that he managed to gather a dazzling array of screen cowboys for the original. The 2007 ''MGM Movie Legends''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release of the film includes all of the cameos. The print streamed on

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

in August 2023 including all of the actors listed above.

References

External links

* * * {{Jesse James 1959 films American historical comedy films Films directed by Norman Z. McLeod American Western (genre) comedy films 1950s historical comedy films 1950s Western (genre) comedy films Biographical films about Jesse James Cultural depictions of Wyatt Earp 1959 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) comedy films English-language historical comedy films

Plot

Cast

Cameo appearances

See also

References

External links