The intent of this film remains a mystery to me. Was it to portray the notorious outlaw Jesse James as sympathetic, forced into his position as a bank robber due to the atrocities of the Civil War? Or was it to show how an honest man could eventually turn into a cold-blooded killer through motivations of greed and power? Whatever the message is, it does not help that much of the film itself remains murky and mostly uninteresting. Robert Wagner has to be one of the least believable choices to play Jesse James, going more for the brooding, internally conflicted character rather than the passionate rebel. Jeffrey Hunter is adequate as brother Frank but mostly inoculate and the rest of the cast adds nothing to keep the audience interested.Hard to believe this was directed by Nicholas Ray, a director known for his quirky traits and idiosyncratic cinematic style. None of that appears here. This is a rather forgettable film that only adds to the myth of Jesse James and his band rather than attempting at all to understand him.

The True Story of Jesse James is directed by Nicholas Ray and adapted to screenplay by Walter Newman from a 1939 screenplay written by Nunnally Johnson. It stars Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lange, Agnes Moorhead and Alan Hale Junior. Out of 20th Century Fox, it's a CinemaScope/De Luxe colour production with music scored by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Joe MacDonald.20th Century Fox choose to remake their own 1939 movie that starred Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda as Jesse and Frank respectively, that film itself was historically dubious, this version, with flashbacks a go go, is a dizzying mess structurally as much as it is factually. With Nicholas Ray at the end of his Fox contract, so therefore using this film as his contract filler, the picture lacks the pizazz so evident in some of his earlier movies. Undoubtedly hampered by studio interference, one can only wonder just how good the film could have been under Ray's total command. There is even some footage from the 39 film inserted into this version, yes the film is that lazy at times. It's rather bizarre to see Wagner and Hunter jump through a window on horseback, only for them to morph into Power and Fonda before completing their escape!Picture is dealing in the main points of the James' boys life, how and why they became the notorious crims that they were. However, in an attempt to beef up this new updated remake, we are asked to try and involve ourselves with Jesse by way of a complex narrative structure that is just too complex for its own good. Jesse James in his numerous film incarnations has always had an aura of romanticism about him, which is strange since he was a murdering armed robber! But the audience has always been coerced into caring about what happens to him, fully involved in the story of the man himself. Here, though, nobody is sure what to think once the eventuality comes to pass. Somewhere in the mix he was vengeful and driven, elsewhere he was an egotist who drank in the power of leading men, but in an attempt to make sense of the man and legend, the makers also made it a trifle dull. The blend shot to pieces by those flashbacks and too many cooks spoiling the broth.It's not all a wash out, though. It looks tremendous, beautiful scenery in CinemaScope with the De Luxe colour really soothing the eyes. A few scenes are good value and expertly staged by Ray and his team, with the Northfield raid and a night time train robbery in the glow of the moon particularly standing tall and proud. Cast performances vary, but even though Wagner and Hunter are pale shadows of Power and Fonda, they are not bad at all, and they make for a handsome pair and do come off as brothers. Carradine was in the 39 version as Robert Ford, here he plays a Reverend with his usual grace and smile. Hale Jr is oddly subdued as Cole Younger, Lange looks out of place in a Western setting and Moorehead fans are short changed by her screen time.Disappointing and only carrying curiosity value these days. Best advice is to stick with the 39 version instead. 6/10

True Story of Jesse James, The (1957)** 1/2 (out of 4)Handsomely produced remake of Fox's 1939 film JESSE JAMES tries to tell the reasons why Jesse and his brother Frank were such bad men. The film starts off just after the Civil War as Jesse (Robert Wagner) and Frank (Jeffrey Hunter) have their farms burned due to them fighting for the South. The proud Southerners need money to start over so they decide to form a gang and begin robbing banks. Many people take exception to this film because of the title as well as a prologue that tells us this film is as close to the truth as you can get. Needless to say, there are several liberties taken with the "true" story but I personally never go into a movie expecting a history lesson so I don't mind things being changed around. Overall I thought this was a pretty good version of the James Gang even if it doesn't hold a candle to the 1939 film or its sequel. It's interesting to note that John Carradine, who played Bob Ford in the Fox movie and its sequel, plays a preacher here. Another interesting move was casting Wagner and Hunter as the James brothers. If you read enough reviews you'll see that opinions are split on both of them but I personally thought they were quite good. They're not going to make you forget Tyrone Power or Henry Fonda but I thought both men brought their own personalities to the roles. Wagner seems to be doing a James Dean-ish type performance but it was never overly dramatic. Hunter is probably the best thing in the movie as I really enjoyed his father-like qualities as he tries to keep Jesse on somewhat of a good track. Hope Lange has a few embarrassing moments as Jesse's wife including one really bad line delivery when James is returning home from the war injured. Agnes Moorehead does a good job as the boy's mother and we even get Alan Hale, Jr. playing Cole Younger. Carradine is pretty laughable in his few minutes on the screen, although they're so memorable that you might want to consider them the highlight of the film. One happens when he shows up at the mother's deathbed and is asked to pray for her boys, which he refuses because his "prayers are for the mother". The mother then upsets him so much that he starts ranting about how evil the boys are and it's rather funny especially when he's suppose to be calming the mother. Another funny scene has Carradine baptizing Jesse and his wife and his Biblical speech is pretty amusing. There are quite a few things working against the film that keeps it from being a complete winner and one is the screenplay, which never seems to know what type of story it wants to tell. At one point it wants to make you like the boys but then it wants to remind you that they were cold-blooded killers. At one point it tries to be a Western but then it throws in some psychological stuff that ends up not going anywhere. The screenplay could have used some work but Ray at least makes a visually interesting film.

Every re-telling of the Jesse James story has been flawed. This picture has neither the carelessly cobbled script of "The Long Riders" nor the Robert Duvall version's annoying quirkiness and skewed morality. However, it is a highly selective narrative omitting much of the suffering caused by the Jameses and with several outright distortions of the historical record. For example, when he was shot by Robert Ford, Jesse James was in the process of assembling a new gang, not about to retire to the life of a farmer as depicted here.Robert Wagner is appropriately youthful in the title role. As brother Frank, the impossibly handsome Jeffrey Hunter has little to do but acts well. Agnes Moorehead plays Mrs. Samuel, the matriarch, as too saintly for my taste. But portraying a media-savvy Cole Younger, Alan Hale leads a particularly able supporting cast including, as an honorable Union soldier, the father of contemporary star Kurt Russell.The narrative is anchored to the disastrous expedition to Northfield, Minnesota. One nice touch, copied in a later retelling, was the inclusion of a Swedish-speaking actor to play one of the two town residents killed by the gang.