Jesse James (1939)

The American pantheon of mythic figures and folkloric icons is a motley ensemble of heroes, misfits, geniuses, nutcases and downright scum. Only in the lore of the American West however, are all these characteristics attributed to single individuals. It is our collective nature to celebrate the underdog, root against the oppressive and buff the harsher, nastier edges off of our celebrated ancestry.

As western folk heroes go, Jesse James is perhaps the most notorious in our history. Nowhere near as stalwart as Davy Crockett but a bit more dashing than Daniel Boone, the Confederate “bushwacker” turned outlaw still has a tight romantic hold on the rebellious psyche of this nation. Despite being a self-serving, often blood thirsty psychopath he has been immortalized in music, literature, history books, film and art. And, in what is perhaps the true litmus test of fame, he has been referenced in a Cher song. 

In 1939 however, the nation was not ready for revisionist insights in its entertainment. 20^th Century Fox was out to make a picture of the outlaw and realized that although a certain degree of moral ambiguity would pass an audience’s muster, Jesse James was still a mythic character and needed to be portrayed with heroic flair. Studio Head Daryl F. Zanuck was a bit of an outlaw himself but he was a movie producer and consequently a money maker and he was not about to take any unnecessary gambles with bankable material like Jesse James. He packed the project with some of his best talent.

Long time Fox director Henry King was chosen to helm the picture. He was a former silent screen actor who turned to directing early in his career and he became a “go to” guy for Zanuck for many of the studio’s premier projects. He had an easy complaisant style and a rich eye for rural American settings. Constant successes in the silent era as well as hits like The Country Doctor (1936), Lloyd’s of London (1936) and In Old Chicago (1937) had made him one of Zanuck’s most trusted artists. He also worked well with the slated star for Jesse James, Tyrone Power, having directed him in three prior films. He would prove to be one of Hollywood’s most enduring (he worked in film for over half a century) and commercially viable directors.

To pen the screenplay Zanuck chose Nunnally Johnson, a journalist and short story writer who had come to Hollywood in 1932. He was scooped up by 20^th Century Fox in 1934 and quickly added associate producer to his resume with 1935’s Cardinal Richelieu. He continued this dual role for the studio until 1943 when he branched off to form International Pictures (later to be merged into Universal). He would return to Fox in the ‘50s producing gems such as The Gunfighter (1950), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Three Faces of Eve (1957) which he directed as well.

While taking enormous license with historical fact, Johnson’s script for Jesse James is adventurous, often gritty and surprisingly humorous. He skirted the entire issue of the bloody Civil War fighting in Missouri (which truly caused the James’ lawlessness) and made the emergence of the railroad (“The Iron Horse”) and its land robbing as the key factors in Jesse and his brother Frank’s motivation to crime. They are portrayed as wronged, peaceful farmers avenging the death of their Mother at the hands of railroad henchmen. The James boy’s actions play as entirely noble until Jesse’s hatred for the railroad overcomes his better nature and he turns violent, careless and mean. This lends to the necessary moral ambiguity of the hero’s character.

Along with the “David vs. Goliath” approach, Johnson carefully themed the script as a familial struggle for cohesiveness in a time of great turmoil. He underlined it with a love story (Jesse and his wife are continually being separated) and constantly showed the brother’s love and loyalty to one another even when in disagreement.

The script is also smart enough to know when to get out of the way for the action. There are several horse chases, shootouts, robberies, a jailbreak and impressive stunt work (the death of a horse while filming prompted The American Humane Association to set up a TV and film unit to oversee animal safety). The film’s best sequence; the gang’s first train robbery, is beautifully shot at dusk. Jesse, silhouetted against a darkening blue sky, traverses the tops of the train cars to the engine. When asked by the engineer what he’s “Aimin’ to do”, Jesse replies, “I ain’t aimin’ to do nuthin’. I’m doing it”.

The film’s cast is perhaps its strongest element. Chocked top to bottom with big names who, if not well known at the time, would later become heavy players in the industry.

Dashing Tyrone Power would play the title role of Jesse. Already renowned for his remarkably good looks and accessible acting style, he had been a contract player at Fox since 1936 and had rapidly increased his stock to leading man status (he was a Zanuck favorite). He became the most popular leading man in Hollywood in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s until his military service in WWII. After the war, he never quite gained that popularity back and spent the remainder of his career trying to capture the magic again in rehashed roles suited for younger men. He later found success with a return to the stage in the ‘50s. As for his film career, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) was an admirable (yet accidental) swan song as he died of a heart attack on the set of his next film Solomon and Sheba (1959) before finishing it.

Power’s Jesse James is an interesting take. There’s an effective metamorphosis from “aw shucks” country innocence to cold blooded killer that never seems strained or hokey. The love angle with his wife Zee (Nancy Kelly) is deliberately soft and touching, humanizing his character amidst the volatile criminality of his actions. He gives Jesse a desperate kindness to the hard edges and when his demise comes it is regretful, not retributive.

Henry Fonda plays Jesse’s brother Frank with the same stoicism that would define his celebrated style in years to come. Frank is the ballast to Jesse’s wild nature, backing him when familial and moral obligation deems it necessary and reeling him in when the outlaw steps over into vindictive excess. Fonda would reprise the role a year later in the equally enjoyable The Return of Frank James (Fritz Lang). That same year he would make history as Tom Joad in John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath. The rest of his career is that of Hollywood legend.          

Even the film’s smaller roles contain a who’s who of the industry. Jane Darwell is the James boy’s Mother. She would play Fonda’s mother again and win the best supporting actress Oscar a year later as Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath. She joked that she had played Henry’s mother so often that the two began to refer to each other as mother and son off screen as well.

Brian Donlevy, a hard nosed actor notorious for playing heavies with a reluctant heart plays Barshee, the main henchman for the railroad. He would also achieve his major success shortly after this picture with the lead role in Preston Sturges’ The Great McGinty (1940). Long time stage actor Henry Hull (The Werewolf of London) was cast as the crotchety newspaper editor and his intentionally hammy portrayal supplies the film with its needed comic interludes. Randolph Scott (Seven Men from Now, Ride the High Country) plays Will Wright, the Marshall who wants to bring Jesse in but also holds contempt for the evil doings of the railroad company. Scott would later become an icon of decency and forthrightness in westerns of the ‘50s as a rugged, aging lawman. John Carradine also makes an appearance as the cowardly Bob Ford who shoots Jesse in the back. It is interesting to note that Carradine’s sons (Robert, David and Keith) would later play the roles of the Younger brothers (The James’ gang’s accomplices) in 1980’s The Long Riders.

Despite its loose interpretation of history and casual manipulation of facts Jesse James remains a roaring adventure, bolstered by a stellar cast and very capable storytelling. It had long been overlooked due to the time of its release. In 1939 (arguably the greatest year in American film history) it vied against such pictures as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Destry Rides Again, Stagecoach and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to name but a few. It is an undeniable staple of the outlaw western and mandatory viewing for fans of the genre.

It’s fully entrenched in the lore and spirit of the time, much like the folk song that commemorates its hero:

                                       Jesse James was a lad who killed many a man

                                       He robbed the Glendale train;

                                      He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor

                                      He’d a hand and a heart and a brain.