Jesse James (1939 film)

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Jesse James
Jesse James movie cover
Directed by	Henry King
Produced by	Darryl F. Zanuck Nunnally Johnson
Written by	Nunnally Johnson
Starring	Tyrone Power Henry Fonda Nancy Kelly Randolph Scott
Music by	Louis Silvers
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 27, 1939
Running time	106 min.
Language	English
Budget	$1.6m U.S.
IMDb profile

Jesse James is a 1939 western movie directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, and Randolph Scott. Written by Nunnally Johnson, the film is loosely based on the life of the notorious outlaw for which the film derives its name. The American Humane Association began to oversee filmmaking after a horse died during a stunt on the film.

1 Plot
2 Reception
3 Cast
4 See also

[edit] Plot

The film follows the life and death of Jesse James (Tyrone Power), as well as his adventures with his brother, Frank James (Henry Fonda).

[edit] Reception

Jesse James became a moderately successful film upon release, but was mostly ignored at the time, as a number of more notable films were released either at the same time or shortly thereafter (Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, etc.). The film gained a measure of notoriety, however, for a scene in which a horse falls to its death down a rocky slope toward the end of the film. This scene was one of many cited by the American Humane Association against Hollywood's abuse of animals, and led to the association's monitoring of filmmaking.

[edit] Cast

Tyrone Power as Jesse James
Henry Fonda as Frank James
Nancy Kelly as Zerelda 'Zee'
Randolph Scott as Will Wright
Henry Hull as Maj. Rufus Cobb
John Carradine as Bob Ford
Charles Tannen as Charlie Ford
Slim Summerville as Jailer
J. Edward Bromberg as Mr. Runyan
Brian Donlevy as Barshee
Donald Meek as McCoy
Claire Du Brey as Mrs. Bob Ford
Jane Darwell as Mrs. Samuels
Lon Chaney Jr. as James Gang member