The Return of Frank James (1940)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The history here is as high wide and as fantastically inaccurate as the best screen writers in old Hollywood could invent. In it's day it was a sequel to the previous years big hit, the glossy biopic western "Jesse James", back by public demand too was that superb statue of dignified righteousness the legendary Henry Fonda reprising his role as the famous outlaw's brother "Frank James" and most excellent he is to in the pictures starring role. The movie is completely fictitious other than with the odd detail, such as the Fords really did reenact the famous killing on the stage. This is from the golden era of the Hollywood production machine and production values are simply superb, glorious technicolor, fabulous outdoor hard riding action, as with all films of the era the story is framed to please everyone, so there is the royal side kick the token beautiful woman given a sizeable part to please the woman's picture market, and some whimsy good humour, added to give the film wider appeal. Yes there something for everyone, including fans of the western gender. It is dated to watch today, in interesting ways, the casual racism most striking along with heavy racial stereo typing, but also in the use of hobby horse riders in needless close ups during hard riding chase sequences, these do grind a little but overall this is a very polished and expertly constructed movie that is shamelessly romantic not just of the old wild west era but of the Southern cause as well, all helm-ed expertly by the Austrian-Hungarian exile Fritz Lang who certainly knew how to deliver a good movie, In all this is a very solid entertainment and a great example of the Hollywood studio system of long ago.

Though it's probably helpful to have seen the earlier entry Jesse James in which several of the cast of this sequel appear it can also work as a stand-alone revenge drama. It is, admittedly, a little surprising to find the name Fritz Lang on the credits as the principal technician especially when the Lang touch is conspicuous by its absence but it's a competent entry albeit mindless. Henry Hull dominates the proceedings as the crusading newspaper editor just this side of barking mad and Gene Tierney is easy on the eye while Jackie Cooper weighs in as the resident hot-head. The best actor on set by a country mile is John Carradine but he is woefully under-used and it's tempting to think that Henry Fonda had it written into his contract that Carradine was relegated to the background.

Classic Western with very good cast , dealing with a relentless vengeance . Spectacular as well as exciting Western talks the life of Frank James , Jesse James's brother , who is the most colourful bandit who ever lived and both of whom rank with Billy the Kid as the most famous of Western outlaws . This is a slight and intelligent biopic about Frank James , featuring notorious interpretations by a popular group of known stars . Legend and folklore have cast them as modern Robin Hoods , good boys forced by circumstances to follow a criminal life . Jesse and his brother Frank joined the Confederate guerrillas of Quantrill and learned to kill in ruthless company . It is believed that took part in their first robbery in 1866 when a dozen men held up the bank in Liberty , Missouri . Jesse (Tyrone Power , who appears on the opening sequence showing his death from the final of the previous movie) , Frank and the Younger carry out a lot of hold-ups and attacks , as they move from Civil War to their territory becoming into semi-legends . So James Brothers wielding their six-guns commence to robbin' banks and trains to help out the poor folks who been done wrong . Pinkerton detectives were contracted to chase Jesse and Frank , the agents surrounded the home , believing they to be there , tossed a bomb and the explosion killed Jesse's young half-brother . As their fame grows , so will the legend of their leaders , a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James and his brother Frank James . On 1876 Jesse and Frank in company the three Younger Brothers , attempted a bank robbery at Northfield , Minnnesota , and walked in disaster . At the end , Jesse is betrayed by the Ford brothers , Charlie and dirty little coward Bob (John Carradine) . As the killer and his cohorts are eventually rounded up, but are pardoned due to political intervention . Brother Frank attempts to go straight , but eventually the happenings go awry . The picture provides a good portrait of Frank James who along with a very young headstrong Jackie Cooper set out in pursuit the Ford Brothers to seek his own form of justice . In the course of his revenge , Frank will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West . Along the way , Frank courts attractive young Eastern journalist (Gene Tierney film debut) who wishes to write James's true story to the world .This is a sprawling and glamorous Western with first-rate Technicolor cinematography and excellent performances from Henry Fonda and Jackie Cooper . The film gets spectacular shoot em'up , thrills , fast as well as fierce action , exciting horse pursuits and many other things . Packs colorful scenarios , moving pace and slick edition . This is one of the strange occasions in the cinema history when a follow-up results to be as good as the original . Interesting and thrilling script by scenarist Sam Hellman . This is a decent look about the known story of the West's greatest bandits with acceptable interpretations and compelling direction creating some good action scenes . The yarn shows nice as well as impressive frames , breathtaking go riding and wonderful outdoors . The studio bought the rights to the James Brothers but changed the facts for entertainment . Although Frank surrendered 6 months after Jesse James' murder, both Ford brothers were already dead and Frank had nothing to do with their deaths . Magnificent acting by Henry Fonda as an authoritative but likable outlaw become a peaceful farmer when he takes his pistols to carry out a merciless vendetta . Support cast is frankly good such as Henry Hull , John Carradine , J Edward Bromberg , Donald Meek and Jackie Cooper gives an intensely sympathetic portrayal as an amiable young . Taut excitement throughout , beautifully cinematographed by George Barnes and W. Howard Greene , both of them photographed former film . The picture lavishly produced by Darryl F Zanuck was based on actual events and stunningly realized by Fritz Lang . The film is splendid and original , despite being a sequel , the reason lies mostly in the filmmaking by master craftsman Lang . Fritz directed masterfully all kind of genres such as Noir cinema as ¨Big heat¨ , ¨Scarlet Street¨ , ¨Cloak and Dagger¨ , ¨Beyond a reasonable doubt¨ , Drama as ¨Human desire¨, ¨You only lives twice¨, ¨Ministry of fear¨, Epic as ¨Siegfred¨, Sci-fi as ¨Woman in the moon¨, ¨Metropolis¨, suspense as ¨Secret beyond the door¨, ¨Clash by night¨ , Wartime as ¨Man hunt¨ , ¨Hangmen also die¨ and Western as ¨Rancho Notorious¨ , ¨Western Union¨ and ¨Return of Frank James¨ Other films about these legendary outlaws , Frank and Jesse , are : ¨I shot Jesse James¨ by Samuel Fuller with John Ireland as Bob Ford ; ¨Jesse James vs the Dalton (1954)¨ by William Castle with John Ireland . ¨The true story of Jesse James¨ (1957) by Nicholas Ray with Robert Wagner , Jeffrey Hunter , Hope Lange , Agnes Moorehead ; in which footage from the original 1939 production was used when Frank and Jesse go over a cliff on horseback into a river and when they crashed , on horseback, through a store window during the "Northfield Minnesota Raid" . And contemporary-style Western such as ¨Frank and Jesse¨ by Robert Boris with Rob Lowe as Jesse James , Bill Paxton as Frank James and Randy Travis as Younger ; ¨American outlaws¨ by Les Mayfield with Colin Farrell , Gabriel Macht , Terry O'Quinn , Harris Yulin and Ali Larter ; and ¨The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford¨ (2007) by Andrew Dominik with Brad Pitt , Sam Shepard , Mary Louise Parker , Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell.

Frank James sets out to avenge the cowardly killing of his brother Jessie by the Ford brothers. In the process he gets in trouble with the law.When you hear western, you probably don't think Fritz Lang. Instead, moody, unstable noir was the German émigré's specialty. Looks like this was Lang's last oater and I can see why. Despite TCF's big production values, the script and acting undercut results, while the director adds little. Fonda's fine in the central role, his usual persuasive low-key self. Also, Cooper as the callow kid manages some affecting scenes with Fonda, before the surprise ending. However, Hull as the defense attorney doesn't just chew the scenery, he eats it, turning things into a near joke. Too bad we don't see more of Carradine. A verbal face-off with him and Fonda would have salvaged a lot. The Technicolor, however, is vivid, the scenic shots in and around Lone Pine real eye-catchers. Too bad we don't get more of that instead of the near silly courtroom scenes. At the same time, luscious Gene Tierney is almost as scenic as Lone Pine, even if her performance is still at a beginner's stage. Anyway, the screenplay never does generate much tension or suspense, and even the showdown's pretty tame. All in all, the film's something of a disappointment given the talent and production values involved.