SAGA OF A LAWLESS ERA!
Jesse James is a 1939 American Western film 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 Jesse James, the outlaw from whom the film derives its name. The supporting cast features Henry Hull, John Carradine, Brian Donlevy, Jane Darwell and Lon Chaney Jr..Barshee, a railroad representative, forces farmers to sell their land for only $1 per acre (much less than fair price). When he comes to the home of Frank and Jesse James, their mother refuses and the brothers come to her defense. After they chase Barshee and his thugs off the property, arrest warrants are issued for Frank and Jesse, who flee. The brothers learn that Barshee is responsible for the death of their mother and Jesse kills him in revenge. This begins Frank and Jesse's career as outlaws.
This film provides examples of:
- Artistic License – History: The British Channel 4 website described it as being "notorious for its historical inaccuracy."
- Determined Homesteader: Several meet at the James home, trying to figure out how to stand up against Barshee and the railroad.
- Ending Memorial Service: Zee is dressed in black, and Maj. Rufus Cobb waxes poetic about Jesse standing up to the railroad.
- Folk Hero: Jesse is this in universe. When he and Zee go to the church to get married, the gang interrupts the church service at gunpoint. It turns out that the pastor and congregation are all too happy to help the gang that is fighting the railroad.
- Force Feeding: Before the James and Frank escape, McCoy is forced to eat the agreement he signed offering James a light sentence if he surrendered.
- Gentleman Thief: The James gang is portrayed as this when they first rob a train, stealing only cash and insisting that the passengers keep their jewelry. They encourage the passengers to sue the railroad to recover their losses, since the robbery is "the railroad's fault".
- Hoist by His Own Petard: McCoy has Jesse in jail, but Frank has promised to break him out if he isn't released by midnight. So what does McCoy do? He recruits every able-bodied man in town and has them deputized, including two members of the James gang.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Jesse is in jail, and Frank has promised to break him out if he isn't released by midnight. Frank is caught by two of the newly recruited deputies and brought to the jail. But the two deputies are members of the James gang, and help Frank and Jesse escape.
- Just Like Robin Hood: At least initially, the James gang targets the railroad and its related business dealings.
- No-Sell: We've seen Barshee offer to shake hands with homesteaders that refuse to sell, only to use the handshake to pull them off balance so they fall in front of his thugs for a brutal beating. When he tries the same trick on Frank, Frank quickly reacts by punching Barshee hard enough to knock him down.
- The Oath-Breaker: The marshall (Wright), the judge (Rankin), and the railway boss (McCoy) promise Jesse a light sentence if he surrenders. After Jesse surrenders, McCoy brings in the army to override Wright and a higher-ranking judge to override Rankin. Then he pursues the death penalty for Jesse.
- Railroad Baron: McCoy, the railway boss, is this in spades.
- Running Gag: Maj. Rufus Cobb, a newspaper editor and the uncle of Jesse's love interest, often dictates editorials to his typesetters. They're all essentially identical, changing only the group of people preventing "law and order in the West".
