The Return of Frank James (1940)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writer:

Sam Hellman (original screenplay)

Release Date:

16 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Frank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.

Plot Keywords:

Frank James | Farm | Reporter | Charlie Ford | Revenge

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Frank James aka Ben Woodson
Gene Tierney	...	Eleanor Stone
Jackie Cooper	...	Clem aka Tom Grayson
Henry Hull	...	Major Rufus Cobb
John Carradine	...	Bob Ford
J. Edward Bromberg	...	George Runyan
Donald Meek	...	McCoy
Eddie Collins	...	Station agent - at Eldora
George Barbier	...	Judge
Russell Hicks	...	Prosecutor
Ernest Whitman	...	Pinky
Charles Tannen	...	Charlie Ford
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Randolph Stone
Victor Kilian	...	Preacher
Edward McWade	...	Colonel Jackson

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #6330)

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The studio bought the rights to the James Brothers' lives, but changed the facts for entertainment. Although Frank surrendered 6 months after Jesse's murder, both Ford brothers were already dead and Frank had nothing to do with their deaths.

Quotes:

Preacher: Prepare for the vengeance of the Lord! The day of reckoning is mighty close and you'll catch a heapin' fire if you don't get to repentin' and get to it quick! Hellfire is awaitin' ya. Are you ready to meet your Maker?
Frank James: I reckon so.
Preacher: You willing to stand before the judgmency with a chaw of tobacco in your mouth? Lost souls, that's what you are! Black as sin! Black with iniquity! The light of the Lord ain't in any of ya! Do you ever think of salvation? Do you ever think of the kingdom? No! All you ever think of is your bellies... and your corn pone and you chitlins and your corn liquor. Ah, brother, how about a swig of that jug?

Movie Connections:

Features Jesse James (1939)

A Demanded Sequel

When Jesse James came out in 1939, the player that got the best reviews for that film was Henry Fonda who played the laconic older brother Frank. His reviews were so outstanding that it was almost a public demand that a sequel be done.

It almost didn't get done because instead of Henry King who directed Jesse James, Darryl F. Zanuck assigned Fritz Lang. Henry Fonda hated the man, he was a sadistic bully on the set and even though he directed Fonda to a great performance in You Only Live Once, Fonda hated every second on that set.

Fonda tells in his autobiography that he and Lang sat down prior to shooting and Lang agreed to tone his behavior down. But the same thing happened as on You Only Live Once. And Fonda dutifully finished the film.

Though he hated the experience Fonda was on the mark again as Frank James. What The Return of Frank James lacks in truth it makes up for in capturing the spirit of the times in the post Civil border state of Missouri and why the James Brothers were regarded as heroes by some.

In addition to Fonda, John Carradine, Charles Tannen, Ernest Whitman, Donald Meek, Henry Hull, George Chandler and J. Edward Bromberg repeat their roles from Jesse James so continuity is assured. Bromberg as the railroad detective who basically plans an assassination for Jesse James in that film and tries again to Fonda in this film particularly stands out.

So does Henry Hull as the newspaper editor/lawyer who was a very colorful character in both films, dictating the same editorial at whatever group or individual he doesn't like at the moment. His patented formula is to "shoot 'em down like dogs."

If you liked Jesse James and I think more than western fans liked that film, no reason you shouldn't like The Return of Frank James.