The Great Missouri Raid (1951)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Frank Gruber (novel)
Frank Gruber (screenplay)

Release Date:

February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Cast

Wendell Corey	...	Frank James
Macdonald Carey	...	Jesse James
Ellen Drew	...	Bee Moore
Ward Bond	...	Maj. Marshal Trowbridge
Bruce Bennett	...	Cole Younger aka Steve Brill
Bill Williams	...	Jim Younger
Anne Revere	...	Mrs. Samuels
Edgar Buchanan	...	Dr. Samuels
Lois Chartrand	...	Mary Bauer
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Charles Ford
Barry Kelley	...	Mr. Bauer
James Millican	...	Sgt. Trowbridge
Guy Wilkerson	...	Clell Miller
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Jim Cummings
Tom Tyler	...	Allen Parmer

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #14733)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Frank, Jesse, the Youngers and a lot of action.

I love the beginning of this movie. It shows the James gang riding and shooting, while in the soundtrack a woman starts talking about them. She says the James where the most notorious outlaws of all time, and she knows them well because she is their mother. After describing each of the James and the Younger brothers, she asks: Were they wrong? Of course she answers, but look at the time that they lived. She says the war was called the civil war but in western Missouri it was neighbor against neighbor.This film tells the story of the Jameses, Jesse and Frank but unlike "Jesse James" made in 1939, it is more keyed to the public that wanted to see a good western on a weekend in the fifties, and no more than that. This is a film full of action, you hardly have time to breathe and there they are in a shootout again. The film tries to simplify the story by making Ward Bond the marshal who becomes a detective and wants to capture Jesse and Frank. Also they forget Northfield, Minnesota, which was the turning point for the gang and instead substitute it with a train robbery. Ellen Drew is very good as Bee, the woman who falls for Jesse, also Anne Revere is excellent as Mrs. Samuels. The last part of the film is more faithful to the true story, showing us a disgusting Dick Liddil and the Ford brothers very well characterized. Very good western for those who like a lot of action.