You should know before I go further that I have a strong prejudice against movies about the James Brothers and other 'heroic' criminals of the old west. Much of it is because they are bad history--making very minor characters far more important and heroic than they really were. Second, the studios almost always play fast and loose with the facts--something that makes history teachers like me have migraines.
Why, then did I bother to see this film if I assumed I'd hate it? Well, it was directed by Fritz Lang--that's enough reason to see it. But it also stars Henry Fonda--and I'd watch him in anything.
This film begins around the same time Jesse James was killed. It concerns his brother, Frank, and his actions following this death. Unfortunately, most of what you see never actually occurred--and Frank played no part in the deaths of the Ford Brothers--none. In fact, Frank gave himself up, was tried for some of his crimes (and acquitted) and retired to a relatively normal life. 'Frankly', I'd love to see a film about this--about the many odd jobs he did and the things he did after retirement--but I also doubt if the public would really care! I guess the truth just isn't very interesting in most cases.
So, it's obvious that the plot was almost complete crap. What did I think about the film otherwise? Well, it was pretty to see--being in Technicolor. And Fonda's performance was nice--as usual. In fact the entire film is competent--just nearly all wrong! This actually makes one scene in the movie VERY ironic--and funny. Frank is enjoying a play when suddenly out come two actors pretending to be him and Jesse--and, naturally, the two actors are doing things the James' never did! I'm pretty sure the studio didn't see this as ironic or funny.
By the way, at the 41 minute mark you see a couple horses make some horrifically bad falls. Sadly, to get this wonderful effect, the studios would actually use trip wires (like piano wire) to make the horses fall--and often the horses would break their legs and need to be euthanized! Fortunately this practice was later abandoned when bad publicity for this cruel thing brought this to light.
Why, then did I bother to see this film if I assumed I'd hate it? Well, it was directed by Fritz Lang--that's enough reason to see it. But it also stars Henry Fonda--and I'd watch him in anything.
This film begins around the same time Jesse James was killed. It concerns his brother, Frank, and his actions following this death. Unfortunately, most of what you see never actually occurred--and Frank played no part in the deaths of the Ford Brothers--none. In fact, Frank gave himself up, was tried for some of his crimes (and acquitted) and retired to a relatively normal life. 'Frankly', I'd love to see a film about this--about the many odd jobs he did and the things he did after retirement--but I also doubt if the public would really care! I guess the truth just isn't very interesting in most cases.
So, it's obvious that the plot was almost complete crap. What did I think about the film otherwise? Well, it was pretty to see--being in Technicolor. And Fonda's performance was nice--as usual. In fact the entire film is competent--just nearly all wrong! This actually makes one scene in the movie VERY ironic--and funny. Frank is enjoying a play when suddenly out come two actors pretending to be him and Jesse--and, naturally, the two actors are doing things the James' never did! I'm pretty sure the studio didn't see this as ironic or funny.
By the way, at the 41 minute mark you see a couple horses make some horrifically bad falls. Sadly, to get this wonderful effect, the studios would actually use trip wires (like piano wire) to make the horses fall--and often the horses would break their legs and need to be euthanized! Fortunately this practice was later abandoned when bad publicity for this cruel thing brought this to light.