An outlaw folk hero. A villain hiding behind the law. A "slimy railroad detective." It's no wonder Fritz Lang was drawn to the James-Ford saga. His interest in the darkness of lawmen and the humanity of criminals served him well in other films, but his foray into the Western genre is disappointingly straightforward.
Frank James (Henry Fonda), in hiding after the legally-permitted murder of his brother Jesse by Robert Ford, is forced to leave his peaceful retirement when he's identified. Igniting a feud between himself and Robert Ford (John Carradine) - as well as the passions of reporter Eleanor Stone (Gene Tierney) - Frank is forced to contend with both Ford and corrupt lawmen while attempting to clear his name. The film's premise is an interesting one, portraying Frank James to be a victim of circumstance rather than a violent criminal, but it ends up over-adjusting the roles to the point where Frank is almost completely good (albeit stubborn/pragmatic) and Robert Ford is purely evil. Frank's crimes - including the robbery of a railroad company that funded Jesse's demise - are rationalized as the James boys were "brought up to right [their] own wrongs." With this repositioning and lack of nuance, it loses the fascinating shading that Lang usually brings to his characters.
With the amended moral standing of the James and the Fords, the film becomes a run-of-the-mill Western. Lang acquits himself well in the genre, including relatively exciting chases, amusing dialogue, shootouts, and the obligatory younger sidekick to be taught and sacrificed. There is even some of the desperation that Lang so skillfully conjured in films like M. He doesn't delve too deeply into the psyches of his characters, however, which leaves us with a decent but unmemorable genre picture.
Frank's viewing of the Fords' reenactment of the Jesse James murder is an interesting inclusion, reminding us of Frank's motivation while commenting on how legends are shaped (perhaps it's even an acknowledgement of the film's historical revisions).
Crew & Cast
Directed by Fritz Lang (M, Metropolis, The Big Heat)
Written by Sam Hellman (My Darline Clementine)
Cast
Henry Fonda - Frank James
Gene Tierney - Eleanor Stone
Jackie Cooper - Clem
Henry Hull - Maj. Rufus Cobb
John Carradine - Bob Ford