Jesse James

This 1939 film about the legendary Jesse James recasts his life story into a romantic drama about a good Southern son forced to become an outlaw after a corrupt railroad company takes the family farm and kills his mother (Jane Darwell). Tyrone Power plays Jesse as a polite young man who's rightly suspicious of the Northern posse that appears on his land, and Henry Fonda is brother Frank, who backs Jesse up when those underhanded carpetbaggers try to ambush him. This cinematic whitewash sidesteps history, presenting Jesse as a folk-hero rebel who targets the railroads with his gang (who are very polite to the passengers they steal from), but only becomes a bank robber only after being betrayed by the law. The Civil War is barely mentioned and Jesse's worst crimes are ignored, but this is still a well-made Western shot in gorgeous Technicolor. Director Henry King handles the action scenes (including a beautifully filmed train robbery with Jesse silhouetted against the evening sky) and the romantic drama (between Jesse and Zerelda, the wife he leaves behind, played by Nancy Kelly) equally well. Power makes a good tragic figure, but Fonda is more nuanced in the quieter role, and Randolph Scott costars as a stalwart, good-humored Marshall who sympathizes with Jesse and his cause. Remastered for its Blu-ray debut, extras include newsreel footage of the premiere. Fans of classic Hollywood storytelling will likely be drawn to this. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)