MUBI

Nicholas Ray’s take on Jesse James isn’t really different than any other previous take, in fact it’s a slight remake of a 1939 Henry King production, but using Cinemascope and his own idiosyncratic brand of angst and melodrama, Ray’s Jesse is a 50’s anti-hero, and it’s no secret that James Dean would have starred if alive.

Instead we get handsome, unconvincing Robert Wagner as Jesse, with Jeffrey Hunter (equally too good looking) as second banana brother Frank, spinning the tale of the James brothers from their involvement as guerrilla fighters in the Civil War (which, after the war, makes them targets of North sympathizing neighbors and bankers; a possible motive for their robbery spree),to their disastrous attempt on a Minnesota bank, the beginning of the end.

The use of flashback, and the Minnesota bookends, is interesting, building a “who is Jesse James” character study out of familiar tropes and knowledge of previous films, splashing in some romance (with buxom, stiff Hope Lange), and action (including a well staged train robbery). Passable, but not entirely essential Ray.