The Return of Frank James (1940)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
Frank James sets out to find the men who killed his brother.
When the killers are pardoned, he takes matters into his own hands.
The reporter who hopes to tell his story winds up in love with him.
Written by Ed Stephan

Full Cast
Henry Fonda ... Frank James
Gene Tierney ... Eleanor Stone
Jackie Cooper ... Clem
Henry Hull ... Major Rufus Cobb
John Carradine ... Bob Ford
J. Edward Bromberg ... George Runyan
Donald Meek ... McCoy
Eddie Collins ... Station Agent
George Barbier ... Judge
Russell Hicks ... Prosecutor
Ernest Whitman ... Pinky
Charles Tannen ... Charlie Ford
Lloyd Corrigan ... Randolph Stone
Victor Kilian ... Preacher
Edward McWade ... Colonel Jackson
George Chandler ... Roy
Irving Bacon ... Bystander
Frank Shannon ... Sheriff
Barbara Pepper ... Nellie Blane
Louis Mason ... Watchman
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard ... Mose (as Stymie Beard)
William Pawley ... Actor
Frank Sully ... Actor
Davison Clark ... Officer (as Davidson Clark)
Bob Battier ... Actor playing Frank James (uncredited)
A.S. 'Pop' Byron ... Train Engineer (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps ... Deputy (uncredited)
Lester Dorr ... Reporter (uncredited)
Edmund Elton ... Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Budd Fine ... Deputy (uncredited)
Almeda Fowler ... Mrs. Edna Stone (uncredited)
Sherry Hall ... Court Clerk (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee ... Reporter (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard ... Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Nelson McDowell ... Juror - Confederate Veteran (uncredited)
Robert McKenzie ... Old Man on Rocker (uncredited)
Lew Meehan ... Bailiff (uncredited)
Frank Melton ... Reporter (uncredited)
Adrian Morris ... Denver Detective (uncredited)
James C. Morton ... Liberty Bartender (uncredited)
Hattie Noel ... Denver House Chambermaid (uncredited)
Lee Phelps ... Denver House Bartender (uncredited)
Tex Phelps ... Front-Row Play Spectator (uncredited)
Russ Powell ... Juror (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel ... Reporter (uncredited)
Lillian Yarbo ... Eleanor's Maid (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Sam Hellman (original screenplay)

Original Music
David Buttolph (uncredited)

Cinematography
George Barnes

Trivia
The studio bought the rights to the James Brothers
but changed the facts for entertainment. Although Frank surrendered 6
months after Jesse James' murder, both Ford brothers were already dead
and Frank had nothing to do with their deaths.

The original treatment had Frank romantically interested in the reporter
played by Gene Tierney, but the studio became fearful of a possible lawsuit
by Frank's widow and/or son, so it was eliminated from the script.

Memorable Quotes

Filming Locations
Bishop, California, USA
Lone Pine, California, USA
Sonora, California, USA

The Return of Frank James is a 1940 western film directed by Fritz Lang
and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney.
It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film Jesse James.
Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Frank James
following the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse James at the hands
of the Ford brothers. The film is universally considered historically inaccurate,
but was a commercial success and is notable as being the first motion
picture for the actress Gene Tierney,
who plays a reporter for the newspaper The Denver Star.

This like the earlier film Jesse James , The Return was totally historically inaccurate.
However don't that let that put you off, what is a fantastic western.
I enjoyed both these films and they remain big favourites of mine.

User Review

Quote

This is just a western, not a history lesson.
3 November 1999 | by FISHER L. FORREST (Jacksonville, Oregon, USA)
Don't allow the fact that this film is pure fiction (aside from the murder of Jesse by Robert Ford) to mar your enjoyment of it as a bang-up good revenge western. Just as in JESSE JAMES, the writers here preferred to stick to the things that never happened! There is plenty of truth in the background, though, depicting the rapaciousness of the burgeoning railroad industry and the yankee carpetbaggers. As to what really happened to Frank and Bob, the facts about Bob are just as dramatic as the fiction of this film. Frank did retire from crime, surrendered to the law after Jesse's murder and was either never charged, or was acquitted of complicity in Jesse's many crimes. He tried various things, including farming, and a short stint as a "floor walker" in Sanger Brothers department store in Dallas, Texas. Apparently he died with his boots "off". "Little Robert Ford" did go into show business, dramatizing how he shot down the dangerous outlaw bravely in a showdown gunfight(!). Eventually, he wound up as the owner of a saloon in Creed, Colorado. Here he was murdered much the same way he had murdered Jesse (in the back) by a man who held a grudge against him. Some say the man did it in revenge for Jesse's murder, but that is likely just speculation. Gene Tierney and the scenery are beautifully photographed in gorgeous technicolor throughout.