FRANK & JESSE
DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY
TRIMARK PICTURES
VIDMARK ENTERTAINMENT
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
At the end of the Civil War, Frank and Jesse James and other former guerillas who rode with Quantrill and Bill Anderson take the oath of allegiance to the Union. Feeling oppressed by Chicago railroad investors, the James and Younger brothers, Bob and Charlie Ford, Clell Miller and Arch Clements take to robbing banks, trains and coaches, with Pinkerton sworn to bringing them to justice.
Written by Jeff Hole
Cast
Rob Lowe ... Jesse James
Bill Paxton ... Frank James
Randy Travis ... Cole Younger
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson ... Annie
Maria Pitillo ... Zee
Luke Askew ... Lone Rider
Sean Patrick Flanery ... Zack Murphy
Alexis Arquette ... Charlie Ford
Todd Field ... Bob Younger
John Pyper-Ferguson ... Clell Miller
Nicholas Sadler ... Arch Clements (as Nick Sadler)
William Atherton ... Allan Pinkerton
Tom Chick ... Detective Whitcher
Mary Neff ... Widow Miller
Richard Maynard ... John Sheets
Jim Flowers ... Bob Ford
Mari Askew ... Ma James
William Michael Evans ... Jesse Jr.
Lyle Armstrong ... McGuff
Cole S. McKay ... Sheriff Baylor (as Cole McKay)
Dennis Letts ... Railroad C.E.O.
John Stiritz ... Ruben Samuels
Micah Dyer ... John Younger
Jackie Stewart ... Governor Crittendon
Chad Linley ... Archie Samuels
Rhed Khilling ... Stage Driver
Jerry Saunders ... Northfield Teller
D.C. 'Dash' Goff ... Engineer
Robert Moniot ... Young Captain
Norman Hawley ... Baptist Preacher
Jeffrey Paul Johnson ... Davies Bank Teller
Bryce Thomason ... Reporter (as Bryce Anthony Thomason)
John Paxton ... Working Man
Elizabeth Hatcher-Travis ... Woman on Train
Sudie Henson ... Old Woman on Train
and more...
Directed
Robert Boris
Writing Credits
Robert Boris
Produced
Mark Amin ... executive producer
Cassian Elwes ... producer
Bruce Wayne Gillies ... line producer
Andrew Hersh ... co-producer
Elliott Kastner ... producer
Rob Lowe ... co-producer
Music
Mark McKenzie
Cinematography
Walt Lloyd
Trivia
Even though, in the film, Jesse's home is shown as a big two-storey house,
the original house is in fact much smaller and was located in town.
However, the actual house still stands, but has been moved three times to its current location,
next to the Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The final scene with Jesse, the chair and picture is exactly how it happened according to Bob Ford.
In the original house, there is still a dent and blood stain on the floor where Jesse fell.
Bill Paxton and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson both appeared in another western together, "Tombstone"
Goofs
Anachronisms
During the celebration of Jesse's new house one of the gang members is clearly carrying a modern Pump Action Shotgun. The earliest type of this weapon wasn't made till nearly a decade after James' death.
During the Northfield Minnesota Raid, Cole Younger uses a Lever Action 10-Gauge Shotgun to blast his way out of an ice house. The raid took place on September 7th, 1876 and the first models of this type of shotgun wouldn't exist until 1887, more than a decade later.
During the Northville raid, after Cole Younger (Randy Travis) kills the man who shot him off his horse, you can see two modern-day electrical transformers on a power line pole.
Boom mic visible
When the wounded Jesse James falls into the arms of Frank at the fireplace a microphone is visible on the top of the screen.
Continuity
In the first shoot out, first Jesse's gun is in his hand, then appears in his pants.
During the Gallatin robbery the Youngers and Miller fire more shots than their six shooters would hold without reloading.
During the first shoot out, the railroad man is at first standing in front of his pinto, then he has moved sideways, away from his horse, then before it ends he is back in front of his horse.
Factual errors
Jesse would not be standing taking the oath of fidelity to the union, he was shot in the chest trying to surrender and was bedridden for months.
The James family house was blown up by the Pinkertons in 1875,
long after the James gang was active and wanted.
It was blown up in a raid to find Jesse and Frank, and his mothers arm was blown off, in this version it was blown up before the James' crime spree and his mother's arm is intact afterward, but was blown off by a shotgun in a later attack on the James home.
Archie Clement was never a member of the James gang, although it is alleged Jesse and Frank were members of his gang. Clement never stopped raiding when the war stopped, he was shot by militia shortly after occupying Lexington, Missouri on election day in 1866.
Allan Pinkerton was never involved, himself, in shoot outs with the James-Younger gangs, nor was he robbed by them.
The James' brothers did not wait four years to begin their crime spree, it was less than a year after the war ended and probably by February, 1866.
Revealing mistakes
When Annie comes to find the two James' brothers shooting up the room while bathing,
you can clearly hear someones pager vibrating.
The newspaper headlines about the James Gang exploits during the movie and the underlying text had nothing to do with such captions as 'James Gang Robs Train' and 'Charlie Ford Captured'.
Spoilers
Continuity
Zee shoots Pinkerton's nephew from the side but the bullet hole on the corpse is in the front of his forehead.
Factual errors
Bob Younger did not die during the Northfield raid, he was captured along with his brothers, Cole and Jim (not portrayed in the film) and given a life sentence. He died in prison of tuberculosis.
Revealing mistakes
At 52 minutes into the movie, Pinkerton's nephew, who was shot by Jesse James' wife on the ferry and then rolled into the river, has been found on the riverbank and identified by Pinkerto
Filming Locations
Ole Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Memorial Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Van Buren, Arkansas, USA
Winslow, Arkansas, USA
Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA