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
QuoteThis 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.
