Review: The Return of Frank James


Henry Fonda stars as Frank James, the former gunslinger and James Gang member (alongside deceased brother Jesse), who is left seething when the Ford brothers are convicted of Jesse’s murder but pardoned by the governor. So what’s left for Frank to do but go after the Ford brothers (John Carradine and Charles Tannen) himself. Jackie Cooper plays Frank’s excitable young friend, who thinks himself a man and wants to prove himself. Gene Tierney is a nosy female reporter who takes a liking to Frank after an initial misunderstanding. Henry Hull is a curmudgeonly but likeable friend of Frank’s, a former lawyer turned editor, whose legal skills come in handy when Frank’s loyal black farmhand (Ernest Whitman) gets framed for Frank’s crimes.

 

Enjoyable 1940 Fritz Lang (“Western Union”, “Man Hunt”, “Clash by Night”, “Rancho Notorious”, “Ministry of Fear”) western, a sequel to “Jesse James”, with Fonda joined by Tyrone Power as Jesse. It’s a somewhat formulaic mixture of comedy and tense drama, getting a lot of mileage out of the fine cast (notably a nicely layered turn by Fonda, the likeably hammy Hull, and a maturing Cooper) and terrific colour cinematography by George Barnes and William V. Skall.

 

It’s really a B-picture with an A-list star and director, my only complaints would be a seriously wan performance by Tierney (in her underwhelming debut), and a lack of screen time for that enduring character actor Carradine, as the all-important baddie Robert Ford. Robert Ford (who isn’t depicted terribly cowardly) as seen here doesn’t allow Carradine the time to really cut loose. Hell, at least give the guy more dialogue, with that wonderfully oratory voice of his. The solid screenplay by Sam Hellman (The 1939 version of “The Three Musketeers”) gets a bad rap for its compromised characterisation of Frank as a well-intentioned gunman hoping to settle down once this final score is settled. That may be the case (and perhaps adherence to history might’ve been the right option), but I think it makes the character quite interesting, having him a little bad and a little good, especially for a film from 1940 (where it was usually just straight up white hats and black hats).

 

This one’s more for B-western fans if you ask me, and aside from Fonda’s somewhat taciturn characterisation, the film isn’t as dark as one might expect from the usually psychologically-motivated Lang. However, it’s pretty good on that level. There’s nothing wrong with B-movies as far as I’m concerned.

 

Rating: B-

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