Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (1948)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Fred C. Brannon
Yakima Canutt

Writers:

Franklin Adreon (original screenplay) and
Basil Dickey (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 October 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Western

Tagline:

THE FABULOUS JAMES BOYS...Wanted By The Law...Hunted By Outlaws! (original poster)

Plot:

Jesse James returns to Missouri, and he and brother Frank come to the aid of a young woman who owns a gold mine...

Plot Keywords:

Mine | Missouri | Jesse James | Gold | Gold Mine

Cast

Clayton Moore	...	Jesse James, aka John Howard
Steve Darrell	...	Frank James, aka Bob Carroll
Noel Neill	...	Judy Powell
George J. Lewis	...	Gang leader Rafe
Stanley Andrews	...	Jim Powell [Ch.1]
John Crawford	...	Amos Ramsey
Sam Flint	...	Banker Paul Thatcher
House Peters Jr.	...	Sheriff [Chs. 1-2, 5-6, 11]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Bank Robber [Ch. 1] / Henchman [Chs. 4-5] / Thomas Dale [Chs. 9-10]
Tom Steele	...	Mike Steele [Chs. 1-2, 11] / Water Tower Henchman [Ch. 12] / Henchman Gus
James Dale	...	J.B. Nichols [Ch. 9]
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Attorney [Chs. 9-10]
Gene Roth	...	The Marshal [Chs. 9-10] (as Gene Stutenroth)
Lane Bradford	...	Henchman Bill [Chs. 4-5, 11-12]
George Chesebro	...	Jim, Station Agent [Chs. 1, 3, 6]

Also Known As:

Jesse James, o ekdikitis (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

180 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1. Agent of Treachery; 2. The Hidden Witness; 3. The Lost Tunnel; 4. Blades of Death; 5. Roaring Wheels; 6. Passage to Danger; 7. The Secret Code; 8. Doomed Cargo; 9. The Eyes of the Law; 10. The Stolen Body; 11. The Death Trap; 12. Talk or Die!; 13. Unmasked.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Dave Sharpe is clearly doubling Steve Darrell during the fight in the cave in Chapter 3 but isn't credited.

Movie Connections:

Features Adventures of Red Ryder (1940)

"adventures" sequel to Jesse James Rides Again

Adventures of Frank and Jesse James was released in 1948, the same year as the celebrated hoax of Jesse returning from the dead. Seems some old codger out in Missouri, obviously a JJ fan, turned up saying that he was the real Jesse James and another man was buried in his place. Clayton Moore wears the same outfit as he did in the 1947 JJ Rides Again, a black frock coat and a flat brim hat. In the 1948 serial, he wears a floppy brim Stetson and bat wing chaps to match the footage of Don "Red" Barry in the Red Ryder serial. Steve Darrell (Frank James) wore the buckskin outfit of Hal Taliferro, Barry's sidekick in the serial. While Moore may have extricated himself from on screen perils by rolling aside, his athletic ability in JJ Rides Again saved his life when a burning wagon tipped over too close for comfort. The JJ serials were not meant to be taken for historical accuracy, just a way to take a familiar Western historical character and change him for Hollywood. Just like the Buster Crabbe Billy the Kid features.