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The True Story of Jesse James

The True Story of Jesse James

Western · 1957

Having fought with the Confederacy during the Civil War, Jesse James and his brother Frank dream of a farm life in Missouri. Harassed by Union sympathizers, they assemble a gang of outlaws, robbing trains and becoming folk heroes in the process. Jesse marries his sweetheart, Zee, and maintains an aura of domesticity, but after a group of lawmen launch an attack on his mother's house, Jesse plans one more great raid -- on a Minnesota bank.

Movie details

The True Story of Jesse James

“The real story… really told for the first time!”

1957 Western 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

Having fought with the Confederacy during the Civil War, Jesse James and his brother Frank dream of a farm life in Missouri. Harassed by Union sympathizers, they assemble a gang of outlaws, robbing trains and becoming folk heroes in the process. Jesse marries his sweetheart, Zee, and maintains an aura of domesticity, but after a group of lawmen launch an attack on his mother's house, Jesse plans one more great raid -- on a Minnesota bank.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The True Story of Jesse James?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Lawman

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Terror on the Prairie

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A pioneering family fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws that is terrorizing them on their newly-built farm on the plains of Montana.

Hannie Caulder

Hannie Caulder

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Appaloosa

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Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

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The Missouri Breaks

The Missouri Breaks

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Drama · 2007

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nicholas Ray

Written by

Walter Newman · Nunnally Johnson

Robert Wagner

Robert Wagner

Jesse James

Jeffrey Hunter

Jeffrey Hunter

Frank James

Hope Lange

Hope Lange

Zee James

Agnes Moorehead

Agnes Moorehead

Mrs. Samuel

Alan Hale Jr.

Alan Hale Jr.

Cole Younger

Alan Baxter

Alan Baxter

Barney Remington

John Carradine

John Carradine

Rev. Jethro Bailey

Court is in session

Put The True Story of Jesse James on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.