Jesse James

This dramatic western tells the "true" story of how Jesse James went from a young farmer to outlaw. I use the word "true" hesitantly as there is little historical accuracy, by all accounts, past the character's names. Putting that aside, director Henry King and an uncredited Irving Cummings have presented a pretty darn good western.In this story (screenplay by Nunnally Johnson), Jesse (Tyrone Power) and brother Frank (Henry Fonda) are young farmers in Missouri. Living with their mother (Jane Darwell), their property is in the way of the evil railroad and those that work for it. In what was probably true, the railroad men and a skunk named Barshee (Brian Donlevy) have been arm-twisting the land owners to sell their property to the railroad for well below market prices. The James boys and mom want no part of it. When Barshee and his trio of henchmen decide to start twisting Frank's arm, Barshee gets his butt kicked. When his back is turned, Frank is about to get wacked with a scythe by Barshee. Jesse shows up just in time to shoot Barshee in the hand.Barshee files charges and figuring they can't fight the railroad, the boys head for the hills. This turns the boys into outlaws and in retribution for the mother's death, they decide to take it out on the railroad. Their holdups are polite enough as they want no jewelry, just cash. And as they depart, Jesse and Frank tell the victims to be sure to file a claim with the railroad. They are obligated to reimburse passengers.The townsfolk are sympathetic as well. Especially the newspaper publisher, Maj. Cobb (Henry Hull) and his niece Zee (nicely played by Nancy Kelly). Zee is also the girlfriend and soon to be wife of Jesse. Randolph Scott plays Will Wright, a U. S. Marshal. He's also on the boy's side, but has little to do but be a shoulder for Zee to lean on. Will has a hankerin' for Zee, but she has eyes for nobody but Jesse. John Carradine plays that "dirty little coward, Bob Ford," who (spoiler alert) eventually guns down Jesse, shooting him in the back.The acting and some terrific stunts involving horses make the film worth searching out. Power was at the height of his hunky stardom, but Fonda steals all the scenes he's in. Watch him in a confrontation with Jesse as Jesse is about to lose it. Also there is a nifty scene when Jesse and Frank, surrounded in a failed bank robbery jump their horses through a store window. There is another where horses and riders go flying off a cliff into the river. Recommended.The Blu ray transfer comes in 1080p resolution with a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The picture suffers a bit because of the age and the fact that technicians didn't have an original print. Some of the colors may appear washed out, but I still found the picture highly watchable. I would also add that there were no significant artifacts in the picture which looked nicely detailed and problem free. You have the option of selecting a DTS-HD Master Audio mono track or 5.1 surround. I opted for the 5.1 but aside from the musical score and some galloping horses, not much was going on in the surrounds. Still, dialog was clear and properly located. Extras are minimal with only a trailer, a Movietone clip featuring Ed Sullivan giving an award to Power and a 30 second clip of a premier in Connecticut (I think).

Tyrone Power was at the height of his movie career when he took on the role of "Jesse James"(1939). One of the most handsome leading men in cinema history, Power could act too. Acting was in his blood with both his father and mother being well known stage actors not to mention his grandfather. Darryl Zanuck must have been impressed too because he signed the young Tyrone to a long term contract with 20th Century Fox in 1936 and put him in some of their most important films such as "In Old Chicago", "Rose of Washington Square" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band". Although these last three films were in black and white, it wasn't until he made "Jesse James", his first Technicolor film for Fox, that his handsome movie star features were really put on display. You can see a lot of that in Fox's new Blu-ray presentation but probably not what audiences saw when they first viewed the film in 1939. For those that don't know the story, in one of the dumbest housecleaning or corporate decisions in movie history, all of the original Technicolor negatives in the Fox vaults were destroyed and replaced with "safety dupes" in the early Seventies. And that's a shame because I would have loved to experience "Jesse James" in all it's Technicolor glory. However,this new Blu-ray presentation from Fox is the best we will get for now. It's not bad, just not as great as it could have been had the original Technicolor negative been used. It is however a vast improvement over the standard DVD from years back. Every frame in this new Blu ray from Fox has been cleaned up(no vertical lines, white specks, dirt, torn frames, etc.) and some of the close-up scenes are nearly pristine(Bitrate: 33.97). Flesh tones however vary throughout the film but for the most part this is another standout Blu-ray upgrade from Fox. You can make out individual colors such as the flowers that Nancy Kelly holds on the way to her wedding and also the green countryside and blue skies of Missouri(location filming was done in Pineville, Missouri). Historically, the movie is not very accurate(neither was "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") but it's very enjoyable and is one of my favorite westerns. This is one of three Technicolor films that Fox has released this year starring Tyrone Power and although it doesn't quite reach the heights of "Blood and Sand" Blu-ray wise, it certainly looks much better on Blu-ray than "The Black Swan"(1942) which was released the same day. Although not a perfect Blu-ray, fans of Tyrone Power and Westerns in general shouldn't have any doubts about adding "Jesse James" to their Blu-ray library. "Jesse James" is 106 minutes(Aspect Ratio: 1.33.1) and contains the following subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, and French. Audio is as follows: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0; Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 and French DTS 5.1. Special features include two Fox Movietone News shorts and the original theatrical trailer. "Jesse James" was one of the many great film released in 1939 and comes highly recommended.

Tyrone power and Henry fonda are fantastic. The chemistry is very fìñè

(updated with Blu-ray review)The Blu-ray version is spectacular with awesome picture and excellent sound. I am glad Fox finally released this film on Blu-ray and this is a steal for what the price is now ($12). This is a great Western starring; Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull, Slim Summerville, plus others and is directed by Henry King. The film runs for about 106mins and is in stunning color brought out by the Blu-ray restoration. The only Special Features included are original Trailer and a few Fox Movietone News of Jesse James at the Roxy and Hollywood Spotlight. The specs of the BD is English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0, French DTS 5.1 with English SDH subtitles and Spanish, French subtitles. The video specs are AVC video with 34MBPS, 50GB Dual Layer disk and is an "A" region disk. Overall this is an awesome Blu-ray release and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to add to their collection.

I’m reviewing video quality, not the movie. I hate when people write a review about a movie that’s 70 years old. Most of us know what we’re buying. It’s all about the restoration on blu rays. Btw, when they restore old films the goal is to get it as close to its original content. Grain and all!!! It’s not meant to look like a movie shot digitally in 2022.This blu ray misses. This studio destroyed all of its technicolor strips in the 1970s. This movie has that piss yellow or brownish look to it. It’s better than streaming it or watching on Turner classic. I was a bit disappointed. The Return of Frank James was nicely done.

I bought the wrong film, The other version with Henry Fonda and Tyrone Power 1939 is more of a storyline. If buying again I would check to ensure that I order the right version. Not this one.

Whilst advertised as being the film starring Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda which it appears can be purchased in Blu-ray, multi media and DVD, in fact the dvd is in fact a documentary about Jesse James. However after contacting the seller I was refunded in full within a few hours.Therefore whilst disappointed with the description I was extremely pleased with the way the matter was quickly resolved.

great

satisfied with product

Disappointing.