Jesse James, man without a law

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Jesse James, man without a law
Original title Jesse James
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1939
length 106 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Henry King
script Nunnally Johnson
production Nunnally Johnson,
Darryl F. Zanuck
music Louis Silvers
camera George Barnes ,
W. Howard Greene
cut Barbara McLean
occupation
synchronization

Jesse James, Man Without a Law (Original Title: Jesse James ) is an American western directed by Henry King from 1939, which tells the life story of Jesse James , one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West .

action

Missouri after the end of the Civil War: The St. Louis Midland RR railroad company is planning its new route through the Liberty Township area and has sent a representative named Barshee to undertake land purchases for this purpose; Obviously for their own benefit, this forces the mostly poor farmers in the region to sell for the ridiculous price of one dollar per acre. When he and his cronies come to the property of Mrs. Samuels and her two sons Jesse and Frank James, they encounter resistance. When Barshee, beaten up and slightly wounded by a bullet, returns to Liberty, it catches the attention of the brisk newspaper publisher Cobb, who often makes no secret of his sympathies for ordinary people who are harassed by various authorities. As Barshee obtained an arrest warrant, the James brothers, who were in solidarity with other farmers at a meeting quickly called, were forced to go to a cave hiding place; In her absence, the railway officer, who is advancing with a large entourage, kills the mother, who is alone in the house, by means of a smoke bomb that apparently accidentally explodes. When the sons found out, despite warnings from Jesse's girlfriend - Cobb's niece Zerelda, who worked on the editorial staff - they decided to retaliate immediately: Barshee was shot dead in Liberty's "Dixie Belle Saloon" shortly afterwards. A $ 1,000 bounty is then placed on the younger of the brothers, which is increased after the first raids on trains of the "Midland RR".

Some time later, the US Marshal Wright, who was also interested in Zerelda, received a letter from the railroad boss McCoy, in which Jesse James was guaranteed a mild sentence of five years in prison if he volunteered. Zerelda takes the news to her lover's hiding place, who is only ready to give up under threat of separation; beforehand the two marry in a church that is currently holding the service. Scarcely behind bars, McCoy breaks his promise and promises Jesse the gallows. For this purpose, the originally intended judge is replaced and the multiple intervening Wright is removed from office a little later. When Frank announced in writing that he would free his brother immediately, McCoy, who was already trying to keep order during the trial with cavalry troops, recruited additional deputies, but including Tom and Hank, two friends of the outlaws, and the release from custody for this reason succeeds relatively effortlessly.

From then on the gang intensified their raids, and an increasingly bitter Jesse doesn't care to be the father of a son in the meantime; Zerelda leaves their hiding place and gives up on her husband. After a few years, the railway puts the detective George Runyan into the gang, who does not need long to find in Robert "Bob" Ford a compliant tool for killing the bandit, who has meanwhile become a folk hero. While planning the raid on the bank in Northfield, he got into some trouble with his henchmen, and the more level-headed Frank gave the close relative a strong rebuke. The Northfield coup failed because Bob Ford, who had since returned to the gang, had betrayed the plan; Tom and Hank die in the shooting, and the wounded brothers are separated after a risky jump into a river. A farmer brings the injured Jesse to Zerelda's new home, and since the authorities consider him dead, he votes in favor of his now 5-year-old son Jesse jr. a fresh start in California. In the middle of the preparations for leaving, the Ford brothers (in addition to Bob also Charles) burst with the idea of ​​another bank robbery allegedly proposed by Frank; After Jesse refuses, Bob cowardly shoots the man who is hanging up a framed wall message from behind. At the funeral, Cobb gives a fiery speech and reveals a memorial stone on which the assassin is mocked.

background

Irving Cummings took over the direction for a week and a half because Henry King could not get out of bed due to an ear infection.

In one scene a horse falls to its death from a cliff. The audience was outraged and had the American Humane Association review the film (and later the TV version). It is said that this review contributed to the certification "No animal was mistreated or killed in the production of this film."

Reviews

The film service wrote that Jesse James, the man without the law, is "the heroic legend, not the historical truth". The film is “[with] pathos, sentiment, but also with humor”, which means that “the sophisticatedly played and effectively staged Western [falls] out of the box”. The film was also criticized for the fact that after jumping a horse blindfolded over a cliff, the animal died.

31 years after the premiere, the Protestant film observer summed up the following: “Because of its powerful staging and good cast, the film is still worth watching today. Suitable for ages 14+. "

German version

A German dubbed version was made for television in 1971.

role actor Voice actor
Jesse James Tyrone Power Randolf Kronberg
Frank James Henry Fonda Jürgen Thormann
Marshal Wright Randolph Scott Gert Günther Hoffmann
Zerelda James Nancy Kelly Marianne Lutz
Major Cobb Henry Hull Friedrich W. Building School
Robert Ford John Carradine Horst Keitel
Runyan J. Edward Bromberg Gerd Duwner
Barshee Brian Donlevy Heinz Petruo
Mrs. Samuels Jane Darwell Ursula War

continuation

The film was continued in 1940 by Fritz Lang under the title Revenge for Jesse James . The role of Frank James took over again Henry Fonda .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jesse James, Man Without a Law. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Stefan Volk: Death in front of the camera. In: Spiegel online , October 7, 2014.
  3. ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 278/1970.
  4. ↑ Jesse James, Man Without a Law. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on April 9, 2017 .