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**INCLUDES POSSIBLE SPOILERS** The film debut of writer/director Samuel Fuller, `I Shot Jesse James,' is a tightly wound character study of Robert Ford (played here by John Ireland), the man who shot and killed Jesse James. Ford, a member of the infamous James Gang, is Jesse's best friend; he's reached a time in his life when he just wants to settle down, get married and have a place of his own. But more than anything, he yearns for the one thing he'll never have as a wanted man: freedom. He wants to be able to walk down the street like anybody else and just live his life. He's in love with an actress, Cynthia Waters (Barbara Britton), who will marry him if he can square himself with the law. She goes to a prosecutor on his behalf, but the best deal they can offer if he turns himself in amounts to twenty years in prison. About this same time there is a public offer from the Governor of complete amnesty to anyone (including James Gang members) who will bring in Jesse, dead or alive. Moved to action by his love for Cynthia, and knowing that no man could take Jesse face to face, Ford shoots him in the back in Jesse's own home. Ford gets the freedom he so desperately covets, but the price he pays is far more than he ever bargained for. Filmed in stark black & white, and with Fuller's deft use of shadows and night shots, it combines with the content of the story to create a sense of atmosphere that gives it a `Western Noir' feeling, with a stoic inclination of predestination. By pulling the trigger, Ford condemns himself to the fate of Judas, and ironically finds more ostracism within the parameters of his newly won freedom than he did as an outlaw. Ireland does an outstanding job as Ford, maintaining a subtle restraint throughout, while going deep to get to the core of this man who is buoyed only by the love he bares for Cynthia, through which he manages to keep the remorse of killing his best friend at arm's length. He also brings a certain cocky menace to the character, which gradually becomes more unassuming, yet somehow more threatening, as the story progresses and he reacts to the backlash he encounters in the wake of Jesse's murder, an act viewed as deplorable by the many who considered James a hero. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie takes place sometime after Jesse's death; Ford is in a saloon when a wandering troubadour (Robin Short) comes in and offers a song for the price of a drink. Ford buys, and the man (who doesn't know Ford) begins a ballad that `A lot of people seem to like.' It's about Jesse James, and `Robert Ford, that dirty little coward' who shot him in the back. Watching Ford's reaction, and in turn the reaction of the troubadour, creates a tension that is palpable. Another outstanding, and telling scene, is the one in which Ford attempts to recreate the killing on stage, and realizes too late that it forces him to face up to what he's done for the first time; it's the moment of truth, wherein the burden of guilt is made manifest at last.

The supporting cast includes Preston Foster (John Kelley), Reed Hadley (Jesse James), Tom Tyler (Frank James), Barbara Woodell (Zee James) and Tommy Noonan (Charles Ford). An auspicious beginning for Fuller, `I Shot Jesse James' is a minor classic that heralds the more reality-based Westerns (like `The Wild Bunch') that would come some twenty years or so later on. Fuller delivers it in a manner that is thought provoking and has style; definitely not your run-of-the-mill Western, it is deserving of acclaim that has thus far been elusive. Hopefully, one day the merits of this film will be recognized. I rate this one 7/10.

Few DVD releases this year so far have been more exciting to me than this issue of Criterion's Eclipse series, consisting of Sam Fuller's first 3 films. Fuller is, no question, one of the great American originals, completely inimitable (and perhaps indescribable, at times). This, his first feature, opens on a stark tableau: bank robbers and bank employees, tensely standing each other off, the robbers hesitating to shoot while the tellers try to waste their time. A signal is tripped, a siren blares, a shootout occurs, a bandit is wounded and a teller killed -- all in less than a minute. Jesse James and his henchman Bob Ford escape, James saving Ford's life and in typical Fuller fashion, foreshadowing his own doom as he tells Ford that now he's "responsible" for him.

This has little to do with what is known of the real James and Ford brothers; it seems pretty hard to believe that rural/western born Jesse was the cultured gentleman he acts in the early part of this film, and the later scenes of Ford and John (later Marshall John) Kelley bear scant resemblance to the historical record; no matter though if you're more interested in the taut, exciting storyline that Fuller has crafted. Jesse lasts just a few minutes on screen, and then it's Ford's turn to play on our sympathies as his cowardly actions haunt him for the rest of the film, and he tries to no avail to redeem himself in the eyes of his sweetheart, Cynthy, who we know instinctively will wait for him -- only so far.

Many of Fuller's trademarks are already in place: hard-bitten dialogue (though not so outlandish and over-the-top here as it would be in some later films), fairly heavy use of wide-eyed close-ups, and an in-your-face, blunt yellow journalistic style that on first glance may seem to admit little subtlety. Poke around a little though and you'll find a lot of complexity in the character of Bob Ford, especially, and a fairly ambiguous attitude about both vigilantism and honor. The acting is surprisingly solid here given Fuller's penchant for picking hammy players, though only Preston Foster as Kelly seemed entirely at home.

*Mild Spoilers Within* This film is an interesting character study of Robert Ford (Ireland), the man who shot Jesse James. After shooting his best friend in the back for love, he must live with what he has done. Ireland is great as the remorseful, love-sick Ford. This is a neat first film by Sam Fuller, a newspaper man at heart. And you can definitely tell he likes the newspaper. He shows at least three sequences of headlines of newspapers to fill space in the narrative (the classic "spinning paper"). We can also see early on in his career that Fuller loves to mess with the audience. It's a very entertaining trick. For instance, after Ford has been shot at by the boy trying to become famous, a rider comes along shooting his gun. We think someone else is shooting at Ford. However, the rider is only excited because silver has been found in Colorado. I love how he plays with the audience! Fuller enjoys making you think for a split second that something bad is about to happen and then reveal that he's just joking around. He does this countless times throughout the film. Check this out if you want to see an unconventional western from the 40s. No classic-style here, just the beginning of a great independent director! 8/10

Sam Fuller wrote and directed this unusual version of the Jesse James story from the perspective of his murderer, the "cowardly" Robert Ford (John Ireland). Although Ireland is billed beneath 30s oater star Preston Foster ("Outcasts of Poker Flat") and his love interest Cynthy played by Barbara Britton, he's definitely the star of this show and it's the story of Ford and not James or any other character. In fact James is shown as something of a trusting simpleton -- unless you want to dig into the possibility that's implied in some of the film's images that James and Ford are lovers. In fact if you've watched to the very end there's sort of a stark recognition there depending on how you see it. But there's a definite note of tenderness when James touches Ford's injured shoulder, and then there's that scene where James has Ford scrub his back in the tub....

There's a lot of interesting character work from Ireland, who doesn't do that well with the earlier scenes like where he's supposed to be dreaming of his freedom, but who kicks into high gear as soon as his lady-love seems to reject him. Ireland is very convincing at conveying passion and also at playing a guy who's trying hard to hide his passion. That's never more clear than in the great scene when a wandering musician plays the song about "the dirty little coward Robert Ford" for him in the bar. I also really liked the scene with he and Foster when he held back from getting involved in the bar fight until the other man drew a gun.

Foster himself isn't given nearly as much to do in the film but he was always a solid screen presence, he's convincingly grizzled and world-weary. A lot of times in these types of movies the Foster character would have ended up getting the girl, but things are a bit more unclear in this story. We don't get the sense that there's really much chemistry between them. Britton's work is pretty good I thought. She convinced me that her character didn't really know what she wanted.

Good B movie, glad to finally get a chance to see it.

The general outline of this story bears resemblance to the historical facts, but as with many of these older films, a fair amount of liberty is taken in the telling. For one thing, most of the players look a lot older than the actual characters they portrayed in real life. In fact, Cynthy Waters (Barbara Britton) even mentions how Jesse's wife Zee (Barbara Wooddell) looks fifty years old instead of thirty, though qualifies that by stating how a hard life with Jesse contributed to it. Reed Hadley as Jesse James looks more like the mature Abraham Lincoln, while John Ireland looks about the same age as Jesse, but Bob Ford was only twenty years old when he shot Jesse in the back. Aside from all that, the story leaves one with the impression that Ford's guilt over shooting Jesse managed to follow and haunt him for the rest of his life. The side story of Ford's relationship with Cynthy works to give the outlaw a human side, even while he was trying to capitalize on his infamy by appearing in staged recreations of the murder. That never really worked out for Ford, as Jesse, in death as well as in life, was considered a Robin Hood like hero to the citizens of Missouri.

The film's conclusion has John Kelley (Preston Foster) getting the drop on Ford in what looks like your typical showdown, but what actually happened was a man by the name of Edward Capeheart O'Kelley practically ambushed Ford in a tent in Creede, Colorado. Probably the best movie treatment of the relationship between the James and the Ford brothers can be found in the 2007 movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". Without hesitation, I'd recommend that one to all Western movie fans because of it's treatment of a renowned historical figure, and also to non-Western fans for the intensity of the personal stories on center stage. The fact that it's beautifully filmed is a bonus.

Maverick director Samuel Fuller made his directorial debut with the B-movie western "I Shot Jesse James" (1949). This black & white, 81-minute oater opens during a daylight bank robbery. A bearded Jesse James (Reed Hadley of "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre") and his accomplices have the bank president and his employees at gunpoint. Nevertheless, Jesse cannot see is the president edging his foot closer to an alarm bell in the floor. The tension builds as a cashier stuffs money into a set of saddle bags. The manager grinds the alarm mechanism underfoot. The alarm goes off, and Jesse and his gang flee. One of Jesse's minions, Bob Ford (John Ireland of "Red River"), scrambles out of the bank with the loot in those saddle bags. Gunshots ring out as the gang gallops out of town. Bob takes a bullet in the back and drops the saddle bags in the road. Jesse and his gang hightail it out of town. The infamous outlaw rushes to keep Bob from falling out of the saddle as the gang storms out of town.

Several months later, Bob splashes buckets of steaming water over Jesse's back as the outlaw legend as he bathes. Bob spots a brand, spanking new, nickel-plated, Colt's .45 revolver on a nearby stool. Picking it up and admires it, Bob is surprised when Jesse tells him the revolver is a gift to Bob, a reward for the latter's loyalty. Meanwhile, Jesse's wife, Zee (Barbara Wooddell of "The Great Jesse James Raid"), complains to Jesse about Bob and his younger brother, Charlie (Tommy Noonan of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"), who are hiding out with them. Jesse masquerades as an honest rancher under the alias of Tom Howard. He has managed to live in quiet anonymity in Missouri, while conducting his bank robberies in other states. Jesse shares his paranoid nature with Bob when he tells Bob that everybody wants to collect the $10-thousand bounty on his head. According to Jesse, a man must choose his friends with discretion.

Jesse has no idea how desperate Bob is to wed an old flame, Cynthy Waters (Barbara Britton of "Dragonfly Squadron"), who has been on tour, warbling songs for a roadshow company. No sooner does Bob learn about Cynthy being in a nearby town than he lights out to see her and propose marriage. Cynthy rejects Bob's offer. She insists she can neither live on the run nor hide out from the law while Bob gallivants out of Missouri with Jesse and Frank James. Not only does Bob vow to hang up his six-gun, but he also plans to resume farming if Cynthy will marry him. Bob's trouble is he has very little cash, so Cynthy--much as she loves Bob-turns down his marriage proposal. Bob's obsession with Cynthy creates more problems than he imagined. Another man, John Kelly (Preston Foster of "Montana Territory"), approaches Cynthy with a business proposition. He wants to invest in Cynthy's song and dance routine. When he catches Kelly in Cynthy's room, Bob smolders with jealous rage.

Later, at the Howard ranch, Charlie is reading a newspaper article aloud about amnesty for anybody who kills or captures Jesse James and turns him over to the law. While Charlie reads the article, Bob imagines what he could do with the $10 thousand and the amnesty. Initially, he decides to buy a wedding ring for Cynthy, marry her, and settle down with the ten grand to live a quiet farmer's life. Without further ado, Bob brandishes the Colt's .45 with pearl handles that Jesse gave him and shoots the outlaw in the back while he struggles to adjust a picture on a wall. Eventually, Bob learns all of his best laid plans are compromised. Although he lands amnesty, Bob gets only $500 instead of the $1o thousand. Of course, Cynthy is appalled by Bob's treachery. Although the law cannot touch him, Bob is shocked that some deranged souls want to kill him because Bob had killed Jesse. No matter where he rides, Bob encounters either contempt at his cowardice or men itching to slap leather so they can brag they have killed Jesse James' murderer.

In "I Shot Jesse James," Samuel Fuller shows more sympathy for Bob Ford than the eponymous outlaw. Fuller suffered no illusions about Jesse's notoriety. He regarded Jesse as nothing less than a murdering coyote. Incidentally, Fuller doesn't beat around the bush. He has Bob Ford bushwhack Jesse early in the film. Afterward, Bob goes prospecting in Crede, Colorado. Bob and Kelly's paths cross again. They share a hotel room. Bob awakens the next morning and discovers to his anger that the ring he bought for Cynthy has been stolen. He accuses Kelly of the thief. However, Kelly clears himself and brings the thieving hotel clerk (Byron Foulger of "Ride the High Country") to confess he stole Bob's ring. By now, Cynthy fears Bob and wants to flee. However, Bob's days are numbered when he tangles with Kelly who has pinned on a town marshal's badge. Fuller directs with a fast, efficient hand and doesn't let this outlaw saga wear out its welcome.

"Whatya got to eat?" asks Bob Ford, who backshot his great friend Jesse James not too long ago. Says Joe, the bartender at the Silver King Saloon in Creede, Colorado, "Sweet corn, cornmeal mush, cornpone with cracklins and corn whiskey." "I'll have it," says Bob.

Lukewarm corn, cooked ambitiously, is about all there is in Sam Fuller's debut as a director. Fuller had been writing scripts and story outlines in Hollywood for quite awhile. Finally he made a three-movie deal with a B movie producer: If I can direct the movies, and I won't charge you, I'll write the screenplays.

The first of the three, I Shot Jesse James, is a potentially intriguing story of a loser, but told with a script that has little tension, directed with little flair and acted, for the most part, with a dull, steady cadence. A good deal of the dialogue and many of the actors are just competent. Still, if you're a Fuller fan, I Killed Jesse James may be worth watching. It's part of Criterion's Eclipse Series 5 - The First Films of Samuel Fuller. The set includes The Baron of Arizona and Steel Helmet.

Fuller, in my view, was not one of the great directors (or screenwriters; he usually wrote his own screenplays). He wasn't one of the great craftsmen, either. What he had was a tough, knock-about personal story, a confident willingness to dance to his own music, a streak of subversiveness that could undermine the fatuousness of Hollywood, the establishment and the nervous, and enough talent to take the commonplace material and actors he often was dealt and turn at least parts of his movies into something to admire. He was the kind of Hollywood non-Hollywood director that some cineastes and film critics adore. It would take a person wearing blinders, however, not to recognize that his movies are, at best, variable. Most of them don't hold up very well unless the viewer has been first captured by Sam Fuller's iconic anti-establishment reputation. Pickup on South Street is probably his best work, with fine performances by an A-level cast, an unusual script considering it was originally intended as an anti-Commie screed, and a story that Fuller keeps moving along. The Big Red One, highly praised by many, is an effective and realistic war movie dear to Fuller's heart. But it seems (to me) to go indulgently on and on and on.

For the rest of his movies, those that I've seen, there's just excellent bits and pieces mixed into a B-movie sensibility, awkward dialogue (almost any scenes involving a man and woman), and too much discursiveness. Fuller, in my opinion, needed a strong editor to work with and a strong writer with whom to collaborate. I have a feeling that Fuller would find either prospect completely unsatisfactory. Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss, anointed by Criterion, for me aren't just pulp movies, they're almost embarrassing examples of overwrought pulp movies. This is all just opinion. Watch The Naked Kiss and see what you think.

But back to I Shot Jesse James. When Bob Ford (John Ireland) puts a bullet in the back of his friend, Jesse James, Ford hopes to gain amnesty and a large reward. He'd been befriended by James and had been part of James' gang. Ford wants to marry the love of his life, the singer Cynthy Waters (Barbara Britton). He thinks he can leave the criminal life and settle down with Cynthy. Instead she rejects him. He's called a coward and a backshooter. Most people hold him in contempt. He gets only a small part of the reward. He still thinks that if only he can make money he can win Cynthy. And there's that straight talking' guy who likes Cynthy, too, a man named John Kelley (Preston Foster, top billed) who keeps showing up. There's a showdown, and that's that.

John Ireland, in my view, had a lot of screen presence, but he needed a good script and strong direction to be at his best. Just watch him as Fantail in Raw Deal (1948), as Cherry Valance in Red River (1948) and as Jack Burden in All the King's Men (1949). Even in a piece of Brit noir schlock, The Glass Tomb (1955), he brings enough quality and interest to make it worth watching. Here, he's constrained by an uninspired script that gives him no opportunity to do anything but show what a sad sack loser Bob Ford is. But wait until that showdown. It only lasts a couple of minutes, but John Ireland shows what he can do.

The Jesse James gang was a group of Missouri farmers turned outlaws. Heading the gang was Jesse (Reed Hadley)and his brother Frank (Tom Tyler). Other members included Charlie Ford (Tommy Noonan)and his younger brother, Bob (John Ireland.)

While the law hunts him, Jesse lives quietly in a rented house on the corner of Lafayette and Twenty-first street in St. Joseph, Missouri, under the alias of Tom Howard. His wife Zee (Barbara Woodell) begs him to end his association with the Ford brothers. Before they can leave on a "last" bank holdup, Bob learns that is childhood sweetheart, Cynthy Waters (Barbara Britton), now an actress, is in St. Joe and he brushes aside all caution to see her.

Cynthy is beginning to realize that she is a liability to her manager, Harry Kane (J. Edward Bromberg), because she will not leave Missouri. Meanwhile, John Kelley (Preston Foster), has come into her life. She pleads with Bob to turn honest.

Cynthy tries to get a pardon for Bob, but the best offer she can get is for a 20-year stretch in prison. Then, the Governor offers amnesty and a $10,000 reward to any member of the James gang betraying Jesse. When his chance comes (April 3, 1882)Bob shoots Jesse in the back. He gets the amnesty but the reward is cut to $500. He also loses the love and respect of Cynthy, but he blames John Kelley. Bob, needing money, joins Kane's show in an act showing how he killed Jesse James, but the act is a miserable flop.

Bob goes to crowded Creede, Colorado, scene of a silver boom.There, he has to share a room with another prospector, who turns out to be Kelley. The next morning, Kelley and a diamond ring that Bob had bought for Cynthy are both gone. While hunting for Kelley, Bob meets an aged prospector, Soapy (Victor Kilian), who takes him in as a partner. They strike it rich and Bob sends for Cynthy, who arrives accompanied by her maid (Jeni LeGon) and Kane, and Bob meets the arriving party.

Kelley also shows up, dragging a hotel clerk who admits to stealing the ring. Kelley is surprised to find Cynthy with Bob and thinks they are married. He is relieved to learn the truth and soon accepts the job of Creede's town Marshal. Cynthy admits to Kelley that she does not love Bob, but she feels responsible for his having killed Jesse.

Frank James comes to her hotel suite demanding that Cynthy tell him where Bob is. Kelley disarms him and locks him in jail. Days later, Bob and Soapy and others are celebrating in the hotel bar, awaiting news of the verdict on Frank James. The news of his acquittal and Frank himself arrive simultaneously, and Frank, who holds the upper hand informs Bob of Kelley's and Cynthy's relationship, knowing its effect on Bob would be worse than death.

Bob leaves to have a shoot-out showdown with Kelley.

This film was the third time Tom Tyler had played Frank James. Reed Hadley played Jesse James in this film and had the role Frank James in 1950's "The Return of Jesse James," making him and Wendell Corey the only two actors who had portrayed both brothers on the screen.

How sane can people idolize a cold-blooded, murdering and thieving scum like Jesse James? Over the decades, many, many films have portrayed James as sort of a "Robin Hood of the West", even though there was nothing to admire about the man. And, after he was killed by a member of his gang, songs were composed to the honor of James and declaring that the shooter, Bob Ford, was a coward. The way I see it, cowardly or not, shooting Jesse James in the back was a great day for mankind! Now I cannot compare this film to the recent film "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" since I haven't seen it--hopefully it sticks closer to the facts. However, it's pretty obvious by the title that they take a very strong anti-Ford position. While Ford was a bad man, I just can't see how his killing James was anything other than a glorious day for mankind--just as if someone had "murdered" Ted Bundy.

I SHOT JESSE JAMES repeats many of the myths since they abounded even during the time of James' death, but tries to explain Bob Ford's motivations--though I am unsure just how much anyone today can explain this accurately. At least it doesn't try to show the conflict in the usual black & white terms--with the myths of Jesse as the victim and Ford as a coward. Unfortunately, while the film debunks some of the worst myths about James and Ford, it creates some new ones---particularly how Ford died at the end of the film. Like the death of Jesse James, Ford was shot in the back at close range in real life--why they made him die in an "honorable" shoot-out is beyond me. This is specially strange when the film appears to be an attempt to tell Ford's true life story.

The part of Bob Ford was played in I SHOT JESSE JAMES by John Ireland. Ireland was an extremely effective actor in Film Noir pictures of the day and is one of my favorite actors in the genre. Here he's in one of the rare Westerns he made and he did a pretty good job. I couldn't believe that one reviewer admitted that although they didn't know much about Ireland said how much they hated his acting. This seemed like a cheap shot and I wish they'd see some of his other films, such as THE GOOD DIE YOUNG or RAILROADED!.

As for Sam Fuller's direction, this was his first effort and was amazingly effective even if the script was full of holes and clichés. Apparently this was all filmed in only 10 days, but the film appears complete, tight and well thought-out. For a 10 day effort, the film SHOULD suck--which it certainly does not.

My advice is probably not to watch any of the films about Jesse James--after all, he was scum. Plus, until they free these films from all the clichés and rhetoric, I'm inclined to recommend that you instead read a book about him or Bob Ford.

By the way, the famous song about the sad death of James at the hand of Ford that you hear in the film wasn't written until the 1920s, though there were other similar songs and stories written around the time of his death.

(Some Spoilers) Having had his fill of robbing banks and shooting people as a member of the notorious James Gang young Robert Ford, John Ireland, only wants to get himself a piece of land that he can farm and live with his actress/singer girlfriend Cynthy Waters, Barbara Britton.

Having no real money and being always on the run from the law Robert sees that a life with Cynthy is nothing but a pipe dream. In him not being able to care for here as well, in being a wanted man, putting her life, as well as his, in danger. It's when Robert sees an ad in the local papers offering a $10,000.00 reward, as well as total amnesty from the law, in bringing Jesse James, Reed Hadley, to the bar of justice dead or alive that a light bulb suddenly lights up in his head.

Planning to off his boss Jesse James but not really having he heart or guts to do it Robert finally catches Jesse off-guard as he turned his back on him while adjusting a picture in his living-room. Robert's plan works perfectly as he blasts Jesse from behind and thus becoming eligible for the $10,000.00 reward.What the not so on the ball Robert soon finds out in that he gets stiffed by the authorities by getting only $500.00 of the $10,000.00 that he expected due to a slight technicality as well as becoming the most hated man in the west. That's in Robert being the man who shot the great Jesse James in the back! Not in a fair fight where he met the legendary bank robbing gunman face to face in the town square at high noon!

What's worse for Robert is that his perfumed and rosy girlfriend Cynthy dropped him like a bag smelly horse manure when she found out that he murdered Jesse James whom she always thought that he was, by being so close to him, his best friend! And far worse then that is that Cynthy is now in love with John Kelly, Preston Foster, a sneaky sort of guy who was always after her by posing as a talent agent who can open doors, in the theater business, for her.

Of course Robert, in being overly stupid or just plain love-sick, doesn't know that Cynthy dropped until much later in the film. Which leads to a showdown with Kelly in the town square but not at high noon but at sunset where he hopes he's be invisible to the naked, or Kelly's, eye.

With the exception of the beginning and end of "I Shot Jesse James" that rest of the film tries to make Robert Ford into a truly tragic figure who got caught up in him being a member of the James gang who ended up corrupting him. It was that fact that director Samuel Fuller wanted to bring out in the movie in showing the audience that the great Jesse James was nothing but a murderous, some 30 years before the name was even coined, gangster who got just what he deserved! Even if it was a bullet in the back by one of his fellow gang members from a gun that he gave him for birthday present!

*Spoiler/plot- I shot Jessie James, 1949. After a bank robbery goes bad, Jesse James and a wounded Bob Ford hide out and quit for 6 months. Ford is thrilled to learn that his love, Cynthy Waters, is in town acting on stage with a traveling company. She's happy to see him but both realize that with a price on his head. They are unlikely to ever marry so their happiness is in doubt. When the Governor announces an amnesty for any criminal that brings in Jesse James, dead or alive; Ford decides to act and shoots his best friend in the back. He receives a pardon from the Governor but finds that he's become something of a pariah. Ford is being labeled both a traitor and a coward by the public. He goes off to make his fortune in mining but finds that there is nothing he can do to get Cynthy love him again with this curse of his actions.

*Special Stars- John Ireland, Preston Foster, Barbara Britton. DIR: Sam Fuller.

*Theme- Bad people should not be canonized as heroes.

*Trivia/location/goofs- B&W. Directorial debut of Samuel Fuller. The character played by Robin Short, identified in the cast merely as "Troubadour," is obviously based on the real-life traveling musician Billy Gashade, who shortly after Jesse James' death wrote the "Ballad of Jesse James" sung by Short in the film. It's also used as a recurring theme by composer Albert Glasser.

*Emotion- I enjoyed this film for it's realism and honesty. Director Samuel Fuller said that he wanted to make this picture because, unlike many filmmakers in Hollywood, he did not see the real Jesse James as a "folk hero" or someone to be admired. Fuller saw him as a cold-blooded psychopath who shot down women, children, the elderly, the helpless (his gang once stopped a Union hospital train and executed every wounded federal soldier on it) In Fuller's words, Bob Ford "did something that should have been done quite a bit earlier in the life of Jesse Woodson James".

*Based On- A new more honest view of Jesse James.