Movie Type: Psychological Western, Outlaw (Gunfighter) Film
Themes: Redemption
Main Cast: Preston S. Foster, Barbara Britton, John Ireland, Reed Hadley, J. Edward Bromberg
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 83 minutes
Plot
This dark, gloomy Western chronicles the shame and self-destruction of Bob Ford, the real-life James Gang member that murdered Jesse James for the reward money. In this fictionalized account, James (Reed Hadley) tends to Ford (John Ireland) after he is wounded during a heist. When Ford's longtime love, Cynthy (Barbara Britton), gains a new admirer, he decides that settling down and buying a farm is the only way to win her for himself. He learns that the governor issued a 10,000-dollar reward and amnesty for Jesse's murder, and, after some deliberation, shoots his savior in the back when the outlaw turns to straighten a painting. Neither the government nor Cynthy takes kindly to his treachery: Ford is jailed, collects only 500 dollars, and is dumped. He is reduced to re-enacting the infamous murder in a stage show, hearing a traveling minstrel sing about his dirty deed, and running from the would-be gunfighters that hope to kill the man who shot Jesse James. The film follows Ford's vain attempts to achieve redemption and win back Cynthia's heart. I Shot Jesse James suffered through several casting related problems. Producer Robert L. Lippert refused to hire Lawrence Tierney, director Fuller's first choice to portray Ford. Barbara Woodell replaced Ann Doran as Jesse James' wife only days before production. Lastly, casting director, Yolanda Molinari's, name was misspelled "Yolondo" in the film's opening credits, making many believe that she was a man. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
Review
The idea for Samuel Fuller's I Shot Jesse James arose from the fledgling writer/director's interest in Cassius' murderous betrayal of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. When producer Robert L. Lippert vetoed the development of a period film about "men in bed sheets" and warned Fuller that he would only be allowed to helm a picture if its costs were low, the director opted for a more recent and lower budget tale of treachery: the shooting death of Jesse James at the hands of fellow gang member, Robert Ford. Based on Homer Croy's short stories and shot in only ten days, the film emerged as a grim, emotional study of disloyalty that thrives on its meager production value. Every "intellectual" postwar Western claims to expose the psychology of its characters. I Shot Jesse James' austerity, spare dialogue, and two-dimensional sets support its refreshing assertion that the standard motivations for betrayal -- greed, jealousy, or love -- are all there is to uncover. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
Frank Hotaling - Art Director, Samuel Fuller - Director, Paul Landres - Editor, Albert Glasser - Composer (Music Score), Ernest W. Miller - Cinematographer, Carl Hittleman - Producer, James S. Redd - Set Designer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, Samuel Fuller - Screenwriter, Homer Croy - Book Author
I Shot Jesse James (1949) is a movie directed by Samuel Fuller about the murder of Jesse James by Robert Ford and Robert Ford's life afterwards. I Shot Jesse James is Samuel Fuller's first movie, and stars Reed Hadley as Jesse James and John Ireland as Bob Ford.
