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IMDb > I Shot Jesse James (1949)

I Shot Jesse James (1949) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   544 votes
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Down 63% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Samuel Fuller
Writers:
Samuel Fuller (story)
Homer Croy (article)
Contact:
View company contact information for I Shot Jesse James on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 February 1949 (USA) more
Tagline:
THE THRILLING AND COLORFUL LAST DAYS OF AMERICA'S MOST FABULOUS OUTLAW...POWERFULLY WRITTEN IN GUNSMOKE! (original print ad - all caps) more
Plot:
Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Hard to get too enthusiastic after seeing The Assassination of Jesse James more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Preston Foster ... John Kelley
Barbara Britton ... Cynthy Waters
John Ireland ... Bob Ford
Reed Hadley ... Jesse James
J. Edward Bromberg ... Harry Kane
Victor Kilian ... Soapy
Tom Tyler ... Frank James
Tommy Noonan ... Charles Ford (as Tom Noonan)
Eddie Dunn ... Joe, Silver King Bartender

Margia Dean ... Saloon Singer
Byron Foulger ... Silver King Room Clerk
Jeni Le Gon ... Veronica, Cynthy's Maid
Barbara Woodell ... Mrs. Zee James (as Barbara Wooddell)
Phillip Pine ... Man in Saloon (as Phil Pine)
Robin Short ... Troubadour
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Additional Details

Runtime:
81 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
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) and, in Fuller's words, Bob Ford "did something that should have been done quite a bit earlier in the life of Jesse Woodson James". more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the final shootout the background lighting on the closeups and master shots of John Ireland do not match. more
Quotes:
John Kelley: Miss Waters, don't be worried about me losing any money in your show. I don't have any, but I'd still like to talk to you again. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Best of Sex and Violence (1981) more
Soundtrack:
The Jesse James Song more

FAQ

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3 out of 11 people found the following comment useful:-
Hard to get too enthusiastic after seeing The Assassination of Jesse James, 22 October 2007
6/10
Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

Six days after seeing Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, it's still the film at the forefront of my mind. I saw this as a followup to that. Like most Hollywood films of the era (and most of today), I Shot Jesse James plays fast and loose with the facts. In this film, Ford (John Ireland) shoots James for the reward money so he can marry his sweetheart (Barbara Britton). Unfortunately, that cowardly act turns her off of him, and she gravitates toward a man named John Kelley (Preston Foster). Kelley is a fictionalized version of Ed O'Kelley, the man who ultimately shot Robert Ford for nothing more than fame. It's pretty hilarious that he's more or less made into the hero of this picture. Jesse James is ludicrously depicted as an avuncular Abe Lincoln figure. Besides all of this hoo-ha, Sam Fuller, whose debut this was, does a decent job characterizing Ford. Too bad Ireland, an actor I immediately recognized but couldn't say for the life of me where I know him from (I looked it up – he also played the reporter, and pretty much the lead character, in the Best Picture of that year, All the King's Men), is a pretty boring actor. I usually associate Fuller with fast pacing and good plotting, but this one plods along lamely with its romantic triangle melodrama. It does have a couple of good scenes, though, like one where a goofy looking teen (Gene Collins) tries to assassinate Ford, and another where Ford encounters a folk singer performing the Jesse James ballad, a scene which is echoed in Dominik's film.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Actors who played both JAMES BROTHERS. ram-30
Good casting of John Ireland as Bob Ford. richsass
Is this ever going to be released on DVD? gladyoureherewithme
Eclipse Series 5: The Films of Samuel Fuller SamSanch3z
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