Days of Jesse James (1939)

Bank robbery pulled off by the bank officials, not the usual James gang.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Earle Snell (screen play), Jack Natteford (original story)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Don 'Red' Barry

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Gabby Whittaker
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Jesse James (as Donald Barry)
Pauline Moore	...	Mary Whittaker
Harry Woods	...	Captain Worthington
Arthur Loft	...	Sam Wyatt
Wade Boteler	...	Dr. R.S. Samuels
Ethel Wales	...	Mrs. Martha Samuels
Scotty Beckett	...	Buster Samuels
Harry Worth	...	Frank James (as Michael Worth)
Glenn Strange	...	Cole Younger
Olin Howland	...	Muncie Undersheriff
Monte Blue	...	Train Passenger
Jack Rockwell	...	Thompson McDaniels
Fred Burns	...	Muncie Sheriff

Storyline

Roy Rogers has been sent to bring in Jesse James. After Wyatt's bank is robbed and Jesse is blamed, Roy is able to work himself into Jesse's gang. Learning that Jesse does not have the banks money, Roy realizes Wyatt robbed his own bank posing as Jesse. Roy now sets a trap for Wyatt that he hopes will recover the money.

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Taglines:

MASKED TERRORS (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Lyric Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - Dec. 29, 1939 - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Among the many westerns that can be watched for free on "Classic Cowboys" through Roku and other streaming services.

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Quotes

Gabby Whittaker: Let me tell you something, young fella. Never have nothing to do with no banks. If you got any money to protect, get yourself a good dog... like Whiskers here. It'd be a whole lot safer with him.

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Connections

Featured in Cowboy Legends: 50 Movie MegaPack (2016)

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Soundtracks

I'm a Son of a Cowboy
(1939) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Peter Tinturin
Sung by Roy Rogers

User Reviews

The Notorious Jesse James

Days of Jesse James finds Roy Rogers as a peace officer on the trail of the selfsame outlaw who's getting accused of a lot of things due to his notoriety.

In fact that's what's happened here. A banker and his son decide to ripoff their own bank and their depositors and pin the crime on the notorious Jesse James. Roy's also in competition with railroad detective Harry Woods who is after the James gang.

Woods is rarely on the side of the law in westerns and he's barely on the side of it here. With his character and with Jesse who is played by another of Herbert J. Yates's cowboy stars at Republic, Don Barry, the film this most resembles is 20th Century Fox's epic western Jesse James which came out the same year.

Roy's limited to only one song here and there's more emphasis on plot than you'll find it most B westerns. Actually the film bares more of a resemblance to a Randolph Scott product than a Roy Rogers western and that's to its credit.

Still the legion of fans for The King of the Cowboys will love it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Days of Jesse James

Filming Locations:

Mentryville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min (original) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA "High Fidelity" Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1