American Outlaws (2001)

5 Southern friends return home when the war ends 1865. But Yankee soldiers and Pinkerton are busy helping a railroad baron grab land from farmers along the planned railroad west. The 5 friends fight back.

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers:

Roderick Taylor (story), Roderick Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Ali Larter

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Farrell	...	Jesse James
Scott Caan	...	Cole Younger
Ali Larter	...	Zerelda 'Zee' Mimms
Gabriel Macht	...	Frank James
Gregory Smith	...	Jim Younger
Harris Yulin	...	Thaddeus Rains, President Rock Northern Rail Road
Kathy Bates	...	Ma James
Timothy Dalton	...	Allan Pinkerton
Will McCormack	...	Bob Younger
Ronny Cox	...	Doc Mimms, Zee's Dad
Terry O'Quinn	...	Rollin H. Parker - Rains' Gopher
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Comanche Tom
Ty O'Neal	...	Clell Miller
Joe Stevens	...	Loni Packwood
Barry Tubb	...	Captain Malcolm

Storyline

When a Midwest town learns that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge, a group of young ranchers join forces to take back what is rightfully theirs. In the course of their vendetta, they will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West and, as their fame grows, so will the legend of their leader, a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James.

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Plot Keywords:

jesse james | jesse james character | jesse james gang | reference to jesse james | frank james | 

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Taglines:

Bad Is Good Again.

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Genres:

Action | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for western violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the 1850s, Allan Pinkerton met Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in a local Masonic Hall and formed the North-Western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton Agency.

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Goofs

The film's opening battle has the guerrillas defeating a Union force. Just after, they're told by Confederate soldiers that General Lee had surrendered the day prior, thereby making the film's date, April 10, 1865. With the war over, the film's Frank and Younger brothers decide to go home immediately.

However, the real Frank brothers continued their guerrilla activities beyond Lee's surrender. On May 15, 1865, Jesse was shot through his right lung by a Union patrol. Captured and taken to Lexington, Missouri, he swore an oath of loyalty to the United States. Frank James continued his guerrilla activities until he surrendered on July 26, 1865.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cole: Gatling! They got a Gatling gun!
Bob: Goddamn it Cole, this stopped bein' fun about two years ago!

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Alternate Versions

On the American release DVD there are 2 scenes that were cut from the original movie. One is a fight between Jesse and Frank at a bar. The other is Jesse "paying" for a girl for Jim Younger.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (2011)

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Soundtracks

Find My Baby
Performed by Moby
Written by Richard Hall (Moby), Joe Lee and Alan Lomax
Used by permission of Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
obo itself, The Little Idiot Music & Unichappell Music Inc.
Courtesy of V2 Records, Inc./Mute Ltd.

User Reviews

A fun, fantasy, light hearted movie about Jesse James!

You know, it makes me laugh when I read other people's negative reviews on this movie. Yeah, this movie is riddled with historical inaccuracies and all the outlaws are so darn young and good looking, but hey, that's not the point. I don't think this movie was meant to be a serious study about Frank and Jesse James. This movie was made strictly to entertain and to make people laugh.

One already knows from the first five minutes into the movie that this is a comedy/action movie. I enjoyed it for what it was, mindless entertainment! Yeah, Colin Farrell is HOT! As a matter of fact, the rest of the outlaws are all very young and cute. Even if the females audience do not care much for the plot or for the cartoon violence, I'm sure they would get some visceral thrill out of seeing all these good looking young guys together on the screen. The male audience will enjoy the humor and the fight scenes and big explosions and Ali Larter, the pretty blonde actress that plays Zee. Ali Larter reminds me of the models in the old 1970s' shampoo commercials, all shiny blonde hair and big smiles.

This movie was fun to watch from beginning to end. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a fun action comedy.

By the way, now that the DVD is out, I hope everyone catches the deleted scenes from the movie. They are very good. It's a shame these scenes were not included into the movie, they would've showed a little more depth to the characters of Frank and Jesse James.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jesse James

Filming Locations:

Dripping Springs, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,855,475, 19 August 2001

Gross USA:

$13,342,790

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,678,913

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1