Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The True Story of Jesse James

  • 19571957
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
55,621
35,730
Jeffrey Hunter, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Wagner, and Hope Lange in The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
Biopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
37 Photos
BiographyCrimeWestern
Biopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.Biopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.Biopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
55,621
35,730
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Nicholas Ray
    • Writers
      • Walter Newman(screenplay)
      • Nunnally Johnson(earlier screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Robert Wagner
      • Jeffrey Hunter
      • Hope Lange
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Nicholas Ray
    • Writers
      • Walter Newman(screenplay)
      • Nunnally Johnson(earlier screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Robert Wagner
      • Jeffrey Hunter
      • Hope Lange
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 25User reviews
    • 25Critic reviews

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:12
    Trailer

    Photos37

    Jeffrey Hunter in The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    Robert Wagner in The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    The True Story of Jesse James (1957)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Wagner
    Robert Wagner
    • Jesse James
    Jeffrey Hunter
    Jeffrey Hunter
    • Frank James
    Hope Lange
    Hope Lange
    • Zee James
    Agnes Moorehead
    Agnes Moorehead
    • Mrs. Samuel
    Alan Hale Jr.
    Alan Hale Jr.
    • Cole Younger
    • (as Alan Hale)
    Alan Baxter
    Alan Baxter
    • Barney Remington
    John Carradine
    John Carradine
    • Rev. Jethro Bailey
    Rachel Stephens
    • Anne James
    Barney Phillips
    Barney Phillips
    • Dr. Samuel
    Biff Elliot
    Biff Elliot
    • Jim Younger
    Frank Overton
    Frank Overton
    • Maj. Rufus Cobb
    Barry Atwater
    Barry Atwater
    • Attorney Walker
    Marian Seldes
    Marian Seldes
    • Rowena Cobb
    Chubby Johnson
    Chubby Johnson
    • Arkew
    Frank Gorshin
    Frank Gorshin
    • Charley Ford
    Carl Thayler
    • Robby Ford
    John Doucette
    John Doucette
    • Sheriff Hillstrom
    Robert Adler
    Robert Adler
    • Sheriff Trump
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Nicholas Ray
    • Writers
      • Walter Newman(screenplay)
      • Nunnally Johnson(earlier screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Bitter Victory
    6.7
    Bitter Victory
    Run for Cover
    6.7
    Run for Cover
    Born to Be Bad
    6.7
    Born to Be Bad
    The Lusty Men
    7.4
    The Lusty Men
    Party Girl
    7.0
    Party Girl
    Wind Across the Everglades
    6.6
    Wind Across the Everglades
    Bigger Than Life
    7.5
    Bigger Than Life
    Hot Blood
    5.6
    Hot Blood
    The Savage Innocents
    6.8
    The Savage Innocents
    We Can't Go Home Again
    6.1
    We Can't Go Home Again
    On Dangerous Ground
    7.2
    On Dangerous Ground
    Duel in the Sun
    6.8
    Duel in the Sun

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Footage from the original 1939 production was used when Frank and Jesse go over a cliff on horseback into a river and when they crashed, on horseback, through a store window during the "Northfield Minnesota Raid."
    • Goofs
      Modern buildings are visible in the background during the Northfield, Minnesota robbery.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Samuel: Jesse... They drove my son to it. The Yankees drove him to it. He's a good boy. You're his wife, Zee, you know how kind he is.

      Zee James: Try and sleep, Mother Samuel.

      Mrs. Samuel: You know, once, he brought home a bird that had fallen from its nest. His father was alive then, and little Jesse wouldn't be comforted until Reverend James gave the little bird a funeral service. Jesse always was a gentle boy.

    • Alternate versions
      All UK versions are cut by 9 secs to remove stock footage of the same fatal cliff-top jump that resulted in the death of a horse in the 1939 Jesse James (1939).
    • Connections
      Featured in Big Sky: Huckleberry (2021)

    User reviews25

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Invested With Less Glamour
    About the only thing I can say about The True Story Of Jesse James is that it's invested with a little less star glamor than the 1939 version with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda as the James Brothers. Here Jesse and Frank are played by Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter with a bit more of a realistic style rather than it being substantially true.

    Otherwise a lot of the same ground covered in flashbacks rather than a straight narrative is used. In fact Nunnally Johnson who wrote the 1939 screenplay for 20th Century Fox is given a screen credit here. The same theme is used here, Jesse might have turned outlaw for good and sufficient reason, but was getting a real taste for it by the time the Ford Brothers did him in.

    There is a harbinger of the Oscar nominated performance that Casey Affleck gave a few years ago in the most recent Jesse James film in Carl Thayler's brief appearance as Bob Ford. Thayler hints at what Affleck spent a whole film doing, showing that Ford was a mixed up kid who thought he would gain public approval shooting down a notorious outlaw. However a sadly neglected Jesse James film was done in the Nineties by Rob Lowe as Jesse.

    For better or worse many consider Jesse James as the last Confederate out there when he died in 1881. He certainly was a hero to many of the defeated Confederates doing what he did to the banks and railroads who were controlling a lot of the agrarian south and west.

    Not true, but The True Story Of Jesse James is a passable retelling of the events that made him the legend he became.
    helpful•2
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Nov 27, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 1957 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Jesse James
    • Filming locations
      • 20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,585,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Jeffrey Hunter, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Wagner, and Hope Lange in The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The True Story of Jesse James (1957) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in August
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.