The Return of Frank James

The Return of Frank James
The Return of Frank James movie cover
Directed by	Fritz Lang
Written by	Sam Hellman
Produced by	Darryl F. Zanuck Kenneth Macgowan
Starring	Henry Fonda Gene Tierney
Cinematography	George Barnes
Edited by	Walter A. Thompson
Music by	David Buttolph
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	August 16, 1940 (1940-08-16)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Return of Frank James is a 1940 western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film Jesse James. Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Frank James following the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse James at the hands of the Ford brothers. The film is universally considered historically inaccurate, but was a commercial success and is notable as being the first motion picture for the actress Gene Tierney, who plays a reporter for the newspaper The Denver Star.

Plot

After the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse (played in the earlier film by Tyrone Power), Frank James (Henry Fonda) seeks revenge on his killers, Bob and Charlie Ford (John Carradine and Charles Tannen).

Cast

• Henry Fonda as Frank James, aka Ben Woodson
• Gene Tierney as Eleanor Stone
• Jackie Cooper as Clem, aka Tom Grayson
• Henry Hull as Maj. Rufus Cobb
• John Carradine as Bob Ford
• Charles Tannen as Charlie Ford
• J. Edward Bromberg as George Runyan
• Donald Meek as McCoy
• Eddie Collins as Station agent – at Eldora
• George Barbier as Judge
• Russell Hicks as Prosecutor
• Ernest Whitman as Pinky
• Lloyd Corrigan as Randolph Stone
• Victor Kilian as Preacher
• Edward McWade as Colonel Jackson

External links

• The Return of Frank James at the American Film Institute Catalog
• The Return of Frank James at IMDb
• The Return of Frank James at the TCM Movie Database
• The Return of Frank James at AllMovie