Rod Lowe is Jesse James and Bill Paxton is Frank in this telling of the story of the notorious brothers.
After the Civil War, they take an oath of allegiance to the union and return to Missouri, where they work the family farm for four years.
But one day, a mysterious stranger arrives, saying he was sent by the Rock Central Railroad of Chicago to “purify” the land, which he offers to buy for $1 per acre.
By the time he rides away, their mother has been seriously wounded in an explosion of their home, her husband is dead and so is Jesse and Frank’s teenage half-brother.
Vowing vengeance, Jesse follows the man responsible to the nearby town and guns him down. When soldiers show up, Frank comes to the rescue.
So starts the brothers’ new life as outlaws, one heralded by the newspapers, one applauded by southern neighbors weary of northern oppression.
But their success is embarrassing to law enforcement. And one man, Alan Pinkerton, is determined to bring the James brothers to justice, by any means possible.
Rob Lowe as Jesse James, looking for a measure of vengeance in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Bill Paxton as Frank James, coming to Jesse’s rescue in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Review:
Not a bad film, but far from the best that’s based on the tale of the infamous James boys.
Jesse’s character flaws aside, they’re pretty much portrayed as heroes here, with Pinkerton playing the film’s main villain.
If the film has a focus, it’s the relationship between the brothers. Frank constantly frets about Jesse’s tendency toward violence. And he blames himself for not shielding Jesse from more during the war, especially the raid on Lawrence, Kansas.
Don’t use the film as a history lesson. Key details of the James brothers’ story are changed. Sometimes that’s refreshing. At one point, Jesse’s wife Zee shoots a man to help him evade capture.
At other times, like in the scene depicting Jesse’s death, the changes are jarring.
Meanwhile, the action scenes play like something out of a video game, with body counts rapidly rising as the dead and wounded plunge their bodies through any window or door within reaching distance.
And during the attempted robbery of the bank in Northfield, Minn., Cole Younger blasts his way through huge chunks of ice to escape pursuing lawmen. Oh, my.
For better film versions of this story, check out “American Outlaws” (2000) or The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007).
Randy Travis as Cole Younger, coming face to face with Alan Pinkerton in Frank and Jesse (1994)
William Atherton as Allen Pinkerton, determined to bring the James gang to justice in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Directed by:
Robert Boris
Cast:
Rob Lowe … Jesse James
Bill Paxton … Frank James
Randy Travis … Cole Younger
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson … Annie
Maria Pitillo … Zee
Luke Askew … Lone rider
Sean Patrick Flannery … Zack Murphy
Alexis Arquette … Charlie Ford
Todd Field … Bob Younger
John Pyper Ferguson … Clell Miller
Nicholas Sadler … Arch Clements
William Atherton … Allen Pinkerton
Mary Neff … Widow Miller
Tom Chick … Detective Whitcher
Richard Maynard … John Sheets
Jim Flowers … Bob Ford
Runtime: 105 min.
Nicholas Sadler as Arch Clements, a member of the James gang in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Todd Field as Bob Younger, posing as a ticket taker during a train holdup in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Memorable lines:
Frank James, when Jesse shoots John Sheets: “God dammit, Jess, I said no bloodshed. You gave me your word.”
Jesse James: “He was provokin’ me.”
Cole Younger to Jesse James: “I know I can kill you. I’m just not sure you’d stay dead.”
Jesse James: “You like huntin’ people down, don’t ya?”
Allen Pinkerton: “I consider it a noble profession. Especially when I meet people like you.”
Jesse James: “You scared?”
Frank James: “Yeah. Scared of what’s become of you.”
Clell Miller, as Jesse proposed the Northfield, Minn., bank robbery: “Maybe our luck has run out on us.”
Jesse James: “I make my own damn luck.”
Cole Younger: “Do we have to die to prove that?”
Maria Pitillo as Zee, protecting her husband Jesse from captive and possible death in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Annie, the woman who winds up falling for Frank James in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Richard Maynard as John Sheets, bragging about his role in Bill Anderson’s death during the Civil War in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Luke Askew as the mysterious lone rider for the Rock Central Railroad in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Jim Flowers as Bob Ford and Alexis Arquette as Charlie Ford, going down in history in Frank and Jesse (1994)
Rob Lowe as Jesse James and Bill Paxton as Frank, looking for a way out of a jam in Frank and Jesse (1994)
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