Feared Rebel raiders during the Civil War, Frank James (Wendell Corey) and Jesse James (Macdonald Carey) hear about an offer of amnesty when it ends.
Frank goes to meet with Union Maj. Marshal Towbridge to find out if the offer includes he and his men. It does indeed, Towbridge assures him.
In truth, Towbridge hopes to lure Frank, Jesse and their comrades into a trap in order to avenge his brother, who died in a run-in with the James boys.
Treated like outlaws by the likes of Towbridge and Yankee carpetbaggers, Frank and Jesse decide to act like outlaws.
They set about robbing banks and trains with the help of the Youngers and other holdovers from their days as Southern soldiers.
One thing hasn’t changed. Towbridge, now out of the Army and head of his own detective agency, is as determined as ever to bring them to justice.
When their not getting even with Northern carpetbaggers, Frank and Jesse have find to find romance, marrying Bee Moore (Ellen Drew) and Mary Bauer (Lois Chartrand), respectively.
Macdonald Carey as Jesse James in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Wendell Corey as Frank James, hearing about the capture of the Younger brothers in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Rousing action scenes and beautiful color cinematography are the highlights in this version of the oft-told tale.
Frank gets top billing this time around as the James boys are depicted as well-meaning young men forced into a life on the wrong side of the law.
This one won’t get high marks for accuracy. The Younger brothers meet thier fate after a botched train robbery, not trying to rob a bank in Northfield, Minn.
And, for some reason, filmmakers changed the name of Jesse’s wife from Zee to Bee.
Anne Revere, 1944 Oscar winner for her role as Elizabeth Taylor’s mother in “National Velvet,” plays the mother of Frank and Jesse.
A descendent of Paul Revere, it would mark her last major role before being blacklisted for allegedly being a member of the Communist Party.
Ward Bond as Maj. Marshal Towbridge, determined to find the James boys in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Anne Revere as Mrs. Samuels, trying to keep her sons safe in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Directed by:
Gordon Douglas
Cast:
Wendell Corey … Frank James
Macdonald Carey … Jesse James
Ellen Drew … Bee Moore
Ward Bond … Maj. Marshal Towbridge
Bruce Bennett … Cole Younger
Bill Williams … Jim Younger
Anne Revere … Mrs. Samuels
Edgar Buchanan … Dr. Samuels
Lois Chartrand … Mary Bauer
Louis Jean Heydt … Charles Ford
Barry Kelley … Mr. Bauer
James Millican … Sgt. Trowbridge
Paul Lees … Bob Younger
Guy Wilkerson … Clell Miller
Ethan Laidlaw … Jim Cummings
Tom Tyler … Allen Parmer
Steve Pendleton … Arch Clements
Robert Bray … Charlie Pitts
Paul Fix … Sgt. Brill
James Griffith … Jack Ladd
Robert Osterloh … August
Alan Wells … Dick Liddil
Whit Bissell … Bob Ford
John Parrish … Sheriff
Runtime: 84 min.
Ellen Drew as Bee Moore, the woman who marries Jesse in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Lois Chartrand as Mary Bauer, the girl who falls for Frank in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Memorable lines:
Cole Younger, about being on the run from the law: “I don’t like it any better than you, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We lost the war. We’re outlaws.”
Jim Younger: “If we’re outlaws, let’s get something for it.”
Maj. Towbridge: “Frank and Jesse James shot down my brother in cold blood. My own brother. And I intend to devote every waking minute of my life to getting those two and their whole gang.”
Jesse James to the Fords: “Boys, I’ve made up my mind. I’m through. I’m going to Europe. You’ll never hear of Jesse James again. He’s gone, disappeared, finished.”
Bruce Bennett as Cole Younger as the posse draws closer in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
James Griffith as Jack Ladd, suspected of providing information on the James boys’ whereabouts in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Alan Wells as Dick Liddil, worried about his safety after killing one of Jesse’s friends in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Whit Bissell as Bob Ford with brother Charles (Louis Jean Heydt) in The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
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