The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

Kris Kristofferson is Jesse James; Johnny Cash is brother Frank in this film about the last years — not days — of their life.

Their gang has scattered, their thievery has waned and both brothers are hoping to settle down.

But Frank, better educated and war weary, is more willing to spend his day in farm fields cursing his mules than Jesse.

Jesse still got the itch to pull a heist now and then to improve his cash flow.

Sometimes, he’s even successful in getting Frank to ride along.

That’s the case when they have a chance to rob a train and strike back at a conductor who’s been promoted because of his role in the raid on the James’ home years earlier.

That would be the same raid that cost their mother her arm.

The robbery is a moderate financial success; the conductor is killed by the brothers.

But it’s also the incident that changes authorities’ approach to capturing the James’ brother.

Rather than trying to ambush the James Gang only to have a sympathizer tip them off, they raise the reward to the point where colleagues might be tempted to turn against the brothers.

It’s enough to entice the Ford brothers — Bob and Charles — to cooperate.

Review:

Not a Western you’re likely to watch more than once, but not as bad as you’d expect considering most of the cast is better known for singing than acting.

In terms of acting, Kris Kristofferson comes off as more believable than Frank. Both fair better than David Alan Coe, who plays a former member of their gang, and June Carter Cash, Johnny’s wife, who plays his mother in this film.

As for Willie Nelson? He shows up in just one scene, as former Confederate Gen. Selby, testifying on Frank’s behalf at a trial where he’s found not guilty of killing the train conductor.

Marcia Cross, who’d achieve stardom in the TV series “Melrose Place” and “Desperate Housewives,” is the top-billed female. As Sarah Hite, she’s married to an uncle of the James brothers. And she can’t wait to bed Jesse so she can say she slept with the most wanted man in America.

The best scene involves none of the above. It comes when Dick Liddell is wounded by the step-son of a woman with whom he’s sleeping. The stepson is promptly gunned down by Bob Ford in an incident that causes him to turn against Jesse in an attempt at self-preservation.

The silliest scene? Ann, Frank’s wife, teaching him a new hymn. And complimenting Johnny Cash when he sings it relatively well.

Directed by:
William A. Graham

Cast:
Johnny Cash … Frank James
Kris Kristofferson … Jesse James
Marcia Cross … Sarah Hite
Gail Young … Anna
David Allan Coe … Whiskeyhead Ryan
Andy Stahl … Dick Liddel
June Carter Cash … Mother James
Meg Gibson … Zee
Darrell Wilks … Bob Ford
Willie Nelson … Gen. Shelby
Cherie Elledge-Grapes … Martha Bolton

Runtime: 120 min.

Memorable lines:

Frank James: “I don’t like you mules. You’re not worth the salt in your hay.”

Frank James, when two new acquaintances talk about his Civil War heroism: “The further away that war gets, the more glorious it looks to people.”

Jesse James to a bank clerk: “If you tell me there’s a time lock on that safe, they’re going to be mopping up your brains for a week.”

Frank James: “Revenge has lost its taste. And there’s no bottom to it.”

Gail Young as Anna, Frank James’ wife, hoping to settle down to a quiet life, in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

Marcia Cross as Sarah Hite, meeting the James brothers for the first time in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

June Carter Cash as Mother James, defiant after the lose of an arm in a Pinkerton raid in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

John Ramsey as Jake Igelhart, the businessman who dubs Jesse ‘rabbit man,’ not knowing his true identity in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

Cheri Elledge-Grapes, the woman who suggests the Fords cooperate with authorities to cover up a killing in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

Johnny Cash as Frank James with wife Anna (Gail Young) in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)