{"id":4696,"date":"2007-11-07T14:49:54","date_gmt":"2007-11-07T21:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4696"},"modified":"2020-12-26T01:10:06","modified_gmt":"2020-12-26T08:10:06","slug":"return-of-frank-james-the-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4696","title":{"rendered":"Return of Frank James, The (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Jesse&#8217;s gone, that&#8217;s true, and maybe Frank&#8217;s gone too &#8212; and then again, maybe he ain&#8217;t. The boy&#8217;s always had a mighty peculiar way of turning up just when you least expect him.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Return-of-Frank-James-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Return-of-Frank-James-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Return-of-Frank-James-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Return-of-Frank-James-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Return-of-Frank-James-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen his brother Jesse is shot in the back by former accomplice Bob Ford (John Carradine), Frank James (Henry Fonda) and his spirited young ward (Jackie Cooper) set out to seek revenge.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Courtroom Drama<\/li>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Lang Films<\/li>\n<li>Gene Tierney Films<\/li>\n<li>Henry Fonda Films<\/li>\n<li>John Carradine Films<\/li>\n<li>Outlaws<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nFritz Lang&#8217;s first western was this &#8220;satisfying sequel&#8221; to <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=49156\"><em>Jesse James<\/em> (1939)<\/a>, with several actors &#8212; including Henry Fonda, John Carradine, Slim Summerville, Henry Hull, Donald Meek, and J. Edward Bromberg &#8212; reprising their original roles. While it&#8217;s difficult to see much evidence of Lang&#8217;s signature style in this film, Peary points out that the story represents Lang&#8217;s interest in depicting &#8220;individuals&#8230; at the mercy of groups of people&#8221;. Henry Fonda gives a typically subdued performance as James, erupting into action at just the right moments, while Gene Tierney (in her screen debut) is fine but somewhat annoying as a plucky female reporter who falls for James. The story (probably not based on historical fact!) rarely flags, and the outcome &#8212; will James successfully avenge his brother, and if so, at what cost? &#8212; remains a suspenseful mystery until the very end. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Henry Fonda as Frank James<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-fonda.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-fonda.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4693\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The exciting rocky shootout between Frank and Charlie Ford (Charles Tannen)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-shootout.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-shootout.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4694\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Clem (Jackie Cooper) telling a tale tale to Tierney about how Frank died nobly in Mexico<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-story.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-story.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4695\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Frank watching a melodrama in which the Fords play nobler versions of themselves (as Peary notes, this is &#8220;a great scene&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-play.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-play.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4697\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>J. Edward Bromberg as George Runyan<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-bromberg.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/rofj-bromberg.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4698\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sam Hellman&#8217;s smart, often witty script<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0032983\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9805EEDE1638E532A25753C1A96E9C946193D6CF\">NY Times Original Review (scroll down to second review; spoilers alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/returnfj.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-return-of-frank-james\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Jesse&#8217;s gone, that&#8217;s true, and maybe Frank&#8217;s gone too &#8212; and then again, maybe he ain&#8217;t. The boy&#8217;s always had a mighty peculiar way of turning up just when you least expect him.&#8221; Synopsis: When his brother Jesse is shot in the back by former accomplice Bob Ford (John Carradine), Frank James (Henry Fonda) and his spirited young ward (Jackie Cooper) set out to seek revenge. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Courtroom Drama Falsely Accused Fritz Lang Films Gene Tierney&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4696\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4696"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59640,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4696\/revisions\/59640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}