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• A "Fun' Movie for the Time

  • Nick Borders
  • 9/9/11

  I truly enjoyed this movie. There are many scenes that taken by themselves could have been shot in the mid-50s. To think this movie came out in the 40's makes me feel it was ahead of it's time. The acting by Fonda and Cooper are perfect for this light-hearted action movie. The comic moments don't take away from the story and the action may have a PETA member cringe (amazing horse falls). This is no Oscar award winner and I'm not much of a western movie super-fan (I like them as much as many other genres). However, I could see myself at age 13 in 1940 seeing this matinee every day over and over again. ~n

• The Return of Frank James (1940)

  • Jay
  • 3/12/09

  Quite an excellent western, very ably directed by Fritz Lang and has an excellent cast. Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney are well cast. Fine production values. Top notch in all ways.

• Underrated Western

  • Darren McFadden
  • 2/14/06

  A rare sequel that is better than the original. In this movie, Frank James (Henry Fonda) tries to live down his outlaw past, but he cannot escape who he is. He tries farming, but that doesn't work. He moves away, but his ghosts keep following him. Finally he has a showdown with the Ford Brothers, the men who killed his brother Jesse at the end of the original, "Jesse James." Along the way, he is befriended by a teenage Jackie Cooper (in one of his few roles between his Little Rascal days and his Superman days). Toward the end of the movie, he is brought to trial by the railroad company he and his brother fought so hard against in their outlaw days. The courtroom scene is one of the funniest scenes in any movie at any time. It's a real shame this movie isn't available on DVD. It's an overlooked classic.

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