For Alias Jesse James (1959), his third venture into Western spoofery after The Paleface (1948), and Son of Paleface (1952), Bob Hope got extra mileage by casting a dozen or so of the most popular TV Western stars of the day in unbilled cameo appearances as the characters from their shows. Among them were James Arness (Gunsmoke), Ward Bond (Wagon Train), Gail Davis (Annie Oakley), Hugh O'Brien (Wyatt Earp), Fess Parker (Davy Crockett), Jay Silverheels (as Tonto in The Lone Ranger), as well as character actors who regularly appeared in cowboy and/or Indian supporting roles on both big and small screens. Various sources also list Gene Autry and James Garner (then the star of Maverick) as appearing in the movie, although neither shows up in most prints in circulation now. There were also cameos by Gary Cooper and the inevitable Bing Crosby as themselves.

Although his show was not on the air at the time Alias Jesse James was released, Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger also pop up in the movie. Rogers was not only one of the most popular Western heroes of all time, but he had also played an important role alongside Hope in Son of Paleface. In fact, that had been his last movie role before devoting himself exclusively to his television career. The Roy Rogers Show ran from 1951 to 1957. He and his wife, Dale Evans, also returned briefly as co-hosts of The Roy Rogers Show, a Western-themed variety show in 1961-62. Roy made only one more feature film after Alias Jesse James, the contemporary Western Mackintosh and T.J. (1975).

In Alias Jesse James, Hope (who was also the executive producer) plays bumbling insurance agent Milford Farnsworth, who is sent to buy back a policy from high-risk client Jesse James. This inspires a scheme on James's part to have Farnsworth mistaken for him and killed so that the real Jesse can collect the insurance settlement. It's the usual Hope set-up of cowardly "hero" bumbling his way through a number of perils and into the arms of a beautiful woman, in this case Rhonda Fleming. As usual, it was a winning formula for his audiences.

The outlaw is played by veteran actor Wendell Corey, who had done solid work in almost every genre, including a turn as Jesse's brother Frank in The Great Missouri Raid (1951). Audiences will recognize him as James Stewart's detective pal in Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). His last screen appearance was in a fairly obscure Western, Buckskin (1968).

The filming of Alias Jesse James wasn't necessarily the easiest or most pleasant for Hope. While working on it, he had to put one of his companies, Hope Metal Products of Cleveland, into bankruptcy after entrusting its management to his older brother Ivor. Not only was it a significant financial loss for the money-conscious star but also strained his family relationships. In his mid-50s at this point, Hope also experienced some physical difficulties. The final scene to be filmed was a shot that required him to run on a treadmill in front of a rear projection. He suddenly passed out and had to be taken to the emergency room. He recovered after a period of rest, but co-star Jim Davis (he later gained fame as patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas), noted that the relentlessly perfectionist Hope was pushing himself too hard throughout the production, doing too much strenuous activity for his age.

Helmed by veteran comedy director Norman Z. McLeod, who had directed three previous Hope pictures, Alias Jesse James features some funny cartoon-inspired sight gags. There is a scene in which Hope takes a shot of liquor that causes his hat to puff up and smoke to come out of his ears. The effect was achieved by running tubes up his back and into his hat releasing air into the costume prop and shooting streams of incense from just behind his ears.

Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Producers: Bob Hope, Jack Hope
Screenplay: William Bowers and Daniel B. Beauchamps, story by Robert St. Aubrey and Bert Lawrence
Cinematography: Lionel Lindon
Editing: Jack Bachom, Marvin Coil
Production Design: Roland Anderson, Hal Pereira
Original Music: William D. Dunham
Cast: Bob Hope (Milford Farnsworth), Rhonda Fleming (Cora Lee Collins), Wendell Corey (Jesse James), Gloria Talbott (Princess Irawanie), Jim Davis (Frank James).
C-92m.

by Rob Nixon