I Shot Jesse James

Next up in the Western Noir series is I Shot Jesse James, Samuel Fuller's directorial debut from 1949. It is, of course, the story of how Robert Ford killed Jesse James and then became a pariah because of it.

This film felt half-finished to me. Historically, it hits the basics right: Ford was part of James' gang and the notorious outlaw trusted him completely. But a promise of a reward and amnesty spurred Ford to shoot his friend, from behind, while James was dusting a picture. He became instantly hated, and ended up in a Colorado town during a silver strike.

What is added to the film is a love triangle. Preston Foster plays a prospector named Kelly, who becomes enamored of an actress (Barbara Britton). But she is Ford's girl. He kills James so he can marry her, but she's horrified by what he has done. She ends up falling in love with Foster, and the two men have it out at the end. In reality, Ford was killed by a man named Kelly, but there was no woman involved, and Ford lived for ten years after killing James.

What makes this film strange, beside it not being very deep (certainly not like a subsequent film, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt as James and Casey Affleck as Ford) is an odd performance by John Ireland as Ford. He kind of sleepwalks through the role, which I imagine was intentional, playing him as almost slow-witted. An interesting scene has him in a bar when a strolling balladeer comes by. Ford buys him a drink, and the man sings a song about how the coward Robert Ford laid Jesse James in his grave. When the man realizes who he's singing to, he is afraid for his life, but Ireland just listens.

So I Shot Jesse James is unsatisfying, but it does have noirish lighting--there are no vistas on display, with most scenes set indoors. If you're looking fora film about this event, go with the Brad Pitt version.