The Return of Frank James
Farmer Frank and his ward pursue the Ford brothers, killers of his brother Jesse—the back-shooting Fords.
Director(s)
Fritz Lang
Hal Herman
Aaron Rosenberg
Where to watch
Plex
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Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Henry Hull's "Maj. Cobb" steals this rather unremarkable follow up to the previous year's much superior "Jesse James". This time, surviving brother Frank (Henry Fonda) hears that assassins Bob (John Carradine) and Charlie Ford (Charles Tannen) have been convicted of his brother's murder - but that they have been pardoned. He sets off to avenge this travesty but along the way finds himself and the young "Clem" (Jackie Cooper) involved in a bank robbery that sees his old retainer "Pinky" (Ernest Whitman) set to swing after the watchman is accidentally killed. Determined to avert that he engages "Cobb" as his lawyer and turns himself in. The twenty minutes or so in the courtroom are a bit of an amusing tour-de-force for the old newspaper man; he plays the jury like a fiddle and the judge (George Barbier) seems pretty complicit as railroad man "McCoy" (Donald Meek) finds he has few friends in them thar parts. The ending is a bit weak, indeed the whole thing is rather an unnecessary sequel, but it's still worth it for the entertaining antics of "Maj. Cobb".
Part of the Series
The Return of Frank James FAQs
The directors of The Return of Frank James are Fritz Lang, Hal Herman, and Aaron Rosenberg.
The cast of The Return of Frank James includes George Chandler as Roy, Kermit Maynard as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited), Ernest Whitman as Pinky, Tex Driscoll as Play Spectator (uncredited), Cap Somers as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited), Milton Kibbee as Reporter (uncredited), Russ Powell as Juror (uncredited), Russell Hicks as Prosecutor, Jackie Cooper as Clem, Henry Hull as Major Rufus Cobb, Shep Houghton as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited), John Carradine as Bob Ford, and more.
The duration of The Return of Frank James is 1h 32 mins.
You can watch The Return of Frank James on Plex (Ads) and Plex Channel (Ads). Check this Fanbiz page for the latest platforms.
The Return of Frank James was released on 10 Aug 1940.
The Return of Frank James is listed under Western on Fanbiz.
The Return of Frank James has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 6.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "Henry Hull's "Maj. Cobb" steals this rather unremarkable follow up to the previous year's much superior "Jesse James". This time, surviving brother Frank (Henry Fonda) hears tha..."
