The Return of Frank James

"Encore triumph from 20th Century-Fox."

1940 1h 32m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 147

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.

“Encore triumph from 20th Century-Fox.”

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Cast

Henry Fonda
Frank James
Jackie Cooper
Clem
Gene Tierney
Eleanor Stone
Henry Hull
Major Rufus Cobb
John Carradine
Bob Ford
J. Edward Bromberg
George Runyan
Donald Meek
McCoy
Eddie Collins
Station Agent

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Sam Hellman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "James Brothers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by George Barnes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Henry Fonda and Jackie Cooper and Gene Tierney carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Encore triumph from 20th Century-Fox.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0032983 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. George Barnes behind the camera. Walter Thompson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "James Brothers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by George Barnes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Henry Fonda and Jackie Cooper and Gene Tierney carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Encore triumph from 20th Century-Fox.".
7IMDB entry: tt0032983 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: George Barnes
Editing: Walter Thompson
Costume design: Travis Banton
Makeup / hair: Louis Hippe
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Return of Frank James (1940)

Part of

James Brothers Collection

Film series about the James brothers

Also by

Fritz Lang

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-04
★ 6/10
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".

Production companies