Fritz Lang directed The Return of Frank James, a fictionalized biopic, starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney in her feature debut.
It is a sequel to Henry King’s 1939 film Jesse James, which starred Tyrone Power.
After the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse (played by Tyrone Power), Frank James (Henry Fonda) seeks revenge on his killers, Bob and Charlie Ford (John Carradine and Charles Tannen).
Gene Tierney, who plays a reporter for the newspaper The Denver Star, would become Fox’s major female star for the next decade or so.
Cast
Henry Fonda as Frank James
Gene Tierney as Eleanor Stone
Jackie Cooper as Clem
Henry Hull as Major Rufus Cobb
John Carradine as Bob Ford
J. Edward Bromberg as George Runyan
Donald Meek as McCoy
Eddie Collins as Station Agent
George Barbier as Judge
Russell Hicks as Prosecutor
Ernest Whitman as Pinky
Charles Tannen as Charlie Ford
Lloyd Corrigan as Randolph Stone
Victor Kilian as Preacher
Edward McWade as Colonel Jackson
George Chandler as Roy
Irving Bacon as Bystander
Frank Shannon as Sheriff
Barbara Pepper as Nellie Blane
Louie Mason as Watchman
Stymie Beard as Mose
William Pawley and Frank Sully as Actors
Davidson Clark as Officer