Jesse James (1927 film)

Jesse James
Lobby poster
Directed by	Lloyd Ingraham
Written by	Frances Marion (story & scenario) (as Frank M. Clifton)
Produced by	Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky
Starring	Fred Thomson
Cinematography	Allen Siegler
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	October 15, 1927 (1927-10-15) [1]
Running time	80 minutes; 8 reels (8,656 feet)
Country	United States
Languages	Silent English intertitles
Box office	$1.2 million [2]

Jesse James is a 1927 American silent Western film produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starred cowboy star Fred Thomson whose wife Frances Marion wrote the scenario under the nom de plume Frank M. Clifton.

The film was a light approach on the life of the famous outlaw Jesse James and was not popular with a large segment of the audience. Jesse E. James, the outlaw's son, served as technical advisor on the film.

Cast

• Fred Thomson as Jesse James
• Nora Lane as Zerelda Mimms
• Montagu Love as Frederick Mimms
• Mary Carr as Mrs. Zerelda Samuels
• James Pierce as Frank James
• Harry Woods as Bob Ford
• William Courtright as Parson Bill
• Silver King the Horse as Fred Thomson's steed
• Ruby Fornes (uncredited)
• Johnny Downs as Jesse James as a boy (uncredited)

Censorship

When Jesse James was released, many states and cities in the United States had censor boards that could require cuts or other eliminations before the film could be shown. The Kansas censor board ordered a cut of the intertitle "If this is justice durned if I'll be a preacher any longer." ^[3]

Preservation

Both IMDB and Lost Film Files have this film as being a lost film while silentera.com states that "a print exists". ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

References

1. "Jesse James". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
2. Karen R. Jones, American West: Competing Visions, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp. 250-251
3. "Eliminations Ordered in 1928 by Kansas Censor Board with Woman Members". Variety . 94 (6). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 5 February 20, 1929. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
4. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 (The American Film Institute, 1971)
5. Progressive Silent Film List: Jesse James at silentera.com
6. Jesse James at Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files: Paramount Pictures 1927 Archived August 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
7. The Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Jesse James

External links

• Jesse James at IMDb
• Card with still at the Metropolitan Museum of Art