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The Return of Frank James

The Return of Frank James

Western · 1940

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

Movie details

The Return of Frank James

“Encore triumph from 20th Century-Fox.”

1940 Western 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

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

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Return of Frank James?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Badland

Badland

Western · 2019

Detective Matthias Breecher, hired to track down the worst of the Confederate war criminals, roams the Old West seeking justice. His resolve is tested when he meets a determined pioneer woman who is far more than she seems.

Jesse James

Jesse James

Western · 1939

After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.

Flaming Star

Flaming Star

Western · 1960

Pacer Burton, a young man of mixed Kiowa and white heritage, is caught between two worlds as conflict erupts between Native Americans and white settlers in Texas.

The Bravados

The Bravados

Western · 1958

Jim Douglass arrives in the small town of Rio Arriba in order to witness the hanging of the four men he believes murdered his wife. When the convicts escape, Jim tracks them into Mexico, determined to see that justice is done. But the farther Jim goes in his quest for vengeance, the more merciless he becomes, losing himself in an unrelenting spiral of hatred and violence.

Gunman's Walk

Gunman's Walk

Western · 1958

A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.

Day of the Outlaw

Day of the Outlaw

Western · 1959

Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.

The Naked Spur

The Naked Spur

Western · 1953

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.

Open Range

Open Range

Western · 2003

A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.

The Proud Rebel

The Proud Rebel

Western · 1958

Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a word since he saw his mother die in the fire that burned down the family home--a Confederate veteran finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman pays his fine, providing that he works it off on her ranch. He soon finds himself involved in the woman's struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner who wants it--and whose sons were responsible for the man being framed for the fight.

Forty Guns

Forty Guns

Western · 1957

An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fritz Lang

Written by

Sam Hellman

Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Frank James

Jackie Cooper

Jackie Cooper

Clem

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Eleanor Stone

Henry Hull

Henry Hull

Major Rufus Cobb

John Carradine

John Carradine

Bob Ford

J. Edward Bromberg

J. Edward Bromberg

George Runyan

Donald Meek

Donald Meek

McCoy

Court is in session

Put The Return of Frank James on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.