Above: The title card for ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES (Republic, 1948). Clayton Moore and Steve Darrell are shown on the upper right hand side. Noel Neill is in the bottom right hand corner, and across from her is George J. Lewis.

ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES

Republic, 13 Chapters, 1948. Starring Clayton Moore, Steve Darrell, Noel Neill, George J. Lewis, John Crawford.

ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES is one of those "slip-through-the-cracks" Republic serials, like HAWK OF THE WILDERNESS and THE PHANTOM RIDER, that is generally given one line and a picture in the serial books and then passed over without further comment. It's long overdue for some type of commentary, and that's what I hope to deliver right here and now.

FRANK AND JESSE JAMES is the only Republic "sequel" that I can think of that actually makes direct reference to its predecessor. The opening scene features Jesse (Clayton Moore) returning to Missouri and explaining to his brother Frank (Steve Darrell) and their old friends, Jim Powell and his daughter Judy (Stanley Andrews and Noel Neill) how he "did a good turn for some folks down in Tennessee" and was allowed to leave without being arrested by Sheriff Mark Tobin. After this recap, the plot of the current serial gets underway. Jim Powell is trying to develop a rich silver vein, and needs financial help. The James boys go partners with Powell, and decide to use their share of the proceeds to reimburse all the victims--real and pretended--of their old gang. Old family friend Paul Thatcher (Sam Flint) is reluctant to back the venture at first, but when Jesse and Frank stop a phony Jesse James from robbing his bank, he throws in with them. Unfortunately, he suggests they hire a young man named Amos Ramsey as mining engineer, which leads to unforeseen trouble. Powell and Ramsey discover a rich vein of gold, not of silver, in a mine blast, but Ramsey brains Powell with a rock, pretends that the old timer was killed in the explosion, and covers up the existence of the gold vein. He then enlists outlaw Rafe Henley (George J. Lewis) to make sure that Judy and the James boys (who are posing as her cousins, John Howard and Bob Carroll) never find out how valuable the mine is. However, the bad guys don't realize that they're dealing with Frank and Jesse James, and the outlaws-turned-heroes manage to overcome all opposition and unmask Ramsey's treachery by the final chapter.

In one way, this serial marks the "beginning of the end" for Republic, in that it represents the first time one of their heroes permanently donned the costume of an earlier hero (Don Barry in RED RYDER) to match earlier footage. But, though several sequences, most notably the stagecoach race, are lifted right out of RED RYDER, the serial still works as a whole, since the stock is well-mixed with good new footage contributed by an excellent cast and capable directors. The plot, though it takes indvidual situations from RED RYDER, follows a completely new line and manages to be fairly original.

The most original part of the plot, of course, is the idea of the reformed James boys as the heroes, a gimmick that had already been used with great success in JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN. Clayton Moore portrays Jesse in this serial just as well as in the previous one. He still keeps the same deadly edge on the character, but this time it's tempered with a bit more good nature, as he's less of a loner then he was in JJRA, interacting cheerfully with Steve Darrell and Noel Neill. His quickness with a gun is still present, as he mows down one rotten, no-good henchman after another. Every now and then, as in the scene where he pursues the murderous George J. Lewis after nearly being speared by a harrow, Moore flashes a look of intense anger that shows up the dangerous side of his character. It is safe to say that no one else could have played the serial Jesse as well as Moore does.

Steve Darrell, as Frank, is more relaxed but just as good with a gun, and just as ready to wipe out the bad guys in a good cause. Ever since I first saw Darrell as another reformed outlaw, Fargo Jack in Allan Lane's CARSON CITY RAIDERS, I've come more and more to respect his ability as one of the B-western world's premiere character actors. The part of Frank is his biggest serial role, and he doesn't allow himself to be eclipsed by Moore, taking part in two cliffhangers on his own and (SPOILERS) plugging the evil John Crawford at the end. Darrell and Moore make an excellent team, and they both come off as potentially dangerous men who have the moral courage to harness their abilities and use them in the cause of Right.

Noel Neill, as the heroine Judy Powell, is just as appealing as she was in her more famous Lois Lane role--even more appealing, in fact, as her character here hasn't the sarcastic nature of Lois. A warm, friendly, and talented actress, Miss Neill is one of those performers who light up the screen no matter how small the part, and she is at her best here. One can completely sympathize with her sorrow at her father's death, and approvingly support her unswerving faith in the ultimate triumph of her "cousins."

John Crawford, the cousin of director Yakima Canutt, definitely shows that he was not awarded the head villain role just on the basis of nepotism. Crawford's character is an unusual one for a Republic serial, in that he is not an active villain at the beginning of the serial. He starts out to work as a mining engineer in good faith, and turns to crime when a sudden opportunity for treachery opens before him. Crawford does an excellent job in depicting this in the scene following the discovery of the gold. At first, both he and Stanley Andrews are equally excited; then, as Andrews enthuses on finally hitting pay dirt, a thoughtful, sneaky look begins to steal into Crawford's face, to be succeeded by a look of determined greed, just before he raises a rock and murders the old miner.

George J. Lewis is at his best as the cold-blooded, businesslike Rafe Henley. Comporting himself more like Crawford's equal than his lackey, Lewis is a henchman fully capable of concocting schemes on his own. In view of his later good guy role on ZORRO, I always tend to forget what a great bad guy Lewis makes, but FRANK AND JESSE JAMES served as an excellent reminder of that fact.

Sam Flint is fine as the kindly, dignified Paul Thatcher, who gives the James boys all the aid he can without compromising his bank or his respectability. George Chesebro, gabby as ever, plays an express agent, and House Peters Jr., Eugene Stutenroth, and Steve Clark all appear as lawmen throughout the course of the serial. I. Stanford Jolley is a crooked lawyer, Stanley Andrews, though billed fifth, is killed in the first ten minutes, and, in an amusing example of a serial in-joke, Dale Van Sickel and Tom Steele are cast as henchmen named--Dale and Steele. Fred Graham has a small but colorful role as the swaggering, two-bit hoodlum who attempts to rob Thatcher's bank by posing as Jesse James, Dave Sharpe is another one of the bad guys, and Bud Osborne is the villains' driver in the already-mentioned stagecoach race.

Yakima Canutt and Fred C. Brannon, in the last of their three collaborations (the first two being G-MEN NEVER FORGET and DANGERS OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTED) show themselves a most underrated directorial duo; it's shame that they didn't do more together. Brannon's expertise at blending old and new footage and maintaining a steady pace blends with Canutt's flair for action and characterization to deliver some good stuff. The cliff-top fight, between Lewis and Moore at the end of Chapter Six, is an action highlight as well as a good cliffhanger, and the final fight, with Moore taking on Lewis, Crawford, and a henchman, provides a very satisfying climax. Thanks for these battles, of course, should also go to Sharpe, Steele, and Van Sickel. In contrast, another one of the best original cliffhangers in the serial involves no action at all: the situation that ends the chapter "Eyes of the Law." To combat a phony lawsuit that will tie up the mine's assets, Jesse has gone in quest of a key witness, but in the meanwhile, the hearing gets underway and it comes time for Thatcher to present some evidence without waiting for Jesse. His only evidence are papers that will reveal the James boys' identity, and he stalls as long as possible, but as the clock ticks away, Frank motions Thatcher to exhibit the fatal documents to the Marshal (Gene Roth), who heightens the suspense as he fumbles for his glasses and unfolds the paper, just before the episode's fade-out.

So, for this viewer at least, ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES's stars, plot, and action completely outweigh its budget cuts to deliver a very fine sequel to a very fine serial.