A welcome return to the western genre for Nicholas Ray after Hot Blood, Bigger Than Life and Rebel Without A Cause, The True Story of Jesse James offers a compelling look at the Jesse James legend.

As Jesse James (Robert Wagner, Broken Lance) attempts to evade the law, those who know him best - his brother Frank (Jeffrey Hunter, The Searchers), wife (Hope Lange, Peyton Place) and mother (Agnes Moorehead, All That Heaven Allows) - ponder the question, "What turned this simple farm boy to a life of lawlessness?" And as Jesse continues his ride into notoriety, the key events in his life are scrutinized in a desperate attempt to close in on him for good.

Featuring a compelling performance from Wagner as one of the key anti-establishment figures in American history, Ray freely adapts the original Nunnally Johnson script, depicting James as an archetypal Ray character, beset by feelings of disenchantment and disillusioned by the cruelties of adult life.

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