The Return of Frank James

Synopsis: Frank James, the brother of Jesse James, has been laying low, living as a farmer and taking care of Clem, the son of one of the members of the James gang. He gets word that Jesse was killed by Bob and Charlie Ford, he hoped that the law would deal with them but when he learns that the railroad man whom he and Jesse terrorized contracted them to kill Jesse and helped them get off, he goes after them. Clem whom he told to remain on the farm goes with him and when it's impossible for him to do so, Frank has no choice to let him tag along. Now in order to cover their tracks they start telling people that Frank James is dead and that they saw it. Eleanor Stone, a female reporter, who wants to write about it interviews them and they are both taken with each other. But eventually she learns who Frank is from the Pinkerton detective who is tracking them but doesn't turn them in. But eventually Frank learns that his farm hand, Pinky has been arrested as his accomplice and is about to be hung. N
Director(s): Fritz Lang
Production: 20th Century Fox Film Corporat
 
IMDB:
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes:
83%
APPROVED
Year:
1940
92 min
145 Views


[Birds Chirping]

Whoa, Dan!

- Pinky!

- Yes, sir.

- Come over here.

- Yes, sir.

Take him back to the barn.

I'm going up to the house.

- Clem oughta be getting in from town.

- Yes, sir, Mr. Frank.

- Pinky.

- Yes, sir?

Ain't you never gonna learn? What's my name?

Why, uh, Woodson. Mr. Ben Woodson, sir.

Why do you call me Mr. Frank? Ain't

it just as easy to say Mr. Ben?

Well, seein' as I been calling you Mr. Frank

ever since you were knee-high to nothin'...

ain't no harm in callin' you Mr. Frank

when ain't nobody around here, is there?

Except that one day you're gonna forget

and bawl out Mr. Frank when folks is around.

Pinky, FrankJames isn't hiding

in these hills. He's dead.

Dead? W

- Well, you ain't dead.

- You callin' me a liar? -

Oh, no, sir. No, sirree, but-

Ain't no buts about it, Pinky. FrankJames

is dead and buried and underground.

Yes, sure. Sure he's dead and buried

and under the ground and rotted.

- Now remember.

- Yes, I'll remember, Mr. Frank.

Jesse

- They killed him!

- Jesse dead?

- Yeah. Shot through the back when he weren't lookin'.

Ain't no other way they could have

gotJesse. They know who done it?

Sure they know. It was them sneakin'

cowards, Bob and Charlie Ford.

Bob and Charlie, huh?

Poor Zee and the baby.

Frank, can I go with you?

Go with me?

Well, I know you don't need any help, but-

I reckon I don't, seein' as

I ain't aimin' to do anything.

What?

Ain't no more to be said now.

Tell Pinky to rustle up some supper.

Gosh, I was so sure you'd wanna

light out after them Fords...

I bought me a gun.

- [Hammer Clicks]

- Hand it over.

I used my own money.

Hand it over.

You're getting too big

for your britches, son.

You got no call to be totin' a gun.

Well, I figured if there was any trouble-

There ain't gonna be no trouble.

Listen, son.

When your father was

killed up at Northfield...

I brought you down here hopin' you'd

grow up to be a regular hardworkin' man.

So far I got no complaints.

We've been gettin' along fine, you and me...

workin', mindin' our own business.

We bothered nobody. Nobody's bothered us.

Ain't what them Fords done bothered you none?

The courts will take care of the Fords.

- Supposin' they don't?

- I'm supposin' they will.

WhateverJesse done, he was murdered,

and the law don't hold with murder.

Frank, if nothin' gonna

happen to them Fords...

ain't some folks gonna think that...

- well, maybe

you're- - Scared?

- Well?

- What do you think?

Oh, I know you ain't scared.

You ain't scared of anything.

But, gosh, I wish you and me, we could-

Vittles is ready. Sit down, Mr. Frank.

I mean, Mr. Ben. I mean, Mr. Ben.

[Singsong] Mr. Frank is dead. I

mean, Mr. Ben, Mr. Frank is dead.

So I mean, Mr. Ben, mmm, Mr. Ben,

I mean, Mr. Ben, Mr. Frank is dead.

So, I mean, Mr. Ben. I mean, Mr. Ben.

I mean, Mr. Ben, Mr. Frank is dead.

Sinners, sons of Belial...

prepare for the vengeance of the Lord.

The day of reckoning is mighty close.

You'll catch it hip and thigh if you don't

get to repentin'. And get to it quick.

Hellfire's awaitin' you. Are

you ready to meet your Maker?

I reckon so.

You willing to stand before the judgment

seat with a chaw of tobacco in your mouth?

Lost souls, that's what you all are.

Black with sin. Black with iniquity.

The light of the Lord ain't in any of you.

Do you ever think of salvation?

Do you ever think of the Kingdom?

No. All you ever think of is

your bellies and your cornpone...

and your chitlins and your corn liquor.

Brother, how about a swig of that jug?

- Ain't hard liquor, is it?

- No, plain spring water.

Oh.

- Crop all in?

- Yeah.

- You from

town? - Uh-huh.

- Any news?

- Hogs is up two cents.

- Good.

- You remember about them Ford boys?

- The fellas that killed JesseJames?

- Yeah.

- I "heared" at the telegraph office they're gonna be hanged.

- You don't tell me.

Uh-huh. Jury found them

guilty of murderin'Jesse.

Don't know why though, bein' as

there's a reward out for his killin'.

Revival meetin' at Clinton tomorrow night.

Be there, brother. It's me and

the devil and no holds barred.

[Clicking Tongue] Giddap!

Law's all right, huh?

"Beatenest" thing I ever did see.

It's like I figured, ain't

a jury in western Missouri...

would stand for shooting a friend when

he ain't lookin', no matter what he done.

That'll be a lesson to you, son.

What about us going over to that

revival meeting tomorrow night?

I think it's safe enough if

I sort of stay in the shadows.

I reckon you'd like to see some

other folks once in a while.

Oh, I ain't hankerin' to see no other folks.

But let's go fishin'

tomorrow, you and me, huh?

Sure, son, sure.

Here it is, Mr. Frank.

[Rooster Crows]

Ain't they hangin' 'em?

No, they let them off and

give them the reward money.

I knowed that preacher man heared wrong.

It's just like my pappy always said...

"There ain't no law for the poor

folks except the end of a gun. "

Hush up.

I was certain sure they

wasn't gonna do nothin'.

Did they ever do anything

for our kind of folks? No.

McCoy and his railroad stole your farm and

killed your mother. What happened? Nothin'.

And that timeJesse give hisself

up. Did the law treat him right?

Uh-

Pinky, saddle the horses.

- Yes, sir!

- Just my horse.

- Yes, sir.

- You ain't goin' nowheres.

Oh, please, Frank. I won't get in the way.

You and Pinky gotta stay here and look

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Sam Hellman

All Sam Hellman scripts | Sam Hellman Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Return of Frank James" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_return_of_frank_james_16842>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Return of Frank James

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.