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The ruthless slaying of their mother by Barshee, an agent of
the Midland Railroad who has been sent to swindle the farmers out of their
land, forces the James boys to renounce their legacy of farming and become
renegades. Fighting to stop the encroachment of the railroad, Frank
and Jesse organize a band of outlaws to rob the line. After a series
of successful raids, Jesse's sweetheart Zerelda, known as Zee, the niece of
town newspaper editor Major Rufus Cobb, pleads with Jesse to give himself up
and take the reduced sentence offered by McCoy, the head of the railroad.
After he and Zee are married, however, Jesse learns that McCoy is planning
to double-cross him and, with the help of Frank and the gang, escapes.
Continually hunted, Zee grows tired of running and hiding,
and after she must face the birth of her son alone, she begs Rufus to take
her home to Liberty, Missouri. Accompanied by their friend,
Marshal Will Wright, Rufus and Zee head back to Missouri and, when Jesse
learns of his wife's departure, he chooses not to follow, realizing that she
will be happier without him.
Five years pass and while Jesse leads the life of a renegade,
his son grows to boyhood, unaware of his father's reputation. One day
George Runyan, the Midland detective, rides into Liberty and announces
complete amnesty and a $25,000 reward in return for the death of Jesse
James. Meanwhile, Jesse is planning a risky raid on the bank at
Northfield, Minnesota. Learning of the reward, gang member Bob Ford
notifies Runyan of the raid and, when Jesse and Frank enter the bank, they
find the law awaiting them. The brothers escape, but Jesse is badly
wounded and taken by a friendly farmer to his cabin in the woods. He
arrives to find Zee and his son, and the reunited family plans to begin life
anew in California. Before he can set out on his new life, however,
Jesse is shot in the back by Bob Ford.
American Film Institute
Catalog
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