Jesse James' Women

Don Barry was a heck of an actor; he probably could have been a good director, with a better script and a bigger budget.

As it was, he showed some inventiveness with camera angles in this generally not very good movie.

The title could be rather off-putting, sounding like some kind of exploitation film. As it turned out, the title actually made sense, or at least as much sense as the story could provide.

Peggie Castle was lovely, and actually quite good in a role that could have been ruinous if played differently.

Some of the cast members seemed to have been recruited from bystanders, but ultimately most of them did as well as they could with the script.

Jack Buetel showed he could perform and should be known as more than Jane Russell's leading man in "The Outlaw." Several others did little or nothing other than this film, but one, Mac McAllister, showed enough professionalism and personality I think it's a shame he didn't do more.

In some ways this is a standard Western, but the saloon brawl was definitely non-stereotypical. If you see this film, be sure to pay attention to the sheriff during the fight.

My copy of this film is a DVD in Volume 36 of The Great American Western series from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. It is not a very good quality picture, and, in too many places, the film was broken and spliced resulting in a jumpiness.

Still, all in all, this is a movie for Western fans and Don Barry fans to see at least once.

Added 18 July 2015: There are now some versions available at YouTube.com. Maybe at least one will be better quality.

This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. And I have watched Dwain Esper films, and loads of shitteos and exploitation films. But this is boring, dull and yet it really does seen to qualify under the label of 'EXPLOITATION'.

In this film, Jesse James is a slimy creature that tricks women to get his money. Not at all what the legend depicts the famous outlaw as. Not only that, but these women all fall for him, and fight over him, and it's all just demeaning and incredibly sexist.

Furthermore, there is a whole sequence where you can see one after the other be knocked down by his 'charm'. No kidding, I thought all that was missing was the sex scene that would have made this an early porn feature, predating that likes of Deep Throat and Vixen...or even Lonesome Cowboy. (The most notable sequence is a cat fight between two women, which Jesse James ends...hear ye hear ye...by pouring beer over them). Oh yeah! I must admit, towards the end, the accents made me smile. I won't spoil the ending for anyone - which would be a real shame - but I will say that the screaming woman at the end I thought was so funny, trying to convince the sheriff that that man is Jesse James. But in all honesty, this is an awful, awful film that should not be watched by anyone - ever!

A couple of southern theatre exhibitors decided they could make a western (or, in this case, a Southeastern) just as bad as the worse of those coming from Hollywood and proceeded to prove they could be not only as bad, they could be much worse. They ensured their success at obtaining this goal by hiring Don Barry as the director. Barry was the best choice, as only the egotistical-and-sad Barry could direct (or believe) a film in which he starred as a lady-killer whose charms women could not resist.(The Susan Hayward real-life swimming-pool incident not withstanding.) Jesse James (Don Barry), leaves Missouri for Mississippi, and immediately charms all the women in the cast out of their bloomers and garters, even though three of them towered over him. His first conquest is the banker's daughter who helps him loot the bank in exchange for a promise of marriage; he wanders over to the saloon and runs the crooked partner of the proprietress out of town, takes all of his-and-her money and leaves her, between kisses, hounding him for her share; the third one, the saloon singer, actually makes a mark out of him as she cons him into a boxing match against a professional fighter and he loses the fight and his money, but he holds the singer and the fighter up as they leave town and gets his money back; and then he romances and swindles Cattle Kate, a replay of what he had done somewhere before to Kate and the "gotcha-again" Kate even ends up behind bars. But no film that contains a cat-fight between Peggie Castle and Lita Baron can be called a complete waste of time

This is an undiscovered treasure and deserves to be considered right up there with "Plan 9 from outer Space" as the worst movie ever made. Outside the four or five professional actors this low budget could afford to hire, the cast is filled out with Mississippi amateurs who would embarrass a small town little theater production with their stiff, wooden acting. It is a real hoot.

You will not believe the sets where someone's idea of art direction was to dab spots of paint all over the walls. Along with the most painful acting, this has to also be the worst photographed film where the idea of lighting is to turn on some overhead floods. And the staging could serve as a textbook on how to NOT stage where you can see the "actors" walk to hit their mark and stomp on it like a bug.

The only explanation for the positive reviews above is that these people must be getting a share of the DVD sales. "Jesse James' Women" is to bad films what "Citizen Kane" is to great films.

Al Hillman is Champ O'Toole, not Clem Botts the Sheriff. Please check credits on film. Al Hillman died in 1965 at age 42 from cancer. In his memory, please correct the misprint on the IMDb profile. He did not play the role of the sheriff, but was the colorful boxer, Champ O'Toole, and this can be verified by the credits on the film itself. I found the movie to be fun and full of mischief. The Mississippi setting gives the film an authentic feel for the nature of the far from plush lifestyle of outlaws on the run. The female stars are vivacious and did not mind letting go of their vanity for a little cat fight, which in the 1950's was brazen!