Hell's Crossroads

When a heist goes wrong, Jesse James and his gang must scatter to elude the authorities. Outlaws Bob Ford (Robert Vaughn) and Vic Rodell ( the excellent Stephen McNally) are nabbed, but the governor offers them amnesty in exchange for their help in bringing Jesse and his brother Frank to justice.

The history, of course, is inaccurate, but I never expected westerns- or any other genre - to be accurate. Western genre is entertainment- and this film is entertaining enough, even though borders on the routine. An interesting story, a thoughtful script and a good of acting makes this b-western watchable.

This is however not the first western speaking of the killing of Jesse James, remember Sam Fuller's I SHOT JESSE JAMES. And decades later, in 2007, you will have this movie THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. This Republic pictures stuff is not that bad, thanks to Stephen mcNally, but I prefered the Fullers' picture, made eight years earlier. Samuel Fuller was also not Franklyn Adreon, you can't compare those two directors.... So HELL'S CROSSROADS is only a pretty agreeable time waster, not more. Robert Vaughn is also a good surprise, I did not expect to see him in such a film. But after all, why not?

"That dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard", the coward was Bob Ford and Mr. Howard was Jesse James. Ford murdered James, who was unarmed and straightening a picture when Ford shot him in the back. Ford had been promised amnesty (for another murder-he had never been involved with Jesse or the illegal activities of the James gang) and a $10,000 reward.

In "Hell's Crossroads" (1957), they recreate the event, although this time Jesse James is hanging decorations on his Christmas tree. I mention this because it is about the only time the movie approaches historical accuracy despite claiming to chronicle the exploits or Bob Ford (Robert Vaughn) and a friend named Vic Rodell (Stephen McNally).

What actually happened was that in 1882 Jesse James, living peacefully under the Mr. Howard name, recruited Bob Ford and his brother Charlie for one last robbery. Bob had never been involved with the James gang (which was long disbanded by that point) and the three men were living in the same house while planning the robbery.

Unfortunately the producers of "Hells Crossroads" decided the true story was not good enough. So they replaced brother Charlie with friend Vic, threw in a romance between Vic and Bob's sister Paula (Peggy Castle) and made the two men longtime members of the James Gang. The film's climax takes place a few days after Jesse is killed. It features Frank James (Douglas Kennedy) and Cole Younger (Myron Healey) coming after Bob and Vic to avenge the 1882 killing; and Cole Younger is killed in the poorly staged climatic gunfight. In fact Cole was in prison from 1872 until 1901; and died of natural causes in 1916 (outliving everyone associated with the real James gang).

The historical nonsense showcased in "Hell's Crossroads" is nicely matched with the film's poor direction and staggeringly bad acting. By 1957 Warner Brothers was cranking out several weekly westerns for television; most of which are now available on DVD. I challenge anyone to find a single episode of "Cheyenne", "Maverick", "Gunsmoke" or "Have Gun Will Travel" that is quite as lame as this film. Peggy Castle made a career out of appearing in these television westerns. What is sad is that the television casts she worked with were far stronger than the ensemble she must struggle with in this lame movie.

If Stephen McNally is the leading man you can safely assume that they are pulling from the absolute bottom of the casting barrel.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This is an excellent western. With the exception of unlimited rifle ammo fire, the movie was made in super black & white and is well shot and directed. I think that it is excellent in authenticity of equipment and props while the story line might be a little off. Certainly could be one to allow the kids to see without worry. MUCH better than most westerns. Mr. Man from Uncle plays the part of a coward who finds his courage and comes to the aid of his allies. The casting was extremely well done with each of the role players being a natural for their part. Look at the background props and see how well they were thought out. If I had a person from overseas come visit, I would show this movie as one which represents a good western movie.

Frank Adreon has taken more than a little care to inject some character into the folks in this exciting little B-western. "Vic" (Stephen McNally) is on fine form as the prisoner offered parole on the condition that he captures - alive - the infamous train robber Jesse James (Henry Brandon) with whom he used to ride. Historians of the James gang and their activities may well dislike this now, as it begins to deviate rather from fact. "Vic" reunites with an old flame "Paula" (Peggy Castle), she is the sister of the Ford members of the gang - Bob (Robert Vaughn) and Clay (Harry Shannon) and whilst there are some elements true to the facts, including the slaying of James, the rest of the film is just an hybrid of stories used to created a "loosely based on" kind of adventure - and it is perfectly acceptable at that. It's got plenty of shoot-outs, fast-paced riding - even an attempted lynching, and Vaughn, Pinkerton man "O'Connell" (Barton MacLane) and Shannon work well with some decent photography to keep the pot boiling along nicely.