The Corner Penthouse

Alias Jesse James (1959) was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Inept insurance salesman Milford Farnsworth (Bob Hope) sells a man a $100,000 policy. When his boss learns that the man was Jesse James (Wendell Corey), he sends Milford after him with money to buy back the policy. After a masked Jesse robs Milford of the money, Milford's boss heads out with more money. Jesse learns about it and plans to rob him, have Milford dressed as him get killed in the robbery, and then collect the $100,000. Jesse's girl, Cora Lee Collins (Rhonda Fleming), and a cavalcade of cowboy cameos, assist Milford in a final showdown with Jesse.

[ QUICK THOUGHTS ]

Westerns were one of my father's favorite movie genres. They're not, generally, one of my favorites, though I do like the western comedies like Blazing Saddles. Thankfully, Alias Jesse James is a western comedy, and a really funny one at that. In fact, other than a few sight gags (such as a wagon chase in which Milford pioneers Fred Flintstone's driving technique), it's mainly verbal humor, which is my favorite type. Since I did watch some westerns with my father, I was able to recognize a few of the cameos during the final shootout, such as Tonto (Jay Silverheels) from The Lone Ranger (1949), Annie Oakley (Gail Davis) from Annie Oakley (1954), Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) from Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955), Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brien) from The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) from Gunsmoke (1955), Major Seth Adams (Ward Bond) from Wagon Train (1957), Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) from High Noon (1952), and Bob's Road-mate Bing Crosby. Since Milford is not a gunman, he would have failed miserably in a shootout with Jesse James. It was quite the clever idea to actually have the shooting be done by these western television/movie legends, who do the work from the periphery, with Milford completely unaware that it's these legends, not him, that are actually winning the fight.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:32:40. Audio languages include English. Subtitle languages include English SDH.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

Here's a list of all of the special features. First, a note about the "Trailer Compilation": Most studios include "bonus trailers" (sometimes called "previews" or "sneak peeks") on their discs, which are trailers and advertisements that are there simply to promote the studio's other offerings. They're usually shoved in the viewer's face on disc boot-up and are a pain to skip. Kino Lorber does something entirely different. Their "bonus trailers" are more like the Drive-In Delirium and Trailer Trauma trailer compilation Blu-rays. They are trailers that are from the same era or genre/theme as the main feature, or are for other movies with the same leading actor. These trailers are for movies from a variety of studios, most of which have not even been released by Kino Lorber! These trailers are included as actual bonus material and are not there to sell you something.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:14)
• Trailer Compilation - The following trailers for other movies starring Bob Hope (the first ten) or Rhonda Fleming (the last three) are included: The Cat and the Canary (1939) (3:40), Road to Singapore (1940) (2:38), The Ghost Breakers (1940) (2:15), Road to Zanzibar (1941) (2:16), Caught in the Draft (1941) (2:21), Nothing But the Truth (1941) (2:02), My Favorite Blonde (1942) (2:17), Road to Morocco (1942) (2:13), Road to Utopia (1945) (2:15), The Paleface (1948) (1:50), Those Redheads From Seattle (1953) (2:11), Jivaro (1954) (2:17), and The Revolt of the Slaves (1960) (2:10).

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No Digital Copy voucher or slipsleeve is included.

[ PURCHASE LINKS ]

Alias Jesse James is available on Blu-ray.


This item has been provided by Kino Lorber for review on this site.