Frank James Returns to Arte: Extremely Rare Deleted Scenes You’ll Never See

Fritz Lang, King of Cutting? Check out these Frank James comeback moments that were cut before filming because they were unnecessary or a little heavy.

All scenes mentioned below come from the film’s shooting script, annotated by director Fritz Lang and found in a background dedicated to the director at the French Cinematheque. They were consulted by the author of this article.

1- vision vision

The double gallows for hanging Pinky, a black servant, is mentioned and removed in the script.

• This is the first sequence during Frank’s trial in the final part of the film, where Clem asks Eleanor if she would change her testimony in favor of her brother James at the trial. He replies that he can’t do anything and the boy loses his temper and accuses the journalist of being responsible for what happened. This is seen in the film, but the sequel is cut: pensive, agitated Eleanor sits down in a chair, thinking about what Clem has just told her. Her eyes focused on Pinkie’s raised cheek and she put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

• The second point is the description of the sheriff’s office. One sentence read: “A banging sound is heard outside and a belt frame under construction can be seen through the window.”

The desire to cut Gibbet’s vision is probably a desire to maintain the lighthearted tone of pure entertainment, as was the previous James Brothers film, The Beloved Brigantine, released in 1939.

2- Keep the element of surprise intact

At the hotel, Frank and Clem are surprised by police officer Runyan, who ends up being tied up. The script details how two thugs are cornered, tied up, then tied up to a policeman on a coat rack in a closet.

This sequence is crossed out and annotated “Out”. On screen, the scene ends with the thugs disappearing as they begin to tie up the lawman and cuts directly to the scene of Eleanor getting dressed and coming to see her father.

This creates an element of surprise because, later in the film, when the maid comes to make the beds, she first hears the noise she receives of someone knocking on the door, as she slowly hears it coming from the closet, and thus discovers, along with the audience, that the policeman is there Locked by Clem and Frank.

3- No tears for the James family

Also cut is the James family’s procrastination sequence. Thus, when Frank visits “The Major” (the editor of the local newspaper), the suggestion that McCoy killed his mother first and then his brother is dismissed.

Also a scratch is the fact that the Major shows Frank a clipping from the other day’s paper that says, “The dirty little coward who killed Mr. Howard and led poor Jesse to his grave.” Frank noticed the major’s good work on this occasion.

The major’s insistence on bias was avoided because the character consistently supports Frank throughout the film, defending him at trial, so we could narratively dispense with this scene.

4- No love for Frank James

Frank James’ weary look at the journalist conducting the interview was deleted from the final script. According to director Bertrand Tavernier, in the DVD credits released by Calysta Films and Sidonis Productions, this reference was omitted at the request of producer Daryl Zanuck.

Frank James’ widow was still alive at the time, and she didn’t want to risk a lawsuit against Twentieth Century Fox. Therefore, he limited the hints to a possible love affair between Eleanor and the bandit.