Assured, self-amused Bob Hope comedy, a jokey western involving an insurance salesman from New York who unwittingly sells a valuable life policy to the infamous gunslinger/train robber Jesse James; he's forced by his boss to head West to find Jesse and ask for the policy back. Hope's nervous shtick routine (always followed by a series of variable one-liners) isn't quite the stuff of side-splitting comedy--and yet he's so smooth and adept at these gags, there's nostalgic pleasure in just watching him have at it. A few of the sight-gags that bomb out the first time are then repeated (such as Hope's brim unfurling after a stiff drink, or a goat snacking on playing cards), causing fatigue to set in after an hour or so. Wendell Corey seems to have no idea how to play outlaw James, but there's a nice love-interest in Rhonda Fleming as a saloon singer (dressed in a succession of lovely Edith Head gowns, Fleming also shares a fun duet with Bob on "Ain't-a-Hankerin'"). The finale is a real delight, great for movie and TV buffs, and nearly makes the picture worthwhile. **1/2 from ****
Review of Alias Jesse James
