This film is utterly ridiculous. Where to begin
Bob Hope plays an inept life insurance salesman who sells a $10,000 policy to a mysterious stranger. He then finds out the stranger is none other than the notorious outlaw Jesse James, whom Hope must go out west to protect or his insurance company will go bankrupt (you'd think there'd be an easier solution
). The absurdity does not stop there. This film offers a unique depiction of Jesse James as a mild-mannered, community-oriented insurance fraud. For some reason, a helpful Indian princess shows up along the way.
Preposterousness aside, I had fun watching this film. The plot is really just an excuse for Bob Hope to entertain by feigning courage before comically sinking back into cowardice. While I mainly enjoyed Alias Jesse James as a Bob Hope fan, the film also benefits from Rhonda Fleming as Hope's genuinely lovely love interest, and western fans should get a kick out of the ending. I would advise those who are not yet Bob Hope fans to see Road to Morocco or another one of his more well-known films first – you've really got to be a fan of Bob Hope and of corny screwball comedies to enjoy Alias Jesse James.
Preposterousness aside, I had fun watching this film. The plot is really just an excuse for Bob Hope to entertain by feigning courage before comically sinking back into cowardice. While I mainly enjoyed Alias Jesse James as a Bob Hope fan, the film also benefits from Rhonda Fleming as Hope's genuinely lovely love interest, and western fans should get a kick out of the ending. I would advise those who are not yet Bob Hope fans to see Road to Morocco or another one of his more well-known films first – you've really got to be a fan of Bob Hope and of corny screwball comedies to enjoy Alias Jesse James.