Monday, August 18, 2014

Jesse James wrap up: Repackaging Jesse

Jesse James’ name will not be forgotten anytime soon. There have been too many movies and songs, too many comic books, too many books of all kinds, poems, and video games with him (or at least his name) at their center for his memory to be easily erased, should anyone ever be so foolish as to attempt that formidable task. As I learned very quickly when I began my research on America’s favorite bandit, he keeps popping up everywhere, long after you think you’ve surely exhausted all that’s been said, written, and produced about him. Time may eventually erode his story and legend, but it hasn’t done so yet, and it’s been almost a century and a half since Bob Ford killed him in cold blood. One reason Jesse won’t disappear is that every generation he continues to have new offspring. To name only a few, over several decades: 1930’s tough-guys like Tom Powers (Jimmy Cagney) in the gangster film The Public Enemy (1931) owe a great deal to the Jesse legend. So does Humphrey Bogart’s ill-fated bad guy Roy Earle a decade later in High Sierra (1941)...Jesse’s fame manifests itself in in other worldly ways as well. Rumors that the gang stashed loot from its robberies in caves or buried it underground and then either forgot about it or never had a chance to get back to it have been around since Jesse was still alive. Just find the now long-hidden treasure and you’ll be rich! This is the idea behind Ronald J. Pastore’s book, Jesse James’ Secret: Codes, Cover-ups & Hidden Treasure (2010) and his TV documentary Jesse James’ Hidden Treasure. But before you get eager to go on the hunt, check out Eric James, where you will find “Stray Leaves,” The James Preservation Fund website. The Trust keeps a lookout for spurious claims about James family history and bogus claims of being related to Jesse. There are plenty of such claims...more

No comments: