Neosho, MO. is a small community located halfway between Springfield and Joplin. I worked there as a reporter for the Neosho Daily News about 20 years ago.
One of my assignments was to cover the annual Jesse James Days festival held in Pineville, MO., located just a few miles west of Neosho. In 1939, the first movie made about the James gang was filmed near Pineville. 'Jesse James' was directed by Henry Taylor and starred Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda and Randolph Scott.
Before driving to Pineville...
...to interview the locals about the making of the movie, I rented it from the public library and watched it. The movie was well done and featured a train robbery. I was determined to find out where the filming of the robbery took place and shoot a photo of it to illustrate my article.
Joplin, where the Downstream Casino is located, was my first stop on my way to Pineville. A couple of poker dealers there remembered the making of the movie. As I played a few hands of Texas Hold'em, a dealer regaled me with tales about the actors who starred in the movie.
'Pineville was in pretty bad economic condition after the Great Depression,' he said, shuffling the cards. 'The director Henry Taylor hired quite a few locals as extras in the movie. It gave the local economy a big shot in the arm.'
He also told me the townspeople fell in love with Power and hated Fonda.
'Henry Fonda was a typical actor -- had a big ego and looked down on the local folks,' said the dealer. 'He kept his distance from them. But Power was a regular fun-loving guy that they adored. Rumor has it that he had an affair with a local beauty and left her pregnant. She proudly had the baby and never told Power he was the father.
I drove to Pineville, met with representatives of the Pineville Chamber of Commerce which was sponsoring the festival, and drove to the area where the train robbery had been staged. I had a photo that the film company had taken of the location and, sure enough, I found it.
As I shot photos of the railroad tracks...
I was transported back in time and for a moment believed I was witnessing the James gang rob the railroad in revenge for their mother's death.
There have been a lot of movies made about Jesse and Frank James over the years, but 'Jesse James' was the first and probably one of the best ones ever made. It was the fourth largest grossing film of 1939 behind 'Gone With The Wind,' 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'
When they weren't shooting the film, Power, Fonda and Randolph Scott, who also appeared in the movie, relaxed at Shadow Lake Resort in Noel, MO. The resort is situated on the shores of the Elk River in Oklahoma.
An old woman who was a great-grandmother verified the story about how the people of Pineville felt about Fonda and Power.
'Henry Fonda was a jerk,' she said. 'He played Frank James and he deserved to get shot in the back by that Bob Ford.
'But Tyrone Power was a very sweet guy. We all loved him. No wonder that town beauty let him seduce her.' She smiled. 'If he had asked me, I might have gone along with him for the ride.'
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
