Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie of this year hands down!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This movie begins with an incompetent insurance agent named "Milford Farnsworth" (Bob Hope) accidentally selling a life insurance policy to the notorious outlaw "Jesse James" (Wendell Corey) who just happens to be visiting New York. Needless to say, with so many people gunning for this particular outlaw his boss is not very happy with this transaction. Because of that he immediately sends Milford on the next train back west to find Jesse and refund the money in exchange for the policy he issued to him. Failing that, he is given instructions to keep Jesse alive as long as possible so the insurance company doesn't have to pay anything. To that end, Milford assumes the identity of Jesse to confuse everybody—and that suits the outlaw just fine. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay comedy which suffered a couple of misfires here and there but essentially made up for it with the presence of Rhonda Fleming (as Jesse's girlfriend "Cora Lee Collins") who was absolutely stunning. In any case, while this it's certainly not a hilarious movie it was good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is one of Bob Hope's films before his movies really went downhill in quality in the 1960s. And, like his better films this is a period piece--his last one, in fact. Now I am not saying it's a great film but it is amusing and features a truly wonderful final climactic scene that makes the film worth seeing--but I'll say no more about this because it would ruin it.The film begins with Hope working for an insurance company but it's hard to understand why his poor boss (Will Wright) keeps him on the payroll. He hasn't sold a single policy and the closest he came to it was a guy who died before they could complete the required physical! In fact, after further screw ups, Wright has finally had enough and tells him to get lost. Soon afterwords, Hope meets up with a stranger (Wendell Corey--in an odd bit of casting) who buys a huge policy. Wright is so happy he rehires Hope. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent the new policy holder is Jesse James and Wright is worried this policy will bankrupt them, as EVERYONE seems to want James dead! So, he sends Hope out west--to find Jesse and stay with him to prevent an early demise or give him a refund and cancel the policy. Along the way, Hope has various cute encounters with tough guys and Rhonda Fleming. I don't want to say more, but this mildly amusing farce works up to a wonderful finale and was a was worth my time. Not a great film but pretty good.

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.

I grew up on a steady diet of cowboys & Bob Hope, & I fondly remember this one from my teenage years at the local theatre. While it is not as great as "The Ghostbreakers", or "Son of the Paleface", it is still a very enjoyable and hilarious romp through the "old West". There are sight-gags & pratfalls galore, & some really witty dialogue & joke routines from Hope (even Wendell Corey manages to be funny in this one...quite a change from the stalwart Mountie in "The Wild North"!) I especially loved seeing the drop-dead beautiful Rhonda Fleming at the height of her career. When she kisses Bob, I had to grind my teeth in jealousy that it wasn't me instead. The ending is really an inspired bit of nostalgia, with many of the great cowboy stars from 1950s TV Westerns showing up in cameo roles. About the only ones missing are Paladin, Hopalong Cassidy, & the Lone Ranger (Tonto is there though...I think this was filmed during the time that Clayton Moore was in a salary dispute with his TV producers...maybe that explains his absence?). Gene Autry was in the theatrical release but was cut out of the version that plays on TV now...probably because his widow wouldn't give legal permission. I found it really sad that we were deprived of seeing him because of mere money. Gene was always one my favorite cowboy stars...sigh. Anyway, if you enjoy family-friendly films & classic comedy routines, then you'll love this movie.