Movies Like The Return of Frank James (1940)

The Return of Frank James is a 1940 western film from Fritz Lang with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Jesse James and I Shot Jesse James.

Western

Jesse James

1939

After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.

6.4

MagicScore

I Shot Jesse James

1949

Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend Cynthy. The guilt-stricken Ford soon finds himself greeted with derision and open mockery throughout town. He travels to Colorado to try his hand at prospecting in hopes that marriage with Cynthy is still in the cards.

6.2

MagicScore

The Old Way

2023

An old gunslinger and his daughter must face the consequences of his past, when the son of a man he killed years ago arrives to take his revenge.

5.7

MagicScore

The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday

1976

Sam Longwood, a frontiersman who has seen better days, spies the gold-mine partner, Jack Colby, who ran off with all the gold from a mine they were prospecting fifteen years earlier. He tells his other partners from that time, Joe Knox and Billy, and they confront Colby demanding not only the thousand dollars he took but an addition fifty-nine thousand for their trouble. After being thwarted in this attempt, they, and a would-be named Thursday, hatch a plan to kidnap Colby's wife, Nancy Sue, who is coincidently Sam's old flame, but find that Nancy Sue is not the sweet girl that Sam remembers.

5.0

MagicScore

Mr. Majestyk

1974

A melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.

6.8

MagicScore

Cold Pursuit

2019

The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son's murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking's associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution.

5.9

MagicScore

Black Phone 2

2025

Four years after escaping The Grabber, Finney Blake is struggling with his life after captivity. When his sister Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp, the siblings become determined to solve the mystery and confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

6.8

MagicScore

I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

2006

Several teenagers in a small-town in Colorado concoct a July 4th prank based on a frightening legend that goes awry when their friend ends up accidentally killed; however, the teens agree to keep their involvement a secret from the authorities, who continue to search for the man who apparently killed their friend. A year later, with the July 4th celebration coming up again, the teenagers realize that they're being stalked by someone who clearly intends on keeping the horrible legend alive by killing them off.

4.2

MagicScore

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2007

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

The Long Riders

1980

The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

The True Story of Jesse James

1957

Having fought with the Confederacy during the Civil War, Jesse James and his brother Frank dream of a farm life in Missouri. Harassed by Union sympathizers, they assemble a gang of outlaws, robbing trains and becoming folk heroes in the process. Jesse marries his sweetheart, Zee, and maintains an aura of domesticity, but after a group of lawmen launch an attack on his mother's house, Jesse plans one more great raid -- on a Minnesota bank.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

American Outlaws

2001

When a Midwest town learns that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge, a group of young ranchers join forces to take back what is rightfully theirs. They will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West and, as their fame grows, so will the legend of their leader, a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James.

6.0

MagicScore

#13

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

1972

The gangs of Jesse James and Cole Younger join forces to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, but things do not go as planned.

5.6

MagicScore

#14

Frank & Jesse

1994

At the end of the Civil War, Frank and Jesse James and other former guerillas who rode with Quantrill and Bill Anderson take the oath of allegiance to the Union. Feeling oppressed by Chicago railroad investors, the James and Younger brothers, Bob and Charlie Ford, Clell Miller and Arch Clements take to robbing banks, trains and coaches, with Pinkerton sworn to bringing them to justice.

5.1

MagicScore

#15

Django Unchained

2012

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

8.2

MagicScore

#16

Unforgiven

1992

William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.

7.9

MagicScore

#17

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter

1966

Dr. Frankenstein's Granddaughter Maria, and her brother assistant Rudolph, moved to the old west because the lightning storms there are more frequent and intense, which allows them to work on the experiments of their grandfather. But the experiments are failing and Rudolph's been secretly killing the corpses afterwards. Meanwhile, the Lopez family leaves the town because of the evil going on there

4.1

MagicScore

#18

The Revenant

2015

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

The Outlaw Josey Wales

1976

After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.

7.4

MagicScore

#20

My Darling Clementine

1946

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.

7.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Return of Frank James?

The top films similar to The Return of Frank James by MovieMagicScore are Jesse James (6.4), I Shot Jesse James (6.2), The Old Way (5.7). Each shares western themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Return of Frank James worth watching?

The Return of Frank James holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 134 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Return of Frank James?

The Return of Frank James (1940) is a western film directed by Fritz Lang, starring Henry Fonda, Jackie Cooper, Gene Tierney.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Return of Frank James?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more western recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Jesse James Movies like I Shot Jesse James Movies like The Old Way Movies like The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday Movies like Mr. Majestyk Movies like Cold Pursuit

About movies like The Return of Frank James

This ranked list pairs The Return of Frank James (1940), a western film from Fritz Lang, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Henry Fonda take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to The Return of Frank James