(Philip Kaufman, US 1972, 91 min., 35mm)

George Eastman Honorary Scholar Kaufman’s first Hollywood feature is a revisionist Western with a fresh take on the legendary James/Younger gang. Jesse James (Robert Duvall) is revealed as a mildly retarded degenerate, while Cole Younger (Cliff Robertson) is shown to be the brains of the operation as they and their outlaw gang of thieves plan and execute the fateful bank robbery in the title town.
Then at 8:45 p.m.

I Shot Jesse James

(Samuel Fuller, US 1949, 81 min., 35mm)

The story of Bob Ford, that “dirty little coward” who “laid poor Jesse in his grave,” is given a thoughtful spin by two-fisted filmmaker Fuller in his directorial debut. Fuller creates sympathy for Ford by concentrating on his psychological confusion. Two films for one admission price.

This film appears as part of the Auteur Showdown series. Click here to read more about auteur directors working in the western genre.