While it has its flaws, The Return of Frank James is overall an intriguing and interesting exploration of revenge in the Old West. Return is less of a shoot 'em up than a study of how the desire for vengeance can become a deadly obsession. There's a great deal of psychological groundwork laid out in Return, and that's the kind of territory that fascinates director Fritz Lang. He wants to get inside the skulls of both Frank James and his nemesis, Robert Ford, to see what really makes them tick, and there are moments in Return that allow him to do just that. Unfortunately, these moments are undercut by sections in the script that seem to have come directly from the Hays office; the title character is essentially shown as an innocent, despite the fact that his actions bring about several deaths, because a villain wasn't allowed to be the hero of a movie. This whitewashing undercuts the film's effectiveness in general and Lang's strength in particular. The obligatory love interest also feels tacked on, and the courtroom finale is allowed to go on a mite too long. But to balance this, you have a beautifully intense Henry Fonda performance, as well as fine work from John Carradine and Jackie Cooper, plus the sheer physical beauty of Gene Tierney. And despite the lapses in the screenplay, there's enough here for Lang to work with to bring forth some gold.