The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

1972

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

67%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 9

46%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 415
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Movie Info

In this western, Jessie James (Robert Duvall), Cole Younger (Cliff Robertson), and their gang of outlaws concoct a plan to rob the biggest bank west of the Mississippi. After a series of mishaps, the group makes it to Northfield, Minnesota, where the bank is located. However, this is only the beginning of their problems, as their carefully-planned scheme slowly starts to unravel.

Cast

Cliff Robertson
as Cole Younger
Robert Duvall
as Jesse James
Luke Askew
as Jim Younger
R.G. Armstrong
as Clell Miller
Dana Elcar
as Allen
Donald Moffat
as Manning
John Pearce
as Frank James
Matt Clark
as Bob Younger
Wayne Sutherlin
as Charley Pitts
Robert H. Harris
as Wilcox
Jack Manning
as Heywood/Landlord
Elisha Cook Jr.
as Bunker
Royal Dano
as Gustavson
Mary-Robin Redd
as Kate
Bill Callaway
as Calliopist
Arthur Peterson
as Jefferson Jones
Craig Curtis
as Chadwell
Inger Stratton
as Singing whore
Barry Brown
as Henry Wheeler
Nellie Burt
as Doll Woman
Liam Dunn
as Drummer
Madeleine Taylor Holmes
as Old Granny Woman
Herbert Nelson
as Chief detective
Erik Holland
as Sheriff
Anne Barton
as Clell's wife
Marjorie Durant Dye
as Maybelle
Velda J. Hansen
as Nude Girl
William Challee
as Old Timer
Robert Gravage
as Farmer
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Critic Reviews for The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (4)

  • For all its flaws, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid is the kind of first movie so rich in texture and invention that we can look forward to a lot more from Philip Kaufman.

    May 8, 2013 | Full Review…

    Jay Cocks

    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic

  • A lovely, odd sort of middle Western. That is, it's neither conventional Western fiction nor completely documented fact, although it makes full use of history and is as crammed with the artifacts of 19th-century America.

    May 8, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Vincent Canby

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • [The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid] may be a valiant attempt but fails to come off.

    May 8, 2013 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Interesting for its demonstration of how exploitative capitalism leads simple-minded farmers' boys into outlawry, though somewhat marred by Duvall's manic interpretation of the role of Jesse James.

    May 8, 2013 | Full Review…
    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • The finale bank heist is well-executed and possibly excuses the pic's flaws.

    Sep 23, 2013 | Rating: B | Full Review…

    Dennis Schwartz

    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  • Kaufman's own script never gels and the whole exercise, admirable as it is and enlivened by quirky decidedly unwestern like humour, fails to make much dramatic impact.

    May 8, 2013 | Full Review…

    Film4 Staff

    Film4
View All Critic Reviews (9)

Audience Reviews for The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

  • Nov 09, 2011
    More of a historical western then a western movie.It wasn't all that bad but there were certain parts that were plain boring & I just wanted to hit the fast forward button.After reading the description, I was expecting it to be an awesome movie but it was just OK
    Brody M Super Reviewer
  • Jul 30, 2007
    An authentic and grungy western outlaw life is portrayed. There's little glamour here. It shows what drove the men to do what they did. It shows what a crazy guy Jesse James (Robert Duvall) was. The leader Cole Younger (Cliff Robertson) was a fun but reckless individual. They bring a few other oddball characters with them in their robberies. Some strange scenes are thrown in, which show the men enjoying a bathhouse, a trippy near-death scene, a whorehouse, and a muddy baseball game. Throughout the film, they earn their own misfortune. The ending was wacky with the posse parading the outlaws in a cage with calliope. It needs a DVD now!
    Lafe F Super Reviewer
  • Jul 25, 2007
    Robertson is a thinker and a dreamer, and Duval is a psychopath, who wants to keep on the Civil War to keep on killing; the film is unique for those two performances and the uncommented on psychedelic visions, which make science-enthusiast Cole Younger an unreligious prophet besides a decent man
    Adam M Super Reviewer
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