The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Directed by Philip Kaufman (who later directed "The Right Stuff"), this authentically filmed Western, set in 1876, was based on little known factual data of the last failed bank robbery by Jesse James and Cole Younger, notorious outlaws of the Old West. Filmed in a semi-documentary style the film attempts to thwart the theory of outlaws being treated as folk heroes, with the real heroes depicted as the local townspeople fighting back with their own guns. Cliff Robertson (Cole Younger) was offered a choice of a flat salary or a percentage, the Oscar-winning star chose the latter. Director Philip Kaufman was a history major at the University of Chicago and researched the two outlaws so exhaustively he qualifies as an authority on them. Unusual pieces of equipment used in the film include a steam-powered tractor, an ancient horse-drawn hearse, a calliope (a steam organ), a high-wheeled log loader, and various models of velocipedes (the predecessor of the bicycle), are authentic items obtained from a pioneer museum in Jacksonville, Oregon, where the film was shot. The filming site at Jacksonville proved to be only a short distance from the city of Ashland, at the time of filming home to one of the country's most famous Shakespeare repertory groups, many of the extras in the film were used from this group.
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Cast List: Cliff Robertson .... Cole Younger
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