According to production notes in AMPAS library files, the film had several working titles, including The James Family, Bandit Kings, and Outlaws.
       A 29 Jun 1979 DV article reported that the project had made the rounds for five years to secure financing and casting. The production had been conceived as live theater, a musical, a television miniseries, and finally, as a feature film, according to a 2 Jul 1979 LAT article. A 15 Sep 1975 Box article stated that The James Family was one of five pictures scheduled for production by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus’ AmeriEuro Pictures Corp. Jeff Bridges was hired to star and David Korn had written the screenplay, which was scheduled for production in summer 1976; however neither Bridges, Korn, nor AmeriEuro are credited in the picture.
       On 28 Aug 1978, an HR news item that referred to the picture as Bandit Kings stated that three sets of brothers were cast in the film: James and Stacy Keach, Timothy and Joseph Bottoms, and Beau and Jeff Bridges. Six months later, a 23 Feb 1979 news item stated that members of the Carradine family would act in the upcoming $5 million feature, which was scheduled to begin principal photography 15 Aug 1979 in MO, although David Carradine was listed as “Jesse James,” Robert Carradine as “Frank James” and their father, John Carradine, would appear as “Doc Samuels,” father-in-law of the two brothers. The news item in 2 Apr 1979 Look, which referred to the picture as Outlaw, reported that James and Stacy Keach would play “Jesse James” and Frank James,” respectively, while David, Keith and Robert Carradine would portray “Cole Younger,” “Jim Younger,” and “Bob Younger” and Jeff and Beau Bridges would appear as “Bob Ford” and “Charlie Ford.” Brothers Nicholas and Christopher Guest replaced the Bridges. According to the 2 Jul 1979 LAT article, the Bottoms brothers – Timothy, Sam, and Benjamin – had expressed interest in the project but the roles had already gone to the Carradines.
       A 8 Oct 1979 United Artists press release stated that the film’s budget increased to $8 million.
       Production notes reported that plans to film in Jackson County, MO, the original turf of the James-Younger gang, were abandoned early because the area no longer resembled the historic setting. Instead Clayton, GA, was chosen to fill in for MO. Other GA locations included countryside on the outskirts of Albany, where three weeks of filming took place and the towns of Leary and Parrott, which were used as substitutes for Gallatin, MO, and Northfield, MN, respectively. To convert Parrott, a small town with a population of 264, into a MN town circa 1876, production designer Jack T. Collis and his crew removed all utility poles, added 19th-century facades to storefronts, and used fifty truckloads of dirt to hide the town’s paved main street. According to a 18 Sep 1979 UA press release, five hundred extras were recruited for five days to shoot the raid sequence in the town.
       Later, the production moved to Tyler and Palestine, TX, for train sequences, followed by additional shooting at The Burbank Studios in Los Angeles, CA, according to 7 Sep and Oct 1979 UA press releases. A 14 Nov 1979 UA press release announced that the production would continue shooting in Sonora, CA. A brief in the 10 Dec 1979 DV reported that principal photography was completed 23 Nov 1979 after a fifteen-week shoot.
       Reviews ranged from good to poor. While reviews in 16 Jun 1980 Time and 2 Jun 1980 New West praised many of the performances, Janet Maslin’s review in the 16 May 1980 NYT observed that handsome photography and attention to detail could not offset a screenplay that did little to reveal character.
       As noted in UA press releases from 4 Sep 1989 UA, 12 Oct 1979 UA, and 4 Dec 1979 UA, the film planned to mark the theatrically-released feature film debuts of Pamela Reed (“Belle Star”) , Oakland Raider’s football star Fred Biletnikoff, and guitar maker, Stuart Mossman (“Engineer”). While Biletnikoff was slated to play a doctor, he is not credited on screen. Ry Cooder, who composed the picture’s original musical score, had a cameo role as a guitar player at a brothel, according to a news item in the 29 Aug 1979 DV. He did not receive screen credit for his acting.
      The following acknowledgments appear in the end credits: “With special thanks to the Georgia Film Commission for their help and cooperation,” and “Filmed on location in Georgia, Texas, Northern California, and at The Burbank Studios.”