Robert Duvall passed away Sunday night at his home in Virginia at the age of 95. Duvall became an instantly recognizable actor after his role in The Godfather, playing Tom Hagen. While Duvall will always be known for his role in movies like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Godfather, there was one movie that he was in that has some Minnesota ties.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid 

The 1972 film, directed by Philip Kaufman, was set in 1876, as Duvall was cast as the bank-robbing gun slinger and gang leader, Jesse James. The film, which was about the Northfield bank robbery that claimed the lives of several people, was actually shot mostly in Oregon.

Failed Robbery Led To The End of the James-Younger Gang

The movie was about the failed robbery of the First National Bank in Northfield. The gang, which had been very successful at robbing banks, but this robbery went differently.

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A cashier by the name of Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the safe, shouting "Murder, murder!" to alert the town, and was killed by Frank James. It was then that a group of townspeople raised up arms and engaged in a shootout.

Fled To Missouri - Reputation Destroyed

Both Jesse James and his brother Frank James got away from the shootout, but after the botched robbery, which only saw the gang get away with $26.70, the gang's reputation was 'destroyed' according to various accounts.

Role Wasn't One Of His Favorites

The role of playing Jesse James wasn't Robert Duvall's favorite role, playing Stalin in HBO's Stalin in 1992, but he found success on the silver screen by acting in Westerns. Some other notable Western roles for Duvall included:

"Lucky" Ned Pepper - True Grit

Boss Spearman - Open Range

Vernon Adams - Lawman

Frank Harlan - Joe Kidd

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