The Westerner (1940)

Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinergaroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay), Niven Busch (screenplay),

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gary Cooper	...	Cole Harden
Walter Brennan	...	Judge Roy Bean
Doris Davenport	...	Jane Ellen Mathews
Fred Stone	...	Caliphet Mathews
Forrest Tucker	...	Wade Harper
Paul Hurst	...	Chickenfoot
Chill Wills	...	Southeast
Lilian Bond	...	Lily Langtry
Dana Andrews	...	Hod Johnson
Charles Halton	...	Mort Borrow
Trevor Bardette	...	Shad Wilkins
Tom Tyler	...	King Evans
Lucien Littlefield	...	The Stranger

Storyline

Cole Harden just doesn't look like a horse thief, Jane-Ellen Matthews tells Judge Roy Bean as she steps up to the bar. Cole says he can't take it with him as he empties all of his coins on the bar to buy drinks for the jury. He notices two big pictures of Lily Langtry behind the bar. Sure, Cole has met the Jersey Lily, whom the hanging judge adores, even has a lock of her hair. Hanging is delayed for two weeks, giving Cole time to get in the middle of a range war between cattlemen and homesteaders and to still be around when Lily Langtry, former mistress of Edward VII who became an international actress, arrives in Texas.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | hanging | judge roy bean | homesteader | hanging judge | 

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Taglines:

THE RAW UNTAMED ADVENTUROUS WEST...LIVES AGAIN! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le cavalier du désert

Filming Locations:

near, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the last film Samuel Goldwyn produced for United Artists before moving to RKO Radio Pictures in 1941.

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Goofs

The farmers were portrayed as having filed homesteads to acquire their land in Texas when in reality, there were no homesteaders in Texas. Because Texas, an independent republic, joined the Union in l845 with full statehood status from the beginning and never went through territorial status, there was never any federal government-owned land in the state to be open under the Homestead Act.

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Quotes

Judge Roy W. Bean: Are you an attorney, Miss?
Jane Ellen Mathews: I'm as much an attorney as you are a judge!

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Connections

Featured in John Wayne Made Me Cry: Our Western Heros (2002)

User Reviews

"That's My Ruling."

Samuel Goldwyn's The Westerner would be considered a good western about that old familiar topic in westerns, the cattlemen versus the homesteaders. Gary Cooper is his usual tall in the saddle hero whose presence brings about a general righting of wrongs.

Except that Mr. Goldwyn had the presence of mind to cast Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean, local head honcho of the area around Vinegarroon, Texas. With William Wyler directing Brennan etches an unforgettable film portrayal of a man who's both ruthless in enforcing his will on the territory and a likable sort of cuss once you get to know him.

Brennan has one weakness, as the legends have it in the west, he's crushing out big time of famed English actress Lily Langtry. When Gary Cooper is brought into Brennan's courtroom which in off hours is also a saloon, a little quick thinking on his part upon seeing Langtry's portrait over the bar saves his life.

Despite Cooper's friendship with the judge, he's also taken an interest in homesteader Fred Stone's daughter, Doris Davenport. It's inevitable that Cooper and Brennan come to a parting of the ways.

Wyler who is not a director of westerns per se has directed a couple of good ones and this is one of them. There are some good action scenes here, there are some scenes laced with humor when Brennan is around, and the romance is nicely handled.

Dana Andrews and Forrest Tucker got their first notice in The Westerner as well in small parts. But it's Brennan's show.

Walter Brennan won his third Best Supporting Actor Oscar with this film. This was the fifth year the Supporting Player categories were being awarded by the Academy and Brennan won numbers one and three previously.

Western fans will like The Westerner in any event and others will watch it to see a master craftsman in Walter Brennan at his job.