Judge Roy Bean (1956– )

Western set in the Texas town of Langtry, named after Lillie Langtry. When storekeeper Roy Bean becomes fed up with the lawlessness in the town, he sets establishes himself as a judge and introduces a system of law and order.

Stars:

Edgar Buchanan, Jack Buetel, Jackie Loughery

Cast

Series cast summary:
Edgar Buchanan	...	Judge Roy Bean (39 episodes, 1956-1957)
Jack Buetel	...	Jeff Taggert (36 episodes, 1956)
Jackie Loughery	...	Letty Bean (35 episodes, 1956)

Storyline

Western set in the Texas town of Langtry, named after Lillie Langtry. When storekeeper Roy Bean becomes fed up with the lawlessness in the town, he sets establishes himself as a judge and introduces a system of law and order.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | character name in title

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Roy Bean, ein Richter im wilden Westen

Filming Locations:

Pioneertown, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barrett, Quintet Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (39 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[Judge Bean has found a railroad man guilty of shooting cattle]
Judge Roy Bean: You better teach your boys the difference between deers and steers.

User Reviews

Law West Of The Pecos

Ever since Walter Brennan played Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner, the judge has held a peculiar fascination for the western fan. As Brennan did him, he wasn't exactly a hero, but it got Brennan his third Academy Award.

For modern filmgoers, Paul Newman is the name they recognize from the John Huston classic western. A whole lot more of what went into Bean's psychological makeup is found in this western.

The judge got to be the central character of this 30 minute television western in 1956 and Edgar Buchanan played him. All though Buchanan has played out and out villains on the big screen, here we see him as more like folksy Uncle Joe Carson from Petticoat Junction. He didn't shy away from gunplay though. Many times he held court right on the open range shooting it out with outlaws.

I'm reminded of Henry Fonda's line in his western Firecreek. 'When you find no law in a place you make your own'. It seems to be the governing philosophy of the Bean character. This western series left no doubt that the choice was Bean or anarchy.

The Judge's crushing out on Lily Langtry is barely mentioned in this series. We do know the town of Vinegarroon, Texas was renamed Langtry as per one of the Judge's rulings. Which it is down to this day.

Though it lasted only a season, Judge Roy Bean seemed to be in syndication forever through the sixties. Like so many shows from my childhood, I wish we could see it again.