The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

In Vinegaroon, Texas, former outlaw Roy Bean appoints himself the judge for the region and dispenses his brand of justice as he sees fit.

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

John Milius (original screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Ava Gardner, Roy Jenson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Judge Roy Bean
Roy Jenson	...	Outlaw
Gary Combs	...	Outlaw
Fred Brookfield	...	Outlaw
Bennie E. Dobbins	...	Outlaw (as Ben Dobbins)
Richard Farnsworth	...	Outlaw (as Dick Farnsworth)
Leroy Johnson	...	Outlaw (as LeRoy Johnson)
Fred Krone	...	Outlaw
Terry Leonard	...	Outlaw
Dean Smith	...	Outlaw
Margo Epper	...	Whore
Jeannie Epper	...	Whore
Stephanie Epper	...	Whore
Victoria Principal	...	Maria Elena
Barbara J. Longo	...	Fat Lady

Storyline

A no account outlaw establishes his own particular brand of law and order and builds a town on the edges of civilization in this farcical western. With the aid of an old law text and unpredictable notions Roy Bean distinguishes between lawbreakers and lawgivers by way of his pistols.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | judge | western town | lawman | based on true story | 

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Taglines:

Maybe This Isn't The Way It Was - It's The Way It Should Have Been!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Judge Roy Bean also serves as the likable main antagonist in a 1959 issue of the cult Belgian western comedy adventure comic book series called Lucky Luke. The story in question is titled The Judge ('Le Juge' being the original French title) and has Lucky Luke, a savvy, laconic, sharpshooting cowboy, face the even more fraudulent and sleazy antics of Judge Roy Bean than the ones seen in the movie when he tries to quasi-legally confiscate the cattle Luke was hired to take from one U.S. state to another. Luke is then forced to come up with a way to outsmart the judge and get his cattle back but also liberate the town from the Judge's oppressive, questionably legal iron grip. The comic has also been published in English.

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Goofs

When Bean regains consciousness in the alley behind the theater, he pushes over a modern, round, galvanized garbage can.

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Quotes

Snake River Rufus Krile: I'm blood kin to a Gila monster. Can drink my weight in wolf poison. Massacre, bloodshed, famine and drought all put meat on my bones.

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Alternate Versions

German version is cut ca. 20 minutes.

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Connections

Edited into La Classe américaine (1993)

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Soundtracks

Marmalade, Molasses and Honey
Lyrics by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman
Music by Maurice Jarre
Sung by Andy Williams
[The song is played as background to the montage with Judge Bean, Maria Elena and the Watch Bear immediately after the bear's arrival in town]

User Reviews

A unique and successful mythic treatment of a quintessental American folk-hero.

Unlike other comedic Western films of this era, John Huston's THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN is based on a singular premise: that God Almighty has decided to judge men on this earth through Roy Bean, a petty outlaw and drifter. Early in the film Anthony Perkins (as the circuit riding Methodist minister the Reverdend LaSalle)recites the salient portion of Psalm 58 at an impromptu funeral he is presiding over for the deceased frontier scum that tried to kill and rob the solitary Roy Bean, (to their catastrophic destruction by Bean himself) Thia will remain the recurring theme and leitmotiv that will dominate and justify the startling and unlikely quest of Judge Roy Bean, petty criminal turned self appointed judge of Vinagaroon county Texas.

Despite the extreme rusticity of Bean's surrounding and beginnings, his quixotic position of dispenser of justice steadily grows and grows until Bean has become the most respected and influential man in that extreme outpost of civization.His position takes on a unmistakable sort of grandeur, as does his chivalrous obsession with Lily Langtry, which in the end has flowered into perhaps the last shout of true chivalry in the ancient European sense. When the corrupting forces of the encroaching outside world seem to have completely swallowed up Bean's life's work, the judge, who has been 'down the pike/' for twenty years, unexpectedly returns for a true DIES IRAE, a reckoning. The final scenes with Ava Gardner as Lily Langtry, visiting the tiny remaining outpost and museum which bear her name delivers a ending moment of surprisingly fine sentiment. I LOVED this picture, with the exception of the idiotic song that was inserted into the middle of this soaring myth (probably insisted upon by investors who thought an original song, no matter how dismal would increase the projected box office to the level of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 December 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

Filming Locations:

San Pedro River, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$602,511

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coleytown Productions, First Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 105 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1