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:

revisionist western | texas | judge | western town | lawman | 

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Taglines:

I Want Peace - And I Don't Care Who I Kill to Get It!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

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:

$16,530,578

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coleytown Productions, First Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 105 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to John Huston, "The writer of the original script, John Milius, was there all the time, we'd work at night. He was a joy to work with, and entered into new ideas with great enthusiasm. It turned out to be one of those pictures that we wrote as we went along." Milius refuted that account, however. The writer said that his original script was less of a cartoonish satire and that the Judge was a multi-dimensional character: "There were dark, evil sides to that man, as well as funny, charming sides. You saw that the evil was necessary at first, but that, as time progressed, it was no longer needed . . . The whole thing was horribly mangled".

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Goofs

Louis XIV only had six children with Marie. And only one of those lived to adulthood. He also had 13 known illegitimate children.

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Quotes

Tector Crites (Jackson gang: The Watch Bear moved right into the household. The Judge and him and Maria Elena were inseparable like. The three of them used to go picnicking together.

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Alternate Versions

British theatrical version was cut for an 'A' rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Friends: The One with the Giant Poking Device (1996)

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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 flawed masterpiece

This underrated/underseen Huston film is definitely worth a look. Newman is wonderful as Roy Bean, and the large supporting cast is amazing, especially Anthony Perkins as a travelling padre, Stacy Keach as Bad Bob, Roddy McDowell as a wormy lawyer, Ned Beatty as the outlaw who'd rather be a bartender, and John Huston himself as Grizzly Adams. This is not a perfect picture at all. It falls apart by the last third or so, has a terrible day-for-night process shot that doesn't really work, and a unnecessary and embarrassing "raindrops keep falling on my head"-type musical montage, but the rest of it is great fun. This is the crazy kind of script Milius used to write in the 70s, like Apocalypse Now and especially 1941. The tone is very odd, but if you like your comedy dark and your westerns satirical you'll find lots to like about this one. A very broad and dark performance by Newman, who manages to find the pathos and integrity of this western charicature. It's a nice companion/contrast to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Kind of what Rami must have been going for in The Quick and the Dead (minus the Spaghetti Western style), and the examination of the mythic hero that Roderiguez tried for in Desperado, but much better achieved by Huston (duh). Fun stuff.