The Westerner (1940)

“Don’t spill any of that liquor, son, it eats right into the bar.”

One of the most colorful characters in the history of Texas is the self-styled “Law West of the Pecos” Judge Roy Bean. Director William Wyler (Jezebel, Ben Hur) made a movie about the settling of the West with the Judge as the main character. From the Stuart N. Lake biography about the hanging judge with a screenplay adapted by Niven Busch.

Actually, The Westerner starred Gary Cooper but the scene stealing Walter Brennan, one of our greatest character actors, took nearly the entire film away from Coop, winning an Oscar into the bargain.

Not to say Cooper did not do a fine job; in fact, he looks a little more robust and livelier than usual as Cole Hardin, a drifter that gets brought into the Vinegaroon courtroom for horse thieving only to notice that there are pictures of famous actress Lily Langtry plastered all over the barroom-cum-courtroom where the judge dispenses his peculiar brand of justice. Thinking fast, Cooper avoids hanging by claiming to know Lily Langtry. He even has a lock of hair from her, but not on him (wink wink). Judge Bean decides to suspend his sentence after making him promise to fetch the souvenir and return, sealing the bargain with a king-sized drink of the local whiskey “Rub o’ the Brush.”

The screenplay is probably the weakest element of the production with an improbable ending, but the interaction between Cooper and Brennan that forms the meat of the story is a viewing experience that is hard to fault. Cooper is the strong silent type while Brennan gets to play a little bantam rooster of a character, and plays it well.

It doesn’t hurt that the black and white cinematography was done by Gregg Toland who would go on the next year to shooting Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. The photography features a couple of exciting action set pieces including a knock down, drag out battle between Cooper and co-star Forrest Tucker, a fire, several gallops across the dusty plains, and a shootout between the two principals that is quite realistic, complete with bullet holes near to the actors.

Gary Cooper made many fine films - Sergeant York, Cloak and Dagger, and Vera Cruz. He always seemed very good as a cowboy and appears very much at home in his 1940s blue jeans and buckskin outfit here. Walter Brennan appeared in many memorable supporting roles like “Stumpy” in Rio Bravo, “Groot” in Red River, and “Eddie” in To Have and Have Not - but none better than here as Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner. Supporting cast includes Dana Andrews, Chill Wills, Doris Davenport, and Forrest Tucker in small but key parts.

The MGM DVD runs 100 minutes, in black and white and in 1.33:1 theatrical format. The only extras are subtitles and language choices in French and Spanish, no English subtitles so that is a con.

Altogether a well done film that should be better known and far better than the 1970s movie about Bean starring Paul Newman. Western fans will enjoy Walter Brennan taking center stage for probably the only time in his career.

Thanks for reading!


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening