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The Westerner (1940),
Director: William Wyler, rated Approved
Roaring
Prairie Fire. Desperate Fighting. Flaming Romance.
  Starring:
Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport, Fred Stone, Forrest Tucker, Paul
Hurst, Chill Wills, Lilian Bond, Dana Andrews, Charles Talton, Tom Tyler
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
- great
"When I was a kid, I
had a pet rattlesnake. I was fond of it, but I wouldn't turn my
back on it." - Cole Harden, to Judge Bean
Why watch this?
Cooper and Brennan take center stage in this classic horse
opera.
Plot Summary:
A drifter named Cole Harden is brought before the corrupt,
self-appointed "hanging judge" Roy Bean in Texas and narrowly
escapes death by exploiting the judge's intense, personal
obsession with famous singer Lily Langtry. Despite this uneasy
introduction, the two men develop a strange friendship, which is
tested as Harden sides with local homesteaders against the
cattle ranchers and ruthless tactics favored by Bean.
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Dad's Preview:
The two great early Western actors were John Wayne and
Gary Cooper. Both always embodied the Western loner, a
man of principals and honor who is not afraid to stand
up to lawlessness. In those days, they would make six
films a year so it's my job to ferret out the better
entries. Here, a young, handsome wanderer, Cole Harden,
finds himself at odds with the notorious Judge Roy Bean
(who was a real judge in Val Verde County, Texas). The
strength of this film, centered on a range war between
cattlemen and fence-stringing homesteaders, is the
tenuous friendship between the gruff Judge and the
affable Hardin. You can sense where things are heading.
There is action, romance and gunplay aplenty, however,
all stands second to Walter Brennan's Oscar-winning
performance as the eccentric Judge Roy Bean. |
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Samuel Goldwyn
Productions; United Artists |
