The Westerner (1940)

[Scott]

THE WESTERNER (1940) - Good Western starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennen. The story takes place in Texas in this  homesteader vs cattlemen film with a dash of comedy and some more serious moments. The acting is superb especially the lead roles and the whole thing on FLIX tonight was in color. Not sure if it was technicolor or not. You Western fans will like this one.



One of the main characters was the crazy Judge Roy Bean played by Walter Brennen. Cooper and Brennen make a good team in this film. I like this one even better than the Paul Newman film from the 70's about Judge Roy Bean called THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN.

[Deej]

Yeah, Scott, this is a good one. I'm not really a fan of Gary Cooper, his "Aww Shucks" act bugs me, but he's awesome in The Westerner. And, of course, Walter Brennan is always good.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Brennan was good enough to pick up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

I believe the film was shot in black-and-white.

Newman and Brennan were not the only actors to play Judge Roy Bean. Edgar Buchanan had a short-lived western series on television, during the '50's, in which he played Judge Roy Bean.

Judge Roy Bean, "The Only Law West of the Pecos."  Admirer of English actress Lily  Langtry and thus founder of Langtry, Texas, which still exists west of the Pecos River. Fined a dead man, for all the money the dead man had, for carrying a concealed weapon. And when a friend of his killed a Chinese gentleman, he opened up his lawbook and said, he didn't see any law in there against killing a Chinaman and released his friend

One of the more colorful characters in Texas history.

From old photographs of him which still exist, he looked more like Edgar Buchanan, then Walter Brennan or Paul Newman.