The Westerner
Encyclopedia
The Westerner is a 1940
American
film directed by William Wyler
, and starring Gary Cooper
, Walter Brennan
, and Doris Davenport
. Written by Niven Busch
, Stuart N. Lake
, and Jo Swerling
, the film is often remembered for one of Walter Brennan
's best performances, as Judge Roy Bean, which led to him winning his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
. James Basevi
and Stuart N. Lake also received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Black and White
and Best Story
respectively.
) who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting his "trials" from his saloon, Bean makes a nice corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are usually hanged—given what Bean calls "suspended sentences".
Cole Hardin (Gary Cooper
) is a drifter brought in on a charge of stealing a horse belonging to Bean's main sidekick, Chickenfoot (Paul Hurst
). Hardin's conviction by a jury composed of Bean's hangers-on seems certain; even the undertaker waits eagerly for the verdict and subsequent hanging. Bean dismisses Hardin's contention that he bought the horse legally from another man. Noticing the judge's obsession with the English actress Lily Langtry, Hardin claims to have met Miss Langtry, spoken with her, and to have known her intimately. He cons the judge into delaying the death sentence until Hardin can send for a lock of the actress' hair, which he supposedly has in El Paso. The delay is long enough for the real horse thief (Tom Tyler
) to show up and get killed.
Despite his warped sense of justice and corrupt nature, Bean genuinely likes Hardin, considering him something of a kindred spirit. Hardin is as bold and daring as Bean was in his youth, and the judge feels something like friendship for him. But this "friendship" doesn't stop Bean from trying to shoot Hardin when the drifter lends his support to the homesteaders—a group led by Jane-Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport
) and her father Caliphet (Fred Stone
). The struggling homesteaders have been at odds with Bean and his cattle-rancher allies for a long time. Hardin tries to appeal to the judge's better nature. He even saves Bean from an attempted lynching. But when that fails, and a corn crop is burned and Mr. Mathews killed, Hardin sees no choice but to take action. He gets himself deputized by the county sheriff and swears out an arrest warrant against Bean.
Arresting Bean in Vinegaroon—now renamed "Langtry" by the judge in honor of the actress—is impossible with all of Bean's men around. When Bean learns that Lily Langtry will be appearing in Texas, a long day's ride from Vinegaroon, he dresses up in his full Civil War regalia and rides to see the performance with his men in tow. When he arrives, Bean buys up every ticket and eagerly awaits her appearance alone in the audience, leaving his henchmen outside. Unknown to Bean, Hardin has been waiting in the theater to arrest the judge. A standoff and shoot-out occur, and Bean is fatally wounded during the gunfight. Harden carries his dying friend backstage to meet the woman he has adored for so long. As Bean stares at the "Jersey Lily", he dies. Harden returns to Jane, and watches as new settlers arrive.
(1938), The Westerner (1940), Meet John Doe
(1940), Sergeant York
(1941), Pride of the Yankees (1942), and Task Force
(1949).
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film directed by William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
, and starring Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
, and Doris Davenport
Doris Davenport
Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan was an American film actress during the 1930s and early 1940s.Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, but raised in Hollywood, California...
. Written by Niven Busch
Niven Busch
Niven Busch was an American novelist and screenwriter of movies such as the acclaimed The Postman Always Rings Twice. His novels included Duel In the Sun and California Street...
, Stuart N. Lake
Stuart N. Lake
Stuart N. Lake was a writer whose material dealt largely with the American Old West...
, and Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter.Born in Berdichev, Russian Empire, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family...
, the film is often remembered for one of Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
's best performances, as Judge Roy Bean, which led to him winning his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. James Basevi
James Basevi
James Basevi was a British born art director and special effects expert....
and Stuart N. Lake also received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Black and White
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
and Best Story
Academy Award for Best Story
The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:...
respectively.
Plot
The town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean (Walter BrennanWalter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
) who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting his "trials" from his saloon, Bean makes a nice corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are usually hanged—given what Bean calls "suspended sentences".
Cole Hardin (Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
) is a drifter brought in on a charge of stealing a horse belonging to Bean's main sidekick, Chickenfoot (Paul Hurst
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst is a former English footballer who played in Football League Two in England, for Rotherham, where he played for over 10 years. He is currently joint manager of Conference National side Grimsby Town with Rob Scott.-Playing career:Hurst figured regularly on the left side of the...
). Hardin's conviction by a jury composed of Bean's hangers-on seems certain; even the undertaker waits eagerly for the verdict and subsequent hanging. Bean dismisses Hardin's contention that he bought the horse legally from another man. Noticing the judge's obsession with the English actress Lily Langtry, Hardin claims to have met Miss Langtry, spoken with her, and to have known her intimately. He cons the judge into delaying the death sentence until Hardin can send for a lock of the actress' hair, which he supposedly has in El Paso. The delay is long enough for the real horse thief (Tom Tyler
Tom Tyler
Tom Tyler was an American actor in silent and sound motion pictures, best known for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the acclaimed 1941 movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel.-Biography:...
) to show up and get killed.
Despite his warped sense of justice and corrupt nature, Bean genuinely likes Hardin, considering him something of a kindred spirit. Hardin is as bold and daring as Bean was in his youth, and the judge feels something like friendship for him. But this "friendship" doesn't stop Bean from trying to shoot Hardin when the drifter lends his support to the homesteaders—a group led by Jane-Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport
Doris Davenport
Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan was an American film actress during the 1930s and early 1940s.Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, but raised in Hollywood, California...
) and her father Caliphet (Fred Stone
Fred Stone
Fred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...
). The struggling homesteaders have been at odds with Bean and his cattle-rancher allies for a long time. Hardin tries to appeal to the judge's better nature. He even saves Bean from an attempted lynching. But when that fails, and a corn crop is burned and Mr. Mathews killed, Hardin sees no choice but to take action. He gets himself deputized by the county sheriff and swears out an arrest warrant against Bean.
Arresting Bean in Vinegaroon—now renamed "Langtry" by the judge in honor of the actress—is impossible with all of Bean's men around. When Bean learns that Lily Langtry will be appearing in Texas, a long day's ride from Vinegaroon, he dresses up in his full Civil War regalia and rides to see the performance with his men in tow. When he arrives, Bean buys up every ticket and eagerly awaits her appearance alone in the audience, leaving his henchmen outside. Unknown to Bean, Hardin has been waiting in the theater to arrest the judge. A standoff and shoot-out occur, and Bean is fatally wounded during the gunfight. Harden carries his dying friend backstage to meet the woman he has adored for so long. As Bean stares at the "Jersey Lily", he dies. Harden returns to Jane, and watches as new settlers arrive.
Production
When Gary Cooper learned that Walter Brennan would be playing the part of Judge Roy Bean, he tried to back out of the film, believing his character would be reduced to a relatively minor role. Although Goldwyn assured Cooper that his role would be expanded, Cooper remained unconvinced, writing to Samuel Goldwyn, "I couldn't see that it needed Gary Cooper for the part." But Goldwyn remained adament about Cooper's contractual obligations and insisted that he star in the film. In a formal letter to Goldwyn indicating his intention to sever their future working relationship, Cooper agreed to fulfill his contract and to "perform my services ... to the fullest of my ability, with the express understanding that I am doing so under protest." Cooper and Brennan made such an effective team that they did a total of six films together: The Cowboy and the LadyThe Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)
The Cowboy and the Lady is a 1938 American western romantic comedy film directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. The film was written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Frank R. Adams and veteran film director Leo McCarey...
(1938), The Westerner (1940), Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created unwittingly by a newspaper columnist and pursued by a wealthy businessman. It became a box office hit...
(1940), Sergeant York
Sergeant York
Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
(1941), Pride of the Yankees (1942), and Task Force
Task Force (film)
Task Force is a war film filmed in black and white with some Technicolor sequences about the development of U.S. aircraft carriers from the USS Langley to the USS Franklin . The film stars Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt, Walter Brennan, Wayne Morris, Julie London, and Jack Holt.-Plot:Depicted as a 1917...
(1949).
Cast
- Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as Cole Harden - Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Judge Roy Bean - Doris DavenportDoris DavenportDoris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan was an American film actress during the 1930s and early 1940s.Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, but raised in Hollywood, California...
as Jane Ellen Mathews - Fred StoneFred StoneFred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...
as Caliphet Mathews - Forrest TuckerForrest TuckerForrest Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 190 cm tall and weighed 93 kg , appeared in nearly 100 action films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:Forrest Meredith Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana, a son of...
as Wade Harper - Paul HurstPaul Hurst (actor)Paul Causey Hurst was an American film actor and director.-Career:Born in Traver, California, and raised on a ranch, he appeared in hundreds of films during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. However, he got his start painting scenery as part of the backstage crew during the silent movie era...
as Chickenfoot - Chill WillsChill WillsChill Theodore Wills was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.-Biography:Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas in 1902. He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s...
as Southeast - Lilian BondLilian BondLilian Bond was a British film actress of the late 1920s through the 1940s, with most of her films being B-movies.-Life and career:...
as Lily Langtry - Dana AndrewsDana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
as Hod Johnson - Charles HaltonCharles HaltonCharles Halton was a stern-faced American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.One of his most memorable portrayals was as Carter, the bank examiner in It's a Wonderful Life...
as Mort Borrow - Trevor BardetteTrevor BardetteTrevor Bardette was an American film actor.He made over 172 movies and seventy-two TV appearances in his career. Bardette appeared in several memorable episodes in Adventures of Superman. In the 1951 show, The Human Bomb, he played the sinister title character...
as Shad Wilkins - Tom TylerTom TylerTom Tyler was an American actor in silent and sound motion pictures, best known for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the acclaimed 1941 movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel.-Biography:...
as King Evans - Lucien LittlefieldLucien LittlefieldLucien Littlefield was an American actor in the silent film era...
as The Stranger