The Westerner

The story essentially falls into two halves. The first involves Gary Cooper's accidental identification in Judge Bean's saloon as a horse thief, his trial and conviction, and clever manipulation of the Judge to gain a reprieve. The second half concerns Cooper's taking sides in a range war, siding with a lone female farmer against cattlemen. Both halves are brought together nicely in Cooper and Brennan's final struggle that ends the film.

Along with Walter Brennan and Gary Cooper, the real star of this film is Gregg Toland, whose cinematography rivets the viewer's attention on the screen from beginning to end. Toland, who died tragically young in 1948 at the age of 44, is universally regarded as one of the very greatest cinematographers of all time, and THE WESTERNER was one of his finest efforts in a very, very great streak of films over a relatively short period of time. In the period running from 1939-41, Toland was responsible for filming such extraordinary classics as WUTHERING HEIGHTS, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, THE WESTERNER, and CITIZEN KANE. Has any cinematographer ever had a two-year period matching this one? I saw THE WESTERNER years before I knew who Gregg Toland was, but I long retained the memory of several of the amazing shots Toland framed. He was a favorite of director William Wyler, who would employ him often during Toland's tragically short career.

Toland's photography manages to give this film an epic feel and scope, while the tensions in the relationship between Cooper and Brennan make it a highly intimate film. This is easily one of the most unique Westerns in the history of Holly, and one of the best.


Unrestored DVD   November 21, 2000
Icepick (Castroville, CA USA)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

It's a very good film but I knock the score down for the shoddy quality of the DVD. Graininess is apparent throughout. There are also some bad scars on the film that show up. Most annoying was a frequent change in contrast. The film would jump to a faded condition, sometimes in the middle of the scene. This movie would be a real prize with a restored print on DVD. Let's hope they get around to it.


"Every man gets a fair trial before we hang 'em!" - Judge Roy Bean   October 18, 2005
Jeremy W. Forstadt (Phoenix, AZ)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

One of the greatest of American directors, William Wyler is known for such classic films as MRS MINIVER, ROMAN HOLIDAY, and BEN-HUR. It is less well known that Wyler began his career directing a long list of cheap westerns for Universal Pictures in the 1920s. After establishing his reputation as a major film director in the 1930s (with such films as DEAD END, JEZEBEL, and WUTHERING HEIGHTS), Wyler returned to the western genre in 1940 intent on making the finest western to date. The successful result of this endeavor was THE WESTERNER.

Gary Cooper stars as the smooth-talking drifter Cole Harden, and William Brennan plays a villainous, yet often likeable, Judge Roy Bean. Brennan's portrayal of Bean would deservedly win him his record third Oscar in a five-year span. Much of the film is focused on the relationship between Harden and Bean. Harden's manipulation of Bean is humorous and masterful as he manages to become the first accused man to avoid hanging in Bean's saloon/courthouse. Ultimately, the odd friendship that develops between the two men crashes: a result of Bean's unwavering support of the local cattle ranchers against the newly arrived homesteaders in a tragic range war which is tearing the county apart. In the end, Harden and Bean must meet in a classic showdown, but unlike most movie showdowns, we have sympathy for both characters.

Walter Brennan is the true star of this picture in what has become the definitive portrayal of Judge Roy Bean. Bean is a real villain in this film, but Brennan makes him complex and likeable nonetheless. If it wasn't for his star power, Cooper should have received second billing in this movie, since the Bean role is clearly the dominant one. Brennan's solid reputation and identification as a character actor may have contributed to his relegation to a supporting role, but again, a supporting role in name only.

Doris Davenport plays Jane Ellen Mathews, the lady farmer that Harden/Cooper falls for and takes up with against Judge Bean. The ensemble cast includes such notables as Chill Wills and Paul Hurst as well as Dana Andrews and Forrest Tucker in their first screen roles. Cinematography is by the great Gregg Toland (CITIZEN KANE, THE GRAPES OF WRATH) and Samuel Goldwyn produced the film. Director William Wyler ultimately achieved his objective: THE WESTERNER is truly one of the great westerns of all time.

Jeremy W. Forstadt


Cooper cracks necks with the best of em'   December 18, 2002
Maddox (United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

The Westerner is simply one of the best westerns ever made. It starts of course with Gregg Toland's incredible cinematography. "The Westerner" has all of the classic elements of the genre, the lonesome drifter (Cooper), the half-evil judge (Brennan as Judge Roy Bean), the "searching-for-a-real-man" woman, the gang of thug rustlers (played by a gang of various thugs), the wimpy farmers (played by a bunch of wimpy farmers), the raunchy bar-room singer (played by a lock of golden hair), and the climatic shoot-out (Cooper versus Brennan). The scenes that steal the movie are those in which Cooper kindly agress to gently crack Judge Roy Beans stiff neck with a quick twist. You can hear the pops and also feel the relief as you watch.


Well-done western about Judge Roy Bean   December 4, 2005
Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful


Among the better Western movies, with Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper as the saddle bum who becomes Bean's friend and then turns against him when Bean harasses the homesteaders. Cooper is brought before Bean for horse stealing, but Coop gets off by inventing a story about Lily Langtry, Brennan's fantasy love, who falls for it. He keeps stringing Brennan along with the made-up story throughout the picture, which becomes a bit trying at times. Cooper's stiff "Yups" can drive you crazy after a while, too.

But Brennan is excellent (he deservedly won an Oscar), and the shoot-out ending in the empty theatre between Coop and him, where Brennan gets to meet his Langtry backstage just before dying, is well done. The music (by Alfred Newman, who went uncredited) is a bit on the "HEAVY" side and over-emphatic, as if to make sure we get the point and have the right reactions. But the Gregg Toland photography is marvelous, and William Wyler's direction is superb. Definitely worth a watch.