AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

jc-osms This Golden Age western started off in an almost light-comedic vein, despite its more serious subject matter of the dispute between cattle-men and homesteaders in post US Civil War Texas, which introduces us to the dominating character of Roy Bean (Walter Brennan) as judge, jury and executioner of anyone who comes across his path. Sure enough, across his path, moseys drifter Gary Cooper's Cole Harden, caught stealing the horse of one of Bean's gang, but picking up on the judge's infatuation with theatrical star Lilly Langtry, bluffs his way out of a near-certain hanging and begins an uneasy friendship with his new benefactor on the strength of a supposed past acquaintance with the famous actress..This odd pair bonds over a few bottles of the local snake-eye, but the film deepens and darkens with Cooper's involvement with the god-fearing homesteaders and in particular the doughty daughter of the occupiers' elderly patriarch and after a peace largely brokered by Cooper breaks down with the renegades burning down their rivals land and homes, it's obvious that Coop can't stands no more and sets himself on a collision course with the Judge in a showdown at, of all things, a theatrical performance in town by the one and only Miss Langtry.I'm not sure the story needed the fantastical involvement of Lily, unless the real Roy Bean was indeed her number one fan, but the rest of the film plays just fine. Cooper is his usual gawky, bumbling ordinary average Joe, who has more steel about him than you'd think, while Brennan steals the show with that so-distinctive voice and a performance of rare verve and charm. Doris Davenport I wasn't familiar with but she isn't overawed by the two star names as the feisty daughter.You can usually count on William Wyler to deliver a solidly entertaining movie, cleverly mixing in elements of action, drama and comedy to good effect. Master cameraman Gregg Toland as usual delivers some fine tableaux in black and white, especially the fire scene, this last perhaps inspired by a similar one in the previous year's blockbuster "Gone With The Wind" and there's another excellent scene where Cooper gets into a fight with a local rancher, with no exaggerated sound effects in literally, quite a dust-up between the two.I liked this film the more it progressed and in particular featured two fine lead performances at its heart.

spelvini The Westerner, low on the special effects list still delivers such a satisfying punch, with a story that is complicated by character-driven plot turns, that the overall effect is one of real history. Based on the actual existence of at least one character Judge Roy Ben, the movie weaves together a fabric of fiction and history at once based on the myth of the West, while countering it to allow the viewer into a tale that fulfills every expectation.In his saloon in the town of Vinegaroon, Texas Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan) holds court and proclaims himself the only law west of the Pecos. When Cole Harden (Gary Cooper) is brought before him for judgment on a horse stealing charge it appears that the good-natured drifter will be hanged by the judge. When Cole notices the many images of the famed performer Lilly Langtry around the saloon he begins spinning a tale of his friendship with the woman, intriguing the judge and causing a suspended sentence to be handed down on the agreement t that Cole will give the judge a lock of the woman's hair that he has hidden in El Paso. The judge develops a strange admiration for Cole and the men become friendly until a local homesteader Jane Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport) comes to the judge to complain of his hanging one of her hands. It seems the aggression between the cattlemen, which Judge Ben supports, and the homesteaders is bubbling over and Jane and her father who have a small farm are being pushed out. When Bean initiates a fire that destroys Jane's farm and kills her father Cole gets an arrest warrant and has himself deputized to arrest the judge, but a shoot-out erupts ending in tragedy.Much has been said of Gary Cooper's quiet, subtle acting technique and here it is in great form, but the real prize is Walter Brenan who plays the real-life Judge Bean with a host of idiosyncrasies that completely humanize the legendary figure. It becomes clear that the judge is abusing his power as a law enforcer in order to bilk money from those who are brought before him, but Brenan justifies all his character's motivations, and even when the motives are less than pure, we still can't help but find him lovable.The film takes fetishism to unreliable heights for a film from the 40s. The supposed lock of hair belonging to Lilly Langtry that Cole uses as leverage to escape sentencing is played against hold so much obsessive power of Judge Bean that Brennan positively drools over the talisman in the scene when Cooper's Cole hands it over to him. This is strange and new for a western and adds to the list of lore about the legendary judge that history has risen to mythic levels.As the love interest in the movie we know from the get-go that Cole and Jane represent the hope for the future in the ugly rough western land. And much of the earned success of the films characters will be at the expense of land, property, and loyalties. This sacrificing of the characters basic desires for something else, something with more valuable long-term effects leaves the films finale with a tainted sense of hope.The film runs a little long for one from 1940, and this is due to the way that director William Wyler works to allow the characters to tell their story and shape the film. If you fell at times that the plot drags, you will surely be drawn to how the actors are sculpting the tale. It's one you will return to again to see the great perfs from Walter Brennan and Gary Cooper.

dougdoepke The heart of the movie is the developing relationship between Bean (Brennan) and Harden (Cooper), and it's one of the more affecting ones in Hollywood filmdom. The two actors play off one another in subtle and convincing fashion. Credit too, a clever screenplay that creates the troubled friendship in unforgettable fashion. Bean, of course, represents the lawless first wave of frontier settlement by ranchers, and Brennan's almost scary as the hangin' judge. He's aggressive, foul-tempered, and allows no second-guessing. And when Harden's accused of being a horse thief, it's almost certain he's a "gonner". Except the saddle tramp has quick wits about him, claiming he knows the object of Bean's near worship— songstress Lilly Langtry. That's enough to get his hanging postponed. Note, however, that neither we nor Bean are told at any time whether Harden has made-up the story or not. With the lock of hair, though, it appears he has.The dramatic high point, of course, is the crop burning by the ranchers. It's an attempt to drive out the second wave of settlers, namely the farmers who've taken over good grazing land. It's a great effect that stands up even today, the vast fields of corn going up like a roaring inferno. I don't know how the movie makers did it, but it's definitely an A-movie effect. Throughout it all, Cooper is his usual tight-lipped, unsmiling movie self, a distinct contrast to the talkative Bean, and a perfect casting choice.I can't help thinking that the judge's obsession with Langtry represents his soft side that he's had to channel away from the hard side as keeper of law and order on the frontier. That final sequence is so well thought out. It's almost a 'male weepie' and a perfect culmination of the wavering relationship between the two men. Then too, what a great glimpse of earthly heaven right before the slow fadeout.All in all, the 100-minutes is an unforgettable western, thanks mainly to Brennan's sharp- edged judge, richly deserving of the Oscar he received.

cricket crockett We here in Texas have always HATED corn. If you have steak, who needs vegetables? America is fat (morbidly obese) today because high fructose CORN syrup is sneaked into almost every product in our groceries. Roy Bean tried to nip the creeping evil of Big Corn in the bud during the time he appears in this libelous Big Corn Lobby smear campaign film, THE WESTERNER. As Roy knew, any grain or vegetable requires many illegal southerners to harvest. Folks like Col. Travis and Jim Bowie DIED in order to kick them out of here (they even had the unmitigated gall to try to free our Intercontinentals!). Heroes such as Davey Crockett, Sam Houston and corn farmer-Hanging Judge Roy Bean tried to insure Texans a future steady diet of good old American steak. But rascals with names like Abe Lincoln and Michelle Obama have crammed fattening corn products down our throats instead as the decades roll by. At the end of this film, the FAKE westerner played by Gary Cooper ASSASSINATES Roy Bean so the Yankee fat cats behind Big Corn can have the last laugh. If you feel a twinge of unease watching your 400-pound 12-year-old waddling toward the fridge tonight, blame Gary Cooper and Big Corn!!