The Westerner (1940 film)

Last updated

The Westerner
The Westerner Poster.jpg
Cinema poster
Directed by William Wyler
Screenplay by Niven Busch
Jo Swerling
W.R. Burnett (uncredited)
Lillian Hellman (uncredited)
Oliver La Farge (uncredited)
Dudley Nichols (uncredited)
Story by Stuart N. Lake
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Starring Gary Cooper
Walter Brennan
Fred Stone
Doris Davenport
Cinematography Gregg Toland
Rudolph Maté (additional footage) (uncredited)
Edited by Daniel Mandell
Music by Alfred Newman
Dimitri Tiomkin
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • September 20, 1940 (1940-09-20)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1]

The Westerner is a 1940 American Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. Written by Niven Busch and Jo Swerling (from a story by Stuart N. Lake), the film concerns a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegaroon, Texas, who befriends a saddle tramp who opposes the judge's policy against homesteaders. The film is remembered for Walter Brennan's performance as Judge Roy Bean, for which he won 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. [2] [3] The supporting cast features Dana Andrews, Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker.

Contents

Plot

In 1882, the town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean, who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting trials from his saloon, Bean makes a corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are usually hanged, receiving what Bean calls "suspended sentences."

Cole Harden is a drifter accused of stealing a horse belonging to Chickenfoot, Bean's main sidekick. Harden's conviction by a jury composed of Bean's acolytes seems certain, and the undertaker waits eagerly for the verdict and hanging. Bean dismisses Harden's contention that he had bought the horse legally from another man. Noticing the judge's obsession with the English actress Lily Langtry, Harden claims to have known her intimately. He cons the judge into delaying the death sentence until Harden can send for a lock of the Langtry's hair, which he claims to have in El Paso. The delay is long enough for the real horse thief to appear and be killed.

Despite his warped sense of justice and his corrupt nature, Bean likes Harden, considering him a kindred spirit because Harden is as bold and daring as Bean was in his youth. However, Bean tries to shoot him when Harden lends his support to the homesteaders, a group led by Jane-Ellen Mathews and her father Caliphet. The struggling homesteaders have been at odds with Bean and his cattle-rancher allies for a long time. Harden tries to appeal to the judge's better nature, and he even saves Bean from an attempted lynching. When that fails, and a corn crop is burned and Mr. Mathews killed, Harden sees no choice but to take action. He is deputized by the county sheriff and procures an arrest warrant for 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 Langtry will be appearing in a nearby town, a long day's ride from Vinegaroon, he has one of his men buy all of the tickets. Bean dons his full Confederate Civil War regalia and rides to see the performance with his men. He enters the theater alone to await the performance, leaving his henchmen outside.

Unknown to Bean, Harden has been waiting in the theater to arrest him. A standoff and shootout occur and Bean is fatally wounded during the gunfight. Harden carries Bean backstage to meet the woman whom he has adored for so long. As Bean stares at her, he dies.

Two years later, Harden and Jane, now married and having rebuilt the burned farm, watch as new settlers arrive in the territory. [2] [4] [5]

Cast

Production

According to Niven Busch, Sam Goldwyn bought a ten-page treatment about Judge Roy Bean and hired Jo Sweling to turn it into a script. Busch says that Sweling struggled to plot the script and Busch had just been nominated for In Old Chicago so he was hired to work with Sweling. Busch:

Swerling and I had a very productive collaboration. He really didn’t like me, but we worked together great. Walter Brennan came along with some good ideas; if I was stuck I ran down to Cooper’s dressing room, and he would put me right. Cooper was such a fund of information about the West. [6]

When Gary Cooper learned that Walter Brennan would be playing the part of Judge Roy Bean, he tried to withdraw from the film, believing that his character would be reduced to a 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." Goldwyn remained adamant 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." [7]

Cooper and Brennan appeared in eight films together: Watch Your Wife (1926), The Wedding Night (1935), The Cowboy and the Lady (1938), The Westerner (1940), Meet John Doe (1941), Sergeant York (1941), Pride of the Yankees (1942) and Task Force (1949). [8]

Accolades

The Westerner was nominated by the American Film Institute for inclusion in the Western category of its 2008 list AFI's 10 Top 10. Walter Brennan received his third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (within the five years since the category's inception), which prompted the academy to rescind the extras' union from voting moving forward. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Cooper</span> American actor (1901–1961)

Gary Cooper was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, as well as an Academy Honorary Award in 1961 for his career achievements. He was one of the top-10 film personalities for 23 consecutive years and one of the top money-making stars for 18 years. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Cooper at number 11 on its list of the 25 greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Niven</span> British actor, memoirist and novelist (1910–1983)

James David Graham Niven was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. He received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<i>The Pride of the Yankees</i> 1942 film by Sam Wood

The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 American sports drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died a year before its release, at age 37, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which later became known to the lay public as "Lou Gehrig's disease".

<i>The Bishops Wife</i> 1947 film directed by Henry Koster

The Bishop's Wife is a 1947 American supernatural romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The plot is about an angel who helps a bishop with his problems. The film was adapted by Leonardo Bercovici and Robert E. Sherwood from the 1928 novel of the same name by Robert Nathan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broderick Crawford</span> American actor (1911–1986)

William Broderick Crawford was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film All the King's Men (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Often cast in tough-guy or slob roles, he later achieved recognition for his starring role as Dan Mathews in the crime television series Highway Patrol (1955–1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Andrews</span> American actor (1909–1992)

Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts into the 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir Laura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance as World War II veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Wright</span> American actress (1918–2005)

Muriel Teresa Wright was an American actress. She was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: in 1941 for her debut work in The Little Foxes, and in 1942 for Mrs. Miniver, winning for the latter. That same year, she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Pride of the Yankees, opposite Gary Cooper. She is also known for her performances in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Bean</span> American judge (c. 1825 – 1903)

Phantly Roy Bean Jr. was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande on a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest Texas. After his death, fictional Western films and books cast him as a hanging judge, although he is known to have sentenced only two men to hang, one of whom escaped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Brennan</span> American actor (1894–1974)

Walter Andrew Brennan was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), making him one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards, and the only male or female actor to win three awards in the supporting actor category. Brennan was also nominated for his performance in Sergeant York (1941). Other noteworthy performances were in To Have and Have Not (1944), My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langtry, Texas</span> Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Langtry is an unincorporated community in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. The community is notable as the place where Judge Roy Bean, the "Law West of the Pecos", had his saloon and practiced law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niven Busch</span> American novelist and screenwriter (1901–1960)

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 (1944) and California Street (1959). He was married to actress Teresa Wright for ten years beginning in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">46th Academy Awards</span> Award ceremony for films of 1973

The 46th Academy Awards were presented on Tuesday, April 2, 1974, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston, and David Niven.

<i>The Spoilers</i> (1942 film) 1942 film by Ray Enright

The Spoilers is a 1942 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott and John Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">13th Academy Awards</span> Award ceremony for films of 1940

The 13th Academy Awards were held on February 27, 1941, to honor films released in 1940. This was the first year that sealed envelopes were used to keep the names of the winners secret. The accounting firm of Price Waterhouse was hired to count the ballots, after voting results in 1939 were leaked by the Los Angeles Times. The gathering was addressed over the radio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

<i>The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean</i> 1972 film

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a 1972 American Western comedy film written by John Milius, directed by John Huston, and starring Paul Newman. It was loosely based on the life and times of Judge Roy Bean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilian Bond</span> English-American actress (1908–1991)

Lilian Bond was an English-American actress based in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Davenport</span> American actress (1917–1980)

Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan was an American actress in movies of the 1930s and early 1940s.

<i>The Wedding Night</i> 1935 American romantic film by King Vidor

The Wedding Night is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by King Vidor and starring Gary Cooper and Anna Sten. Written by Edith Fitzgerald and based on a story by Edwin H. Knopf, the film is about a financially strapped novelist who returns to his country home in Connecticut looking for inspiration for his next novel and becomes involved with a beautiful young Polish woman and her family. The film was produced by Samuel Goldwyn and filmed at Samuel Goldwyn Studios from early November to early December 1934. It was released in the United States on March 8, 1935.

<i>The Real Glory</i> 1939 film

The Real Glory is a 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Productions adventure film starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds and Broderick Crawford released by United Artists in the weeks immediately following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Based on a 1937 novel of the same name by Charles L. Clifford and directed by Henry Hathaway, the film is set against the backdrop of the Moro Rebellion during the American occupation of the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century. According to The World news broadcast on Aug 18, 2017, the US War Department withdrew the film in 1942. The Moros were US allies in World War II, and the film had inflammatory scenes including threatening a Muslim prisoner with burial wrapped in a pig skin.

<i>Banjo on My Knee</i> (film) 1936 film

Banjo on My Knee is a 1936 American musical comedy-drama film directed by John Cromwell. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording.

References

  1. Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 158. ISBN   978-0-299-23004-3.
  2. 1 2 The Westerner at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. "The Westerner (1940)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  4. Eder, Bruce (2012). "The Westerner (1940) Overview". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. "The Westerner (1940) Review". The New York Times . Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. Thomson, David (1986). "Niven Busch: A Doer of Things". In McGilligan, Patrick (ed.). Backstory Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. p. 98.
  7. Meyers, Jeffrey. Gary Cooper: American Hero. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1998, pp. 138–141.
  8. Bayme, Ari. "The Westerner". MovieTimes.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  9. Levy, Emanuel (January 10, 2015). "Oscar Actors: Brennan, Walter–Winning Champion (3 Supporting Oscars)". EmmanuelLevy.com. Retrieved September 10, 2023. In the early years of the Academy Awards, extras were given the right to vote. Brennan was extremely popular with the Union of Film Extras, and since their numbers were overwhelming, he won each time he was nominated. Some say that his third win led to the disenfranchisement of the Extras Union from Oscar voting.
  10. Patrick, Peter J. (May 29, 2014). "Oscar Profile #188: Walter Brennan". Cinema Sight. Retrieved September 10, 2023. ...both wins said to be due to the high level of support he received from the extras union whose members were allowed to vote in the Academy Awards from 1936 to1940. His third win on his third nomination for 1940's The Westerner caused such a scandal that the extras' voting rights were taken away.