The Westerner is an American film directed by William Wyler, and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, and Doris Davenport, and 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. The town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean 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 is a drifter brought in on a charge of stealing a horse belonging to Bean's main sidekick, Chickenfoot . 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.
more
| Release date: | September 20, 1940 |
| Directed by: | William Wyler |
| Runtime: | 100 Minutes |
| Producer: | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Editor: | Dan Mandell |
| Music by: | Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography: | Archie J. Stout, Gregg Toland |
| Screenplay by: | Niven Busch, Jo Swerling, Stuart N. Lake |
| Estimated budget: | $2,000,000 |
| Genre: | Western |