The Westerner (1940) Reviews & Ratings

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The Westerner reviews

The Westerner holds a 7.1/10 average from 138 TMDB ratings.

Law West of the Pecos. The Westerner is directed by William Wyler and written by Niven Busch, Jo Swerling and Stuart N. Lake. It stars Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone and Doris Davenport. Music is by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography by Gregg Toland. Story is a fictionalised account about Judge Roy Bean (Brennan), who here rules Vingaroon Town by his own law and punishment. When suspected horse thief Cole H…
— John Chard (7/10)

Though not given top billing in this cracking cowboy adventure - the film certainly belongs to Walter Brennan. He, rather uncharacteristically, portrays the quite nasty piece of work "Judge Roy Bean" of Vinegarroon. When "Cole Harden" (Gary Cooper) arrives in this backwater Texan town, he's accused of and summarily convicted of stealing a horse. Some quick thinking, a few coins and a photo of actress Lily Langtree m…
— CinemaSerf (7/10)

Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.

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