The Westerner (1940 film)
The Westerner | |
---|---|
Alfred Newman Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1 million[1] |
The Westerner is a 1940 American
Plot
In 1882, the town of
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
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
- Gary Cooper as Cole Harden
- Judge Roy Bean
- Doris Davenport as Jane Ellen Mathews
- Fred Stone as Caliphet Mathews
- Forrest Tucker as Wade Harper
- Paul Hurst as Chickenfoot
- Chill Wills as Southeast
- Lilian Bond as Lillie Langtry
- Dana Andrews as Hod Johnson
- Charles Halton as Mort Borrow
- Trevor Bardette as Shad Wilkins
- Tom Tyler as King Evans
- Lucien Littlefield as The Stranger
- Hank Bell as Deputy (uncredited)
- Charles Coleman as Lily Langtry's Manager (uncredited)
- Heinie Conklin as Man at Ticket Window (uncredited)
Production
According to Niven Busch, Sam Goldwyn bought a ten-page treatment about
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:
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]
References
- ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3.
- ^ IMDb
- All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the originalon October 17, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
- All Movie Guide. Archived from the originalon November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ "The Westerner (1940) Review". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ Thomson, David (1986). "Niven Busch: A Doer of Things". In McGilligan, Patrick (ed.). Backstory Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. p. 98.
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Gary Cooper: American Hero. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1998, pp. 138–141.
- ^ Bayme, Ari. "The Westerner". MovieTimes.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
External links
- The Westerner at IMDb
- The Westerner at AllMovie
- The Westerner at the TCM Movie Database
- The Westerner at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The Westerner on Lux Radio Theater: September 23, 1940