The Westerner

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For the 1960 television series starring Brian Keith, see The Westerner (TV series)

The Westerner
Movie Poster from 1940
Directed by	William Wyler
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn
Written by	Niven Busch, Stuart N. Lake, Jo Swerling
Starring	Gary Cooper Walter Brennan Fred Stone Doris Davenport
Music by	Alfred Newman & Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography	Archie J. Stout & Gregg Toland
Editing by	Dan Mandell
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	September 20, 1940
Running time	100 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$2,000,000 (estimated)
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The Westerner is a 1940 film directed by William Wyler, and written by Niven Busch, Stuart N. Lake, and Jo Swerling. It stars Gary Cooper as Cole Harden and 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 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, black-and-white, and the Academy Award for Best Story respectively.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Drifter Cole Harden (Cooper) is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean (Brennan), but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lily Langtry, with whom the Judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Harden even claims to have a lock of her hair, so Bean goes easy on him.

Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away. When Langtry is scheduled to perform in a nearby town, Bean buys up every ticket and eagerly awaits her appearance alone in the audience. Harden takes the opportunity to force a showdown. Bullets fly and Bean is fatally wounded. In the final scene, Harden carries his dying friend backstage to see the woman he has adored for so long.