The Westerner Movie Review 1940

Cooper stars as Cole Hardin, a sly, soft-spoken drifter who champions Texas border homesteaders in a land war with the legendary Judge Roy Bean (Brennan). Known as "The Law West of the Pecos," Bean sentences Hardin hang as a horse thief, but he breaks out of jail. Hardin then falls for damsel Jane-Ellen (Davenport) and stays in the area, advocating the rights of homesteaders, and has to have a final confrontation with the judge. Brennan's Bean is unforgettable and steals the show from Cooper. Film debuts of actors Tucker and Andrews. Amazing cinematography; Brennan's Oscar was his third, making him the first performer to pull a hat trick.

Distribution

Baker & Taylor Inc., 2709 Water Ridge Pkwy., Ste. 500, Charlotte, NC 28217, Phone: (704)357-3500, Toll-free: 800-775-1800, Email: btinfo@btol.com, URL: http://www.btol.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 100 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Westerns, Gambling, Rebel With a Cause

Screenplay

Jo Swerling, Niven Busch

Cast

Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport, Fred Stone, Chill Wills, Dana Andrews, Forrest Tucker, Charles Halton, Lupita Tovar, Tom Tyler, Lillian Bond

Cinematography

Gregg Toland

Director

William Wyler

Music

Dimitri Tiomkin

Producer

Samuel Goldwyn

Awards

Oscars 1940: Support. Actor (Brennan).