The Westerner

 

 

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the product details list this movie as being in color.this led me to think that it had been colorized,because i already had a copy of it that was filmed in black and white. so i ordered a new copy thinking it would be colorized,but it isn't. the product details should be changed to black and white.

A very young Gary Cooper plays his usual understated hero role the way only Cooper can. In this role he adds a touch of rascality to the character which is unusual for him and makes his character all the more human. Walter Brennan puts on a wonderful performance as the scoundrel Judge Roy Bean. Forest Tucker is in here too in a support role. A good 'old style' Western. If you like 'em you can't really go wrong with Gary Cooper. I recommend it.

United Artists presents "THE WESTERNER" (20 September 1940) (100 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) -- Our story line and plot, If you like westerns, you'll love William Wyler's "The Westerner" -- great directing and superb acting, and gorgeous cinematography --- Cole Hardin (Gary Cooper) just doesn't look like a horse thief, Jane-Ellen Matthews (Doris Davenport) tells Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan) as she steps up to the bar --- Cole says he can't take it with him as he empties all of his coins on the bar to buy drinks for the jury --- Cooper notices two big pictures of Lily Langtry behind the bar --- Sure, Cole has met the Jersey Lily, whom the hanging judge adores, even has a lock of her hair --- Hanging is delayed for two weeks, giving Cole time to get in the middle of a range war between cattlemen and homesteaders and to still be around when Lily Langtry, former mistress of Edward VII who became an international actress, arrives in Texas --- Great to see some of my favorite B-Western character actors in the cast Dana Andrews, Stanley Andrews, Hank Bell, Forrest Tucker, Tom Tyler and Chill Wills --- Wyler's directing and Toland's shooting of the prairie fire sequence is one of the great spectacles of 1930s cinema, as well as an incredibly exciting scene --- Walter Brennan won his third Best Supporting Actor Oscar with this film. This was the fifth year the Supporting Player categories were being awarded by the Academy and Brennan won numbers one and three previously --- What makes the film even better is that it is based on a person who actually lived, which made the role even more challenging --- Walter Brennan carries this oater and transforms what would have otherwise been just another western into a classic.

Under the production staff of:
William Wyler - Director
Samuel Goldwyn - Producer
Niven Busch - Screenwriter
Stuart N. Lake - Screen Story
Jo Swerling - Screenwriter
Archie J. Stout - Cinematographer
Gregg Toland - Cinematographer
Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score)
Dimitri Tiomkin - Composer (Music Score) / Musical Direction/Supervision
Dan Mandell - Editor
James Basevi - Art Director
Julia Heron - Set Designer
Irene Saltern - Costume Designer
Fred Lau - Sound/Sound Designer
Blague Stephanoff - Makeup
Paul Eagler - Special Effects
Louis Clyde Stoumen - Special Effects
Walter Mayo - First Assistant Director

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Gary Cooper (aka: Frank James Cooper)
Date of Birth: 7 May 1901 - Helena, Montana
Date of Death: 13 May 1961 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Walter Brennan
Date of Birth: 25 July 1894 - Swampscott, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 21 September 1974 - Oxnard, California

3. William Wyler (Director)
Date of Birth: 1 July 1902, Mülhausen, Alsace, Germany [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]
Date of Death: 27 July 1981 - Los Angeles, California

the cast includes:
Gary Cooper ... Cole Harden
Walter Brennan ... Judge Roy Bean
Doris Davenport ... Jane Ellen Mathews
Fred Stone ... Caliphet Mathews
Forrest Tucker ... Wade Harper
Paul Hurst ... Chickenfoot
Chill Wills ... Southeast
Lilian Bond ... Lily Langtry
Dana Andrews ... Hod Johnson
Charles Halton ... Mort Borrow
Trevor Bardette ... Shad Wilkins
Tom Tyler ... King Evans
Lucien Littlefield ... The Stranger
Stanley Andrews ... Sheriff
Hank Bell ... Deputy

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of B-Westerns with high drama, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- please stand up and take a bow Western Classics --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 100 mins on DVD ~ United Artists ~ (5/13/2008)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Cooper cracks necks with the best of em'
The Westerner is simply one of the best westerns ever made. It has all of the elements of the genre, the lonesome drifter (Cooper), the half-evil judge (Brennan as Judge Roy... Read more

Published on Dec 18 2002 by Maddox

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest movies of all time!
This movie has everything: humor, history, adventure, great acting, and a terrific story. No actor today has more appeal than Cooper. Tom Cruise? Pshaw--a star manque. Read more

Published on Dec 15 2001 by Hoodlum

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Western
The Coop is fine as a lawman who goes undercover to capture Judge Bean. I think this movie shows fine acting, especially Walter Brennan, and writing. Read more

Published on Dec 9 2001 by Douglas E. Pritchard

5.0 out of 5 stars This Thing's Magnificent!
I Can't tell you how delighted I was with this film. Easily Brennon's best effort (he's practically the leading man here) and Gary Cooper is brilliant as usual. Read more

Published on May 25 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Brennan,s Oscar
Peerless western with Cooper and Brennan dueling verbally and having a good time.Tongue in Check dialogue adds to the show: Charles Halton walks into the bar in black Cooper says... Read more

Published on May 21 2000 by charles pope

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