IMDb RATING
7.3/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total
C.E. Anderson
- Hezekiah Willever
- (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews
- Sheriff
- (uncredited)
Arthur Aylesworth
- Mr. Dixon
- (uncredited)
Bill Beauman
- Man Getting Haircut
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGary Cooper never liked the film and said, "You can't make a western without a gunfight." He walked off the film and refused to start work on it. It was only after long battles with Samuel Goldwyn that he started work on it but always said that he wished he'd never made it.
- GoofsThe town was named for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman who had supervised a Chinese work crew building the railroad, and not for the actress Lillie Langtry.
- Quotes
Cole Harden: [to Bean] When I was a kid, I had a pet rattlesnake. I was fond of it, but I wouldn't turn my back on it.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits: "After the Civil War, America, in the throes of rebirth, set its face West where the land was free. First came the cattlemen and with them "Judge" Roy Bean, who took the law into his own hands, administering justice according to his lights. That he left his impress on the history of Texas is tribute to his greatness. Then into his stronghold moved another army, the homesteaders, who ploughed the soil, fenced in fields, to bring security to their wives and children. War was inevitable, a war out of which grew the Texas of today."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
Featured review
Forgotten Classic
I saw the film again after a gap of 25 years recently, and it really is as good as i remembered it. So good in fact it almost made it into my list of top ten westerns. Everything about is top notch-the performances, the photography, the humour and the screenplay. It is only let down by the contrived ending. The fight scene between Cooper and Tucker is as realistic as you will see anywhere, and the scene where Cooper cuts off a lock of Davenports hair is erotically charged. Of course the two main plusses are the performances of Brennan and Cooper-each fills the frame with their presence even when they have no lines, and Brennans portrayal of Judge Roy Bean results in one of the more memorable characters in westerns. In the hand of another actor the result could have been a caricature but Brennan treads the very thin line between parody and homage perfectly.
helpful•288
- luigimarchini
- Oct 29, 2005
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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