At least, that's the rumor behind the making of THE WESTERNER--and it certainly looks as though it could be true, since WALTER BRENNAN is in full throttle as Judge Roy Bean--the sort of role he'd already been playing in numerous pictures and inexplicably won a third Supporting Role Oscar for it.
For me, the surprise of the film was DORIS DAVENPORT as the homesteader gal that GARY COOPER shares a tender romance with, refreshingly natural and charming as the film's romantic lead. Unfortunately, she retired from the screen shortly after making this film but she certainly showed promise as an actress.
As for GARY COOPER, he's at home in a role he could have played blind-folded by now and under William Wyler's direction gives another one of his warm and affable portrayals as a man who finds himself in the unusual predicament of having to justify himself before the very biased judge who has no sympathy for ranchers or homesteaders--and only reaches some kind of kinship with Cooper when they share a mutual admiration for actress Lily Langtry (a forgettable LILIAN BOND), about whom the judge is obsessed.
Has some interesting action scenes in western tradition, but enjoyment of this one depends on how much of Walter Brennan you can take, since he monopolizes the screen most of the time with a bigger than life demonstration of his acting technique.
Trivia note: DANA ANDREWS (whom Wyler would later entrust with a big role in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES) has a one-line bit part and FORREST TUCKER makes his screen debut as a man who fights Cooper.
For me, the surprise of the film was DORIS DAVENPORT as the homesteader gal that GARY COOPER shares a tender romance with, refreshingly natural and charming as the film's romantic lead. Unfortunately, she retired from the screen shortly after making this film but she certainly showed promise as an actress.
As for GARY COOPER, he's at home in a role he could have played blind-folded by now and under William Wyler's direction gives another one of his warm and affable portrayals as a man who finds himself in the unusual predicament of having to justify himself before the very biased judge who has no sympathy for ranchers or homesteaders--and only reaches some kind of kinship with Cooper when they share a mutual admiration for actress Lily Langtry (a forgettable LILIAN BOND), about whom the judge is obsessed.
Has some interesting action scenes in western tradition, but enjoyment of this one depends on how much of Walter Brennan you can take, since he monopolizes the screen most of the time with a bigger than life demonstration of his acting technique.
Trivia note: DANA ANDREWS (whom Wyler would later entrust with a big role in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES) has a one-line bit part and FORREST TUCKER makes his screen debut as a man who fights Cooper.