John T. Ryan WHILE TAKING A GREAT many liberties and just plain "Making it up", This is one great film. Although it is a highly fictionalized telling of the story of a real aberration in our nation's march west.THE PRODUCTION OPTS for a sort of round about sympathetic evaluation of self-styled hanging 'Judge' Roy Bean. To be sure, the characterization of the town and the seedy, bucket-of-blood Saloon that doubled as a Court Room for "His Honor" is nasty, crude and ever so down to earth. There is definitely no romanticizing here.THE BUSINESS OF 'Judge' Bean's obsession with a lady he never met, Miss Lily Langtree, singer, is perhaps the one agent of the plot line that humanizes an otherwise monster of a human being. It is this bizarre and intense case of extreme loneliness and longing that actually makes the audience pity this person; rather than despise him. Walter Brennan assayed an outstanding characterization here, right down to the bitter end.AS FAR AS the use of star, Gary Cooper, there is no better example of his great technique and intuitive construction of an on screen persona. Born in England, but raised in the West, the great "Yup" man was an outstanding horseman. This combined with his great talent made for the great understated Western that it was.OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS leading to the successful creation of this production included the supporting cast. Included are: Forrest Tucker, Dana Andrews, Paul Hurst, Chill Wills and, in possibly his best role in a major picture, we have "B" Western & Serial Star, Tom Tyler.BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SCENES are used as the backdrop for the highly tense but somehow subtly played drama that unfolds.REMEMBER, AS THE great man once said: "Less is More."

Alex da Silva This film charts the fight between cattle herders and homesteaders in late C19th Texas. In particular, we focus on self-appointed judge Walter Brennan (Judge Bean) and his town of murderous cowboys who are very much on the cattle side of the land dispute. The town's courtroom is the saloon bar. Drifter Gary Cooper is brought to Brennan for sentencing – the crime being horse theft, which, like all crimes under Brennan, carries a sentence of hanging. How will Coop escape? And who will win the land battle? The film is slow at times and the outcome of the land battle is obvious. What makes the film interesting is the relationship between Brennan and Cooper. It's almost a buddy-buddy film, but you know that Brennan can turn and is capable of stabbing Coop in the back at any moment. An amusing scene has Cooper stealing Brennan's gun and riding off as Brennan goes for his gun to shoot him. It demonstrates that Brennan is not your friend. His rulings are one-sided affairs although he actually comes up with a good one that should be applied today, namely, that anyone found sober after 7pm will be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Brennan's weakness is English actress Lily Langtry who is also at the heart of this tale. His fascination for a lady showbiz type along with his obsession with Cooper's friendship suggests a homosexual element to his character.So, which side would you be on in the dispute between the homesteaders and the cattlemen. What do you prefer, beef or corn? And what of the awful combination that is corned beef? Disgusting.

dougdoepke The heart of the movie is the developing relationship between Bean (Brennan) and Harden (Cooper), and it's one of the more affecting ones in Hollywood filmdom. The two actors play off one another in subtle and convincing fashion. Credit too, a clever screenplay that creates the troubled friendship in unforgettable fashion. Bean, of course, represents the lawless first wave of frontier settlement by ranchers, and Brennan's almost scary as the hangin' judge. He's aggressive, foul-tempered, and allows no second-guessing. And when Harden's accused of being a horse thief, it's almost certain he's a "gonner". Except the saddle tramp has quick wits about him, claiming he knows the object of Bean's near worship— songstress Lilly Langtry. That's enough to get his hanging postponed. Note, however, that neither we nor Bean are told at any time whether Harden has made-up the story or not. With the lock of hair, though, it appears he has.The dramatic high point, of course, is the crop burning by the ranchers. It's an attempt to drive out the second wave of settlers, namely the farmers who've taken over good grazing land. It's a great effect that stands up even today, the vast fields of corn going up like a roaring inferno. I don't know how the movie makers did it, but it's definitely an A-movie effect. Throughout it all, Cooper is his usual tight-lipped, unsmiling movie self, a distinct contrast to the talkative Bean, and a perfect casting choice.I can't help thinking that the judge's obsession with Langtry represents his soft side that he's had to channel away from the hard side as keeper of law and order on the frontier. That final sequence is so well thought out. It's almost a 'male weepie' and a perfect culmination of the wavering relationship between the two men. Then too, what a great glimpse of earthly heaven right before the slow fadeout.All in all, the 100-minutes is an unforgettable western, thanks mainly to Brennan's sharp- edged judge, richly deserving of the Oscar he received.

Harry Paulson The thought makes me smile. But the love story between Gary Cooper and the sensational Walter Brennan made me think of it. They sleep together the first night they meet. And when Roy Bean (Brennan) wakes up and Gary Cooper is gone, he goes crazy. He jumps out of bed and runs like the wind trying to find him, stop him from going. The excuse is a curl from Lilly Langtry. But the truth is in Walter Brennan's gaze. William Wyler - another German Hollywood director - gives us a slice of the American West, comparable to the one shown by Taiwanese Hollywood director Ang Lee in the superlative "Brokeback Mountain" The foreign eye looking in. Remarkable. The film is a gem from beginning to end. Don't miss it.