Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

midant777 I have watched many Westerns in my time: Great, Good, Mediocre and Poor. I must say that "The Westerner" is great, for me one of the best westerns of all time. Cooper and Brennan together were incredible!

Prismark10 William Wyler directs a fictionalised account of the story of Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan), a small town saloon public official with a penchant for hanging and corrupt as well as he sides with the cattlemen against the homesteaders. Cole Harden (Gary Cooper) is sentenced by the Judge to hang after he is falsely accused of horse stealing. Cole noticing that the Judge is infatuated by the English actress Lily Langtry claims to have met her and even having a lock of her hair.The Judge suspends his sentence and both become unusual friends, Cole even rescues the Judge from some irate homesteaders. However the aggression by the cattlemen leads to one local homesteader Jane Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport) farms being burned down and her father being killed. She had a tentative romance with Cole and he goes looking for the Judge who does little to protect the homesteaders in the lawless frontier.The film is nicely photographed by the legendary Gregg Toland, it is also overlong, too episodic with too many lulls in the story. It is an offbeat movie but vacillates too often between being a comedy, romance and a drama.

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.

standalone-magazine William Wyler wasn't a director who made film's. He was a director who showed you a film. And that's what he did with....The Westerner.Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport are fantastic in this film. Walter Brennan who plays (Judge Roy Bean) steals the show in his Academy Award winning performance. (Also look for 'Dana Andrews' in a brief app.)The one aspect that strikes me about this film is the friendship between Cole Hardin (Gary Cooper) and Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan). It's not the sort of friendship that happens over a number of year's. It's a very quick friendship that grows from respect for one another. Now..I'm not a big (Doris Davenport) fan, but, she does a really good job in this film. I think, it has to do a lot with William Wyler directing. There is a very touching scene with her and (Coop) where her facial expressions are priceless. She really wants to knock-him across the jaw, but she's also falling in love with-him at the same time. Is it (Coop's) best western of his career.., no, it's not. But, it's a great classic film that's worth watching over and over again. Believe me...All of you will enjoy...The Westerner.