The Big Picture

Gary Cooper reluctantly starred in
The Westerner
, an acclaimed Western about friendship and justice in the Wild West.
Walter Brennan shines as Judge Bean in
The Westerner
, adding complexity to the morally ambiguous character.
Despite initial hesitations,
The Westerner
became a hit, showcasing the strong bond and chemistry between Cooper and Brennan.

The Westerner is an American Western film from 1940 starring Gary Cooper alongside Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. The film was directed by William Wyler and written by Niven Busch and Jo Swerling, based on a story by Stuart N. Lake. The plot revolves around a drifter, who befriends a self-appointed hanging judge in the fledgling town of Vinegaroon, Texas, who opposes the Judge’s violence and unjust methods against the homesteaders, preferring instead that the town belong to Cattlemen and Cattlemen only. The film became a critical and commercial success, with Brennan taking home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Despite the accolades, Cooper was vehemently opposed to being in the film and tried to rescind his contract, forcing producer and longtime friend Samuel Goldwyn to get strict with the famous movie cowboy, much to Cooper’s dismay.

The Westerner A rugged drifter becomes entangled in a fierce conflict in a small frontier town dominated by a corrupt judge who will stop at nothing to control the land. As the tension escalates, the drifter’s involvement with a local woman complicates his efforts to bring peace and justice to the area, challenging his resolve and skills in unexpected ways.Release Date September 20, 1940 Director William Wyler Cast Gary Cooper , Walter Brennan , Doris Davenport , Fred Stone , Forrest Tucker , Paul Hurst , Chill Wills , Lilian Bond Runtime 100 Minutes Main Genre Western Writers Jo Swerling , Niven Busch , Stuart N. Lake Studio United Artists

Gary Cooper Plays The Strong Silent Type In ‘The Westerner’
In The Westerner, Gary Cooper took on the role of Cole Harden, an aimless saddle-bum from nowhere passing through the town of Vinegaroon on his way to no place special. He’s a man with few prospects, whose only claim to fame is that he once spent a night with the actress Lillie Langtry (Lilian Bond), from whom he keeps a lock of her hair. He’s tall, robust, good-looking and carries a sense of moral justice. Harden is promptly arrested by Judge Roy Bean’s (Walter Brennan) goons for mistakenly stealing a horse from Bean’s right-hand man, Chickenfoot (Paul Hurst). Bean sentences Harden to hang, but when he finds out that Harden intimately knows Langtry, he suspends his sentence and the two form a fast but tenuous friendship.

Harden isn’t the type to say very much, accustomed to a lonely life save for the company of his horse. But now, finding himself looped into Beans’ private war, his Stoic nature belies his raw human goodness. Harden finds himself siding with the homesteaders, who have the absolute right, he reckons, to defend their homes. Cooper is, of course, the quintessential American cowboy imbued with all the values therein, whose belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness bumps up against Bean’s banditry. At the film’s conclusion, Harden finds himself an unlikely lawman officially deputized to bring Bean to justice, and the two friends shoot it out during a Civil War re-enactment. Harden ends up staying on and marrying the lovely Jane Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport), finally finding a home with her and her family during the film’s denouement.

Walter Brennen Stole The Show In ‘The Westerner’
Image via United Artists

Bean, by contrast, is a dishevelled old drunk, part tyrant and part fool. He rules over Vinegaroon the way a gangster might, calling himself a judge and sheriff in name only. Bean has also been at war with the homesteaders for quite some time and demonstrates his brand of justice by hanging a Homesteader who shot one of Bean’s goons when they tried to tear down his fences. The Cattlemen, of whom Bean is their leader, want all the land for themselves and are engaged in an unjust war against them and their children, as Harden points out. Anyone caught defending their land is a prime target for Bean, who promises to kill anyone building fences.

Walter Brennan’s portrayal of the morally complex Bean distinguishes between comical irreverence and terror. There is something so likable about the goofy old tyrant, which is perhaps why many of the Cattlemen agree to his rule of law. Bean is a larger-than-life character who rings much louder against Cooper’s understated yet perfect rendition of a tough-as-nails saddle bum. As a result of this three-dimensionality, Bean is a much more compelling character. The role of Cole makes far more sense for Cooper, often associated with the moral backbone of any story. This is particularly true of The Westerner, as Cole is the hero standing up against Judge Bean’s injustice.

Gary Cooper Hated ‘The Westerner’

Gary Cooper hated being in the 1940 Western film The Westerner so much that he did so “under protest,” written in a letter to producer Samuel Goldwyn. Gary Cooper was concerned that his part was too minor of a role and tried to withdraw from the film. “I couldn’t see that it needed Gary Cooper for the part,” Cooper wrote to the film’s producer, Samuel Goldwyn, according to author Jeffery Meyers in the book Gary Cooper: American Hero. Cooper was, of course, a massive star at the time, known for portraying the strong and silent all-American cowboy with his trademark stiff-legged walk, and perhaps he felt the role beneath him. The problem lies in the story’s focus, which is more about Bean and his war on the Homesteaders rather than Cole Harden and his journey from saddle bum to husband. This is rather strange, considering Cooper is billed ahead of Brennan as the star of the film.

Cooper was right about the part being too small. Even with his role expanded, Cole Harden is a far less well-rounded character than Bean. His lack of history makes him almost inconsequential, depriving the audience of a fully developed hero. His relationship with Lillie is a rather trite plot device that seems to be a reasonably weak premise for a friendship between a drifter and a murderer. Bean, however, has a past as a traumatized soldier, which explains his cavalier attitude toward life and his drunkenness. There is just no getting around the fact that the story is clearly a fall arc about Bean with Cole as the antagonist, and this would prove unacceptable to Cooper, who was by now used to being the center of attention.

2:43 Related This Actor’s Multiple Wins Forced the Academy To Change Its Rules This voting bloc lost their Oscar voting privileges.

According to Meyers, despite the producers assuring Cooper that his role would be expanded, Cooper still did not want to play the part and was still dissatisfied. Goldwyn pressed Cooper to honor his contract, threatening him with a lawsuit. Not wanting a legal battle, Cooper would consent to the producer and long-time friend, but the situation would strain their relationship, and, as Meyers points out, it would never be the same. It is important to note that Cooper had no animosity towards his star, and the two have excellent on-screen chemistry. They look like giddy teenagers as they discuss Lillie Langtry’s beauty, with Brennan’s jaw nearly hitting the floor when Cole describes how she looks. Their friendship seems very genuine and authentic despite the horrible way it ends. This film would be one of many films where Brennan would play a supporting actor against Cooper’s stardom, with the pair appearing in at least eight films together between 1926 and 1949. While Cooper may not hold The Westerner in high regard, the movie certainly has its fans; currently sitting with an impressive 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Westerner is currently streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

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