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Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan strike-up a Bromance in The Westerner |
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Gary Cooper (Cole Harden), Walter Brennan (Judge Roy
Bean), Doris Davenport (Jane Ellen Matthews), Fred Stone (Caliphet Mathews),
Forrest Tucker (Wade Harper), Paul Hurst (Chickenfoot), Chill Wills (Southeast),
Lilian Bond (Lillie Langtry), Dana Andrews (Hod Johnson)
In 1882, Cole Harden (Gary Cooper) arrives in the town of
Vinegaroon in Texas. The town is ruled by “Judge” Roy Bean (Walter Brennan), a
corrupt, self-proclaimed justice of the land, who collects unfair fines and hands
out “suspended sentences” (i.e. hangings). Nearly hanged, Harden escapes by
peddling a story of his (fake) friendship with Lillie Langtry, the obsessive
focus of Bean’s love. Over time the two men find themselves drawn to each
other, forming a friendship – which is challenged by Bean’s favouring the
violent cattle ranchers over the homesteaders.
The Westerner is a
well-constructed, decent old-style Western that doesn’t do anything
particularly radical – as if those making it needed a bit of downtime between
more demanding projects, so put together something quite enjoyable to fill
their time. It’s nominally a film about the clash between cowboys and
homesteaders, but this plotline actually gets very little play – and is pretty
unclear.
What it really is, is a sort of romance between Harden and
Bean. They are two people surprisingly drawn together, who have a similar
outlook on the world, and share a very natural and immediate bond. They have
very real chemistry. In fact their chemistry is so strong there is barely room
for anyone else to get a look in.
So the film is a sort of bromance tragedy, because of course
it’s clear that they will end up on opposite sides. Because Bean has principles
of control which Harden cannot allow to stand. Because the same instincts that
lead Bean to champion the cowboys, are the same ones that lead Harden to
champion the homesteaders. Both men think that they are basically in the right.
The main difference between them is probably that, if push comes to shove, Bean
would rather win than be right, while Harden is more concerned with meeting his
moral standards than anything else.
Wyler brings all this together with professional crispness,
shooting the action and more chamber-piece moments with skill. He draws a real
playfulness from Brennan and Cooper – could many other directors have thought
about including a scene where Cooper wakes up slightly confused in a bed with
Brennan’s arm around him after a night of drinking? Confrontations throughout
the film have a playful edge to them, even when guns are on the table. Even the
final gun fight between the two has a reluctant edge to it, as if this was a
game with a few more consequences than normal.
The bond between Bean and Harden is so strong, and so
central to the film, that the relationship between Harden and Jane Ellen
Mathews never quite clicks into gear. There is a charming scene where Cooper
(with an honest flirtatiousness) cuts a lock of Jane Ellen’s hair – but the
film isn’t really interested in this relationship. It feels like it exists for
plot and scripting reasons – that the writers felt a romantic plot was needed,
and wanted to give Harden a very clear personal motivation above and beyond his
sense of justice. Doris Davenport is fine as Jane Ellen, but it’s not a
performance you really remember.
Gary Cooper is rather good as Cole Harden, despite his
reluctance to do the film. Cooper identified that Brennan had the best role and
the best lines, and felt that he would actually be playing the support rather
than the lead. Contractual obligation got him into the film. And it’s a good
thing, as Cooper is actually very good. He has a light comedic touch which you
don’t often associate with him, which he matches with his upright honesty and
unflinching decency. But there is a playful grin behind his eyes throughout,
and you get a real sense of his conflicting loyalties.
But Cooper was right – Judge Roy Bean is the part in this film, and Walter
Brennan (who won his third supporting actor Oscar in five years for this) is
quite simply terrific. His Bean is a wily, slightly crooked, maverick bully
with a warped sense of personal justice – but he’s also a charming, rather
sweet old man with a tough streak. The script gives a lot of focus to Bean’s
obsessive love for the actress Lillie Langtry, which not only humanises him,
but turns someone who we first see carrying out a ruthless judicial murder into
some sort of teenage, love-struck rogue. That’s the genius here – Bean could be
awful, but actually we (like Harden) end up loving him. Brennan’s effortlessly
charismatic performance is central here – he is terrific in the role.
Take away these performances though and you probably only
have flashes here and there of class alongside. Scenes are well constructed,
and the entire film is very well filmed by the great Gregg Toland, but it’s
very much a solid piece of professional work rather than a great classic.
Brennan is brilliant and Cooper impressive, but not much more of the rest of
the film really settles into the memory.
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