The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Milius (original screenplay) and
C.L. Sonnichsen (book)

Release Date:

18 December 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Western

Tagline:

If this story ain't true... it shoulda been

Plot:

A no account outlaw establishes his own particular brand of law and order and builds a town on the edges of civilization in this farcical western...

Plot Keywords:

Law | Law And Order | Outlaw | Judge | Justice

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Judge Roy Bean
Roy Jenson	...	Outlaw
Gary Combs	...	Outlaw
Fred Brookfield	...	Outlaw
Bennie E. Dobbins	...	Outlaw (as Ben Dobbins)
Richard Farnsworth	...	Outlaw (as Dick Farnsworth)
Leroy Johnson	...	Outlaw
Fred Krone	...	Outlaw
Terry Leonard	...	Outlaw
Dean Smith	...	Outlaw
Margo Epper	...	Whore
Jeannie Epper	...	Whore
Stephanie Epper	...	Whore
Victoria Principal	...	Maria Elena, aka The Angel (Bean's woman)
Barbara J. Longo	...	Fat whore

Runtime:

120 min | West Germany:105 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Germany:12 (re-rating) (cut) | West Germany:16 (cut) | Singapore:PG | France:Unrated | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

First Artists

Trivia:

First film role for Victoria Principal.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Bean visits San Antonio to see Lilly Langtry several steel drums are visible in the alley behind the theatre that are of a design not available until the early 1930s.

Quotes:

Judge Roy Bean: The last time that bear ate a lawyer, he had the runs for thirty-three days.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: Live Free or Die (#6.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Marmalade, Molasses and Honey

a flawed masterpiece

This underrated/underseen Huston film is definitely worth a look. Newman is wonderful as Roy Bean, and the large supporting cast is amazing, especially Anthony Perkins as a travelling padre, Stacy Keach as Bad Bob, Roddy McDowell as a wormy lawyer, Ned Beatty as the outlaw who'd rather be a bartender, and John Huston himself as Grizzly Adams. This is not a perfect picture at all. It falls apart by the last third or so, has a terrible day-for-night process shot that doesn't really work, and a unnecessary and embarrassing "raindrops keep falling on my head"-type musical montage, but the rest of it is great fun. This is the crazy kind of script Milius used to write in the 70s, like Apocalypse Now and especially 1941. The tone is very odd, but if you like your comedy dark and your westerns satirical you'll find lots to like about this one. A very broad and dark performance by Newman, who manages to find the pathos and integrity of this western charicature. It's a nice companion/contrast to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Kind of what Rami must have been going for in The Quick and the Dead (minus the Spaghetti Western style), and the examination of the mythic hero that Roderiguez tried for in Desperado, but much better achieved by Huston (duh). Fun stuff.