The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

John Milius (original screenplay)

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:

Steve Kanaly's film debut.

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:

Rev. Mr. LaSalle: That was the first and last time I saw Judge Roy Bean. I never got back to that country and died of dysentery in old Mexico. I haven't seen him since, so he probably went to Hell.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Marmalade, Molasses and Honey

allegory for Huston

This one is a very moving piece, and is a tribute to the director himself who, like the judge, felt often as if he had outlived his time. It does weaken when it moves into the mythological part in the final half-hour, and could've been cut a good twenty minutes without much damage. Still, there is a lot to like here.

Newman is very real, and successfully captures the outsider determined to make his world the one others should want to live in. For me, the most touching moment occurs when Ms. Langtry (a stunning Ava Gardner) visits the shrine to her memory left by the late Judge.

Like some of his other later work, this one doesn't seem sure where to end, and is left sort of abandoned, rather than finished. Still worth a look.