The Westerner

Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.

Cast

Gary Cooper

as Cole Harden

Walter Brennan

as Judge Roy Bean

Doris Davenport

as Jane Ellen Mathews

Fred Stone

as Caliphet Mathews

Forrest Tucker

as Wade Harper

Paul Hurst

as Chickenfoot

Chill Wills

as Southeast

Lilian Bond

as Lily Langtry

Dana Andrews

as Hod Johnson

Charles Halton

as Mort Borrow

Reviews

John Chard

Law West of the Pecos. The Westerner is directed by William Wyler and written by Niven Busch, Jo Swerling and Stuart N. Lake. It stars Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone and Doris Davenport. Music is by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography by Gregg Toland. Story is a fictionalised account...

CinemaSerf

Though not given top billing in this cracking cowboy adventure - the film certainly belongs to Walter Brennan. He, rather uncharacteristically, portrays the quite nasty piece of work "Judge Roy Bean" of Vinegarroon. When "Cole Harden" (Gary Cooper) arrives in this backwater Texan town, he's accused ...

Similar Movies

The Appaloosa

A man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.

⭐ 6.2

Westward Ho, The Wagons!

The pioneering trail to Oregon was littered with constant danger. Yet, the hope of the "promised land" keeps American families westward bound despite overwhelming odds. A calm, clear-thinking pioneer attempts to lead a wagon train through territory occupied by Pawnees and Sioux. Along the way, the hardy settlers face horse thieves, kidnappers, and unpredictable Indian attacks in their push to establish a new life in the rugged West.

⭐ 5.5

The Navajo Trail

U.S. Marshals Nevada Jack McKenzie and Sandy Hopkins are working undercover to capture a gang stealing horses from the Navajos, and to capture the killer of a Ranger. Nevada poses as an outlaw to get in with the gang and find the leader, while Sandy pretends to be a drunken old horse thief that has knowledge of where the Navajos have hidden their ponies.

⭐ 0.0

Man from Sonora

Someone stole Johnny Mack Brown's horse. If he can locate his missing horse, then he can prove they are also robbing the stagecoach.

⭐ 0.0

Wild Horse Mesa

Chane Weymer, an Arizona rancher, goes after a gang that is trapping wild horses by the use of barbed-wire enclosures.

⭐ 0.0

Eagle's Wing

Two men, an aging Native American and a ne'er-do-well trapper from North America, race to claim the stallion Eagle's Wing in antebellum Mexico, meeting marauded stagecoach travelers and garrisoned Mexicans along the way.

⭐ 5.1

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

Forced to run from Texas Rangers after a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez sets off in desperate flight, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days.

⭐ 6.9

Moonlight on the Prairie

A singing medicine-show cowboy and his magician partner catch a killer.

⭐ 5.5

Sanam

In a small valley, riders pursue and kill a man. A horse thief, so his assassins claim. But for his ten year old son Issa, the disappearance of his father causes an avalanche of problems. With the family name stigmatized, Issa is bullied by the other children in the village. While his mother fights to clear her husbands name, Issa is left to his own devices. But unexpectedly, his solitude gives birth to his freedom, his real passion, horses.

⭐ 6.5

The Bounty Hunter of Mongolia

In the Darhat valley in northern Mongolia, the horses of nomadic tribes are stolen by bandits who then sell them to Russian slaughterhouses. Shukhert, a brave horseman, relentlessly pursues them through the Mongolian taiga, bordering Siberia.

⭐ 8.0

The Gypsy Camp Vanishes Into the Blue

This colourful, music-filled and sensual melodrama based on early stories by Maxim Gorky tells the fatal love story between the beautiful and rebellious girl Rada and the handsome horse thief Zobar. The story is set in early 20th century Bessarabia, now part of Moldova, then belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

⭐ 6.4

Romance of a Horsethief

Since time immemorial, the simple-minded boisterous people of Malava, a small Polish town near the border of imperial Russia, have lived on horse-stealing, horse-trading and horse-smuggling. Life changes abruptly when a Russian garrison, commanded by Captain Stoloff, occupies the town and, in the name of the Czar, requisitions all the horses for the Russian-Japanese War. With no more horses to steal, Kifke cannot afford to marry Estusha and all the young men in the village are likely to be incorporated into the Russian army. This state of affairs cannot continue and Zavill will take care of things.

⭐ 2.7

The Littlest Outlaw

Little Pablito is the ten year old son of a cruel horse trainer. The trainer is responsible for training a Mexican General's horse to jump for the grand race. The trainer's methods cause the horse to become afraid of jumping and the general orders the animal's death. Pablito runs away with the horse, becoming a fugitive. He travels throughout Mexico encountering several fugitives and a priest who tries to help.

⭐ 5.5

Smoky Mountain Melody

Country-western favorite Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys star in the Columbia musical western Smoky Mountain Melody. Not much happens plotwise: Acuff, playing "himself," is a tenderfoot who somehow manages to come out on top when he heads westward. The villains (who aren't all that villainous) try to promote a phony stock deal, but Roy and his pals foils their plans. The comedy honors go to Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as a blowhard sheriff. Smoky Mountain Melody was scripted by Barry Shipman, the son of pioneering female filmmaker Nell Shipman.

⭐ 6.0

The Wild Bunch

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

⭐ 7.6

Dances with Wolves

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

⭐ 7.8

Dawn on the Great Divide

Buck Roberts is leading a wagon train of railroad supplies and Jim Corkle and his henchman Loder are out to stop them by using white men dressed as Indians for the attacks.

⭐ 4.4

Perils of the Royal Mounted

Sergeant MacLane of the Mounties investigates the disruptive activities of a bunch of troublemakers.

⭐ 6.5