Exhibit 'A': Walter Brennan's Judge Roy Bean, in William Wyler's The Westerner.
Brennan won an Oscar for his potrayal of this self-appointed judge, notable for converting his saloon into the town courthouse and appointing his drunken patrons as jurors whenever the opportunity to hang somebody arises.
The judge is ruled by two passions: protecting the land and rights of cattle ranchers (at the expense of the homesteaders), and Miss Lily Langtry, an actress whom he has seen only in pictures. Bean names his bar after Langtry, and eventually the entire town. He overturns a ruling by his 'jury' and allows his eventual killer (played by Gary Cooper) to go free on the speculation that this ramblin' man might possess a lock of Miss Langtry's golden hair. And when Langtry's travelling show comes to a city nearby, Bean buys out the theatre so he can watch her perform all by himself.
More than a few times in westerns a homosexual subtext emerges between rivals, confused by the phallic, primal, hormonal rules of the game, and quite simply, the desperate need for each other to justify their very existence. Rarely, however, has such a subtext played out as overtly as it does in The Westerner.
Bean's passion for an image on a wall, a fantasy he cannot possibly attain, is clearly a tool of repression. He falls in love with Cooper the minute he sees him. He uses Langtry as an excuse to keep Cooper close to him. After their initial meeting, Bean and Cooper spend the night in bed together! When Bean realizes that Cooper has left, he chases after him like a madman. After a death-defying leap from horse to horse he knocks Cooper to the ground and proceeds to beg him to come back--gripping his leg as he speaks. I cannot recall another example of anything other than a fist making physical contact between good and evil in any western of any era.
His devotion and pride as a cattle rancher leads him into battle with Cooper. In exchange for Langtry's golden lock, Bean agrees to clear the cattle from the homesteaders' land. With lock in hand, Bean then proceeds to burn down the homesteaders' crops and homes--re-declaring his fierce allegiance to the cattlemen.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Bob Stenbaugh's Westerns topic, please visit the Discussions page.