The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

A remarkable blend of otherwise disparate philosophies about legendary men, this 1972 film was inspired in part by the epic dimensions of a John Milius (The Wind and the Lion) script, which was toned down by Paul Newman's charmingly eccentric approach to the title character, who in turn was deepened by director John Huston's sensitivity to the subject of fleeting dreams. The story concerns the famous outlaw-turned-lawmaker who rules over an empty stretch of the West that gradually grows, under his iron fist, into a thriving town. The film follows the quirky Bean's episodic adventures as the years pass and a variety of colorful characters come and go, including the muse who captivated his soul, the actress Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner). Huston's textured approach has an almost Altmanesque feel to it, though he demands more (and rewardingly so) obvious performances from the cast, particularly a hilarious cameo by Stacy Keach as the one tough-as-nails SOB who makes Bean a tad nervous. Highly entertaining. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

Better than I remembered.

It has been at least ten years since I last watched "Roy Bean". It is a fun movie and a pleasure to watch. Paul Newman is quite good as "The Law West of the Pecos". July 7, 2008

Nice Beloved Film

Had been wanting to see this again for years. What a beloved little film. Evokes a special feeling about how communities and cities flux and change and people migrate away but hope is never ending. Film was a decent transfer but considering the age of the film and graininess of film of the era, was understandable. December 21, 2007

DVD Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

My husband had looked everywhere wanting this DVD. Leave it to Amazon to connect us to it. . it is just what we wanted. Thanks! July 12, 2007

A classic offbeat western

This is one of my all time favorite western movies. I recommend it to Paul Newman fans and western fans. Notable for first appearance of Victoria Principal. February 15, 2007

"The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" is hard1y a milestone for Huston...

Bean rides into Vinegarroon, Texas in 1890, and is prompt1y beaten, robbed and hanged by degenerate outlaws and whores... The rope breaks, and he returns, shooting everyone in revenge... Then he declares himself "the Law West of the Pecos," makes the saloon his courthouse, and swears to uphold the honor of his ideal, the beautiful British actress, Lily Langtry...

He takes Marie, a Mexican girl (Victoria Principal), as his mistress, and administers justice by hanging men and confiscating their property to make the town (renamed Langtry) prosperous... Eventually, the community turns against him, and Bean rides out, defeated...

Twenty years later, in 1925, the town is run by Prohibition gangsters and evil oil men... Out of nowhere, Bean, now seventy, appears and purges the town by shooting the criminals...

In a sense, Newman comes full circle from his first Western, in which Billy the Kid also said, "I am the law," and fought evil by becoming judge, jury and executioner... But whereas Billy was a neurotic, pitiful adolescent, Bean is presented as an admirable, mystical character... The real Bean died in 1903, and scriptwriter John Milius presumably changed the date in order to contrast the wild individualist with impersonal twenties gangsters: even though he's a killer, he does it with style...

The film tries to make Bean another lovable character on the order of Butch Cassidy: he hangs and shoots men while quoting the Bible and delivering wisecracks, and he punctuates their deaths with punch lines...

Newman does his best with the material... His funniest scenes are with a huge bear named Bruno, who, like Bean, is grizzly, guzzles beer and deals violently with outlaws; at one point he delightfully evokes Bean's wrath by drunkenly licking Lily's poster... In William Wyler's "The Westerner," Walter Brennan as Bean upstaged Gary Cooper; here Bruno upstages Newman... In any case, the outrageous gallows humor and broad caricatures fail to disguise the fact that unlike Butch, Bean is a vicious fellow...

"The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" is hard1y a milestone for Huston, who portrayed hopeless dreamers more effectively in films like "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "The Asphalt Jungle."

November 6, 2006

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