The Westerner | |
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Directed by | William Wyler |
Screenplay by | Niven Busch Jo Swerling W.R. Burnett (uncredited) Lillian Hellman (uncredited) Oliver La Farge (uncredited) Dudley Nichols (uncredited) |
Story by | Stuart N. Lake |
Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
Starring | Gary Cooper Walter Brennan Fred Stone Doris Davenport |
Cinematography | Gregg Toland Rudolph Maté (additional footage) (uncredited) |
Edited by | Daniel Mandell |
Music by | Alfred Newman Dimitri Tiomkin |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1 million[1] |
The Westerner is a 1940 American Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. Written by Niven Busch and Jo Swerling (from a story by Stuart N. Lake), the film concerns a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegaroon, Texas, who befriends a saddle tramp who opposes the judge's policy against homesteaders. The film is remembered for Walter Brennan's performance as Judge Roy Bean, for which he won his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. James Basevi and Stuart N. Lake also received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Black and White and Best Story, respectively.[2][3] The supporting cast features Dana Andrews, Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker.