The Westerner (film) - Plot

Plot

The town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan) who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting his "trials" from his saloon, Bean makes a nice corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are usually hanged—given what Bean calls "suspended sentences".

Cole Harden (Gary Cooper) is a drifter brought in on a charge of stealing a horse belonging to Bean's main sidekick, Chickenfoot (Paul Hurst). Harden's conviction by a jury composed of Bean's hangers-on seems certain; even the undertaker waits eagerly for the verdict and subsequent hanging. Bean dismisses Harden's contention that he bought the horse legally from another man. Noticing the judge's obsession with the English actress Lily Langtry, Harden claims to have met Miss Langtry, spoken with her, and to have known her intimately. He cons the judge into delaying the death sentence until Harden can send for a lock of the actress' hair, which he supposedly has in El Paso. The delay is long enough for the real horse thief (Tom Tyler) to show up and get killed.

Despite his warped sense of justice and corrupt nature, Bean genuinely likes Harden, considering him something of a kindred spirit. Harden is as bold and daring as Bean was in his youth, and the judge feels something like friendship for him. But this "friendship" doesn't stop Bean from trying to shoot Harden when the drifter lends his support to the homesteaders—a group led by Jane-Ellen Mathews (Doris Davenport) and her father Caliphet (Fred Stone). The struggling homesteaders have been at odds with Bean and his cattle-rancher allies for a long time. Harden tries to appeal to the judge's better nature. He even saves Bean from an attempted lynching. But when that fails, and a corn crop is burned and Mr. Mathews killed, Harden sees no choice but to take action. He gets himself deputized by the county sheriff and swears out an arrest warrant against Bean.

Arresting Bean in Vinegaroon—now renamed "Langtry" by the judge in honor of the actress—is impossible with all of Bean's men around. When Bean learns that Lily Langtry will be appearing in Texas, a long day's ride from Vinegaroon, he dresses up in his full Civil War regalia and rides to see the performance with his men in tow. When he arrives, Bean buys up every ticket and eagerly awaits her appearance alone in the audience, leaving his henchmen outside. Unknown to Bean, Harden has been waiting in the theater to arrest the judge. A standoff and shoot-out occur, and Bean is fatally wounded during the gunfight. Harden carries his dying friend backstage to meet the woman he has adored for so long. As Bean stares at the "Jersey Lily", he dies. Harden returns to Jane, and watches as new settlers arrive.