El juez de la horca

Wanted bank robber Roy Bean (Paul Newman) arrives in a dusty Texas town. He is quickly robbed by the locals and dragged behind a horse with a noose. After being saved by Maria Elena (Victoria Principal), he returns to take his revenge by shooting the whole lot of them. He appoints himself the new judge as he lays out his own brand of law and punishment. He is a dedicated fan of Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner) and later makes an enemy of Frank Gass (Roddy McDowall).

This movie doesn't have a narrative flow. It's one incident after another. He hangs one person after another. It needs to build tension over time. It needs to build up a villain. In this case, it's Frank Gass. This needs to be a battle between Roy Bean and Frank Gass. Instead, Frank is almost a side character and the climatic battle is nothing more than a physical bombast. The most emotional moment comes at the end. It's telling that Roy Bean isn't there. All in all, this is fascinating for some of the performance, the great cast, and the idea within the premise.

The real-life Judge Roy Bean, the law west of the Pecos, was a legendary figure who pulled off numerous publicity stunts for "his" town of Langtry, meanwhile administering a little justice along the way. If you'ver ever watched Northern Exposure, a good comparison might be Barry Corbin's Maurice Minnifield. That being said, the real Judge Bean pales in comparison to the legend that has built up over the years. That legend is what Huston concerns himself with, and it serves him well. The film is very episodic in nature, and for the first half, it does not disappoint. Paul Newman's first scene, where he's beaten, left for dead, and returns to wreck vengeance on every last one of his attackers sets the tone for the rest of the film. This is high mythology, tall tales at their best; you get the impression that this is how we Texans really wish our history read--colorful, eclectic, ruthless at times, and occasionally downright bizarre. From beer drinking bears to albino bandits, it's certainly interesting.

That being said, the film definitely takes a melancholy tone as civilization comes to Langtry. With it comes the disdain for such colorful characters as Bean, who seemingly has no place in the new, modern world. It's sad, but makes for an especially poignant ending. Newman's Judge is a blustering wonder; other standouts include Anthony Perkins, Ned Beatty, Roddy McDowell, and a very young and fetching Victoria Principal. Also making cameos are Jacqueline Bissett, Stacy Keach, Ava Gardner, and even the director himself.

All in all, a funny, touching film.

This whimsical western is a mixed bag, though I was slightly distracted throughout waiting for the appearance of a young Victoria Principal. Only knowing her "work" from FANTASY ISLAND, DALLAS and EARTHQUAKE, I expected her to be hopelessly flat in the company of higher echelon performers like Paul Newman. Well, was I ever shocked and humbled to note in the closing credits that our Miss P. had slipped right past my poised-to-be-nasty laser vision by slipping seamlessly into the role of Judge Roy Bean's young Mexican mistress. Principal is mellow, charming and realistic in the part, coming across like a more talented Claudia Cardinale. After making a debut like this in a John Huston film....WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED???

This underrated/underseen Huston film is definitely worth a look. Newman is wonderful as Roy Bean, and the large supporting cast is amazing, especially Anthony Perkins as a travelling padre, Stacy Keach as Bad Bob, Roddy McDowell as a wormy lawyer, Ned Beatty as the outlaw who'd rather be a bartender, and John Huston himself as Grizzly Adams. This is not a perfect picture at all. It falls apart by the last third or so, has a terrible day-for-night process shot that doesn't really work, and a unnecessary and embarrassing "raindrops keep falling on my head"-type musical montage, but the rest of it is great fun. This is the crazy kind of script Milius used to write in the 70s, like Apocalypse Now and especially 1941. The tone is very odd, but if you like your comedy dark and your westerns satirical you'll find lots to like about this one. A very broad and dark performance by Newman, who manages to find the pathos and integrity of this western charicature. It's a nice companion/contrast to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Kind of what Rami must have been going for in The Quick and the Dead (minus the Spaghetti Western style), and the examination of the mythic hero that Roderiguez tried for in Desperado, but much better achieved by Huston (duh). Fun stuff.

This is an outdoor epic Western in which director John Huston offers us an exciting , dramatic and amusing film . The Life and Times of Roy Bean (1972) is an intense , weird and rewarding western , which is filmed on location in Arizona with Paul Newman as the fabled hanging judge . It focuses on judge Roy Bean and his peculiar working methods , struggles and different visions of the country and world . Judge Roy Bean known as ¨The law west of the Pecos ¨ sentences outlaws by hanging them . And with varied group of misfit characters , the film explores the misery and the greatness of the human condition . Paul Newman was 47 years old when he played this movie and he was a very prestigious actor . The film gave Newman one of the best roles , playing a strong but sympathetic character , giving an attractive role as a cruel judge who'll stop at nothing to get his purports . As Newman/Bean is nice , likeable and capable , but at the same time , being a brutal person , that's why he relentlessly judges , condemns and sentences by hanging whatever suspect . The film describes the institutional and administrative instability that prevails in wide zones of western border , underscores the friendship , companionship , honesty , sense of adventure, enterprise and expeditive justice by sentencing against unscrupulous and dishonest people . The narrative is vivid and vibrant . The story is well presented , polished , stylish and free of nonessential items . The dialogues are sharp and funny , peppered with humor . The film includes spectacular scenes , fast-paced and iconographic amalgam of the vintage westerns with romantic references characteristic of modern western .

It's also a comedy , with a top-notch Newman and his special relationship with a familiar plethora of notorious secondaries , such as : Stacy Keach who's oustanding as Bad Boy , Anthony Perkins as a rare priest , Jacqueline Bisset as Bean's daughter , John Huston himself , Jack Colvin , Roddy McDowall , Anthony Zerbe, Ned Beatty , Matt Clark , Richard Farnsworth , Tab Hunter , Bill McKinney , Steve Kanaly, and of course , Ava Gardner as the famous Lilie Langtry . Furthermore, movie debut of the extremely gorgeous and very young Victoria Principal . It contains brilliant and amazing cinematography by Richard Moore that places an emphasis on the realism of the action and splendid frames , which is one of the best things of the movie . Emotive and stirring musical score by Maurice Jarre . The film was well made by John Huston , being a solid, absorbing and entertaining oater , while providing some interesting set-pieces among the strangeness . Huston exceeded making all kinds of genres , realizing here an excellent flick with a great feeling of coherence and emphasis as the majority of which went over his career.

The Bean 's role is based on actual events as Roy Bean (1825-1903) was a near-illiterate frontier justice of the peace who ran a combined court-saloon in the tiny railroad hamlet of Langtry in the West Texas desert between the River Pecos and the Rio Grande . He was known as the ¨Lay west of the Pecos¨ . He was running a saloon in a tent-town for railroad builders called Vinegaroon . Ben , backed by the Texas Rangers and the railroad , was appointed Justice of the peace , although he had never studied law . He managed to keep the peace with a strange brand of common and rough sense , often basing his ruling on a single law book . The stories about him are legion, most apocryphal . The fines usually stayed in his pocket and he acquitted accused on condition that he buy a round of drinks for the boys . The law of the Pecos was a law unto himself . He got himself elected Langtry's justice of the peace , holding court in his crude saloon called the ¨Jersey Lily¨ where he lived till his death in 1903 . In 1896 he brought fame to Langtry by staging the Fitzsmmons-Peter Maher heavyweight-boxing championship. He also performed marriages , ending the short ceremony with the worlds ¨I Roy Bean , justice of the peace , hereby pronounce man and wife . May God have mercy on your souls¨. Bean's ¨Jersey Lily¨ has been preserved by the Texas Highway Department and is now a tourist attraction.