The Westerner
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Starring: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone
Director: William Wyler
Writer: Jo Swerling, Niven Busch, W. R. Burnett
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn
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.
Trivia
- Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- Also nominated for: Academy Award for Best Story; Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White.
- According to Niven Busch, Sam Goldwyn bought a ten-page treatment about Judge Roy Bean and hired Jo Swerling to turn it into a script.
- Busch says that Swerling struggled to plot the script and Busch had just been nominated for In Old Chicago so he was hired to work with Sweling.
- Busch: Swerling and I had a very productive collaboration.
Previous Showings
2 Runs • 1 Festival
431 tickets sold
Original Billings: 1 run (November 17, 1940)
Original Run: November 17, 1940 (Sunday - Tuesday)
All runs on record (2):
- November 17, 1940 (Sunday - Tuesday)Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan
- October 23 - 24, 2025 · 431 ticketsClassic Westernsw/ Johnny Guitar