Cinematic background from The Westerner 1940 - Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.

The Westerner

1940

Drama, Western

Directors:
William Wyler
Writers:
Dudley Nichols, Oliver La Farge, Lillian Hellman, Niven Busch, Stuart N. Lake, Jo Swerling, W.R. Burnett
Official poster of The Westerner 1940 directed by William Wyler