Any film directed by John Huston is worth watching, and this is no exception. It's ambitious in scope and execution as it tells the story of a bizarre, eccentric character (the historical Judge Roy Bean), who, in Huston's film becomes the personification of the short-lived myth of the American West in all its violent, exaggerated, archetypal, twisted glory.A slew of good actors, not the least of them Paul Newman as Bean, makes the film as fascinating to watch as it is frustrating to pin down in its messiness and somewhat confused tone. That said, it's definitely worth watching.Just go with it and enjoy the beautiful cinematography; haunting soundtrack (except for the trite and misplaced Andy Williams tune that pops up in the middle); and, especially, the great cameos by any number of familiar names. Particularly good are Anthony Perkins, Tab Hunter, and in a final coda, a dreamlike sequence in which Ava Gardner rises to the challenge of matching the Lily Langtry whose presence as Bean's unobtainable object permeates the film. In more substantive roles, Ned Beatty and Victoria Principal are excellent as supports to Newman's character.

In "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean", the Judge (Paul Newman) hangs dozens of men and develops quite a reputation for his strange and violent form of justice. In reality, Bean WAS famous for his odd sentences and occasional disregard for the law, but only one man was ever actually hung by the judge! In many, many other ways, the film takes HUGE liberties with history--and the story of Bean is only a shadow of the real man. So if you are looking for a history lesson, look for some other film! Aside from the bad history, this film struck me as the product of a schizophrenic writer! Parts of the movie were quite funny--followed by LONG deadly serious parts. And, near the very end of the film it became a completely different film altogether--a terrible action pic. If not schizophrenic, it sure looked as if three different writers were given three portions of the film and never consulted with each other!! It's a real shame, as the first half (or so) of the film is quite good--fun, silly and engaging. The last half is maudlin, slow and, in parts, simply awful. The worst is when, completely out of the blue, Bean (who'd simply disappeared for much of the film--and the period was to have been 20 years) just suddenly shows up and behaves like Rambo!! Where did THIS come from and whose idea was this?! As a result, all the good of the first portion of the film is simply flushed away--and completely wasted. All in all, a thoroughly frustrating and wildly uneven film.A few notes about the film. Some of the comments early in the film about minorities (in the scene with Tab Hunter) are bound to offend--hold on to your seat! The film's director, John Huston, makes a small cameo as 'Grizzly' Adams--and it's a VERY odd cameo indeed. It's the first film of Victoria Principle--and she's oddly made up to look like a Mexican! Jacqueline Bisset is pretty much wasted in the film. Stacy Keach is almost unrecognizable as 'Bad Bob'--a funny portion of the film that, unfortunately, was too short and not enough.Also, after writing my review, I looked at the rest of the reviews. I was surprised how many of the folks gave this one a 10 considering how wildly uneven it was. Perhaps these votes were more votes for Newman--after all, he was an incredibly gifted actor--but the material in this film just didn't do him justice.

This was Paul Newman’s third of four films about legendary figures of the American West – the others being William “Billy The Kid” Bonney in THE LEFT HANDED GUN (1958), Butch Cassidy in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody in BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, OR SITTING BULL’S HISTORY LESSON (1976) – and his first of two in a row with director Huston – the other being the espionage thriller THE MACKINTOSH MAN (1973; which, incidentally, was partly filmed in Malta).The last three Westerns all came at the tail-end of the genre and, apart from being in a decidedly comedic vein, can also be dubbed “Revisionist”. Newman essays the titular figure as a character part, with his handsome features hidden behind a scruffy beard (his hair has all gone white by the end) and little display of his trademark ruggedness and mischievous charm. Ironically, despite the phenomenal box-office success of movies like THE STING (1973) and THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974), the Seventies weren’t particularly distinguished for Newman as an actor and his performance here is arguably his best work of the decade!The film is generally elegiac in mood (especially during its last act when the Old West is all but vanquished in the name of progress) and episodic in nature, with a plethora of stars turning up for just one sequence or scene: Anthony Perkins as a preacher, Tab Hunter as a convicted murderer, Stacy Keach as an albino badman who terrorizes the town, John Huston himself as the owner of a sideshow attraction (an amiable beer-guzzling bear which eventually comes in handy to the Judge), Roddy MacDowall – who has the largest role of all is an ambitious lawyer (he’s subsequently appointed mayor and eventually becomes an oil tycoon), Anthony Zerbe as a mugger, and Michael Sarrazin – whose “participation” extends merely to sharing a photo with Jacqueline Bisset (as the Judge’s daughter)! The latter, then, provides undeniable eye-candy along with Victoria Principal (radiant in her film debut) as Bean’s Mexican lover and Bisset’s own mother – while Ava Gardner’s Lilly Langtry only shows up at the very end after Bean himself, who worshiped the celebrated actress, has died; Ned Beatty is also quietly impressive as the most loyal of Bean’s gang (who actually prefers tending bar to performing his duties of deputy!).The best/funniest bits are: Bean assuming control of the town after a near-lynching, Principal shooting repeatedly at a whore (a potential rival for Bean’s affections) and being thrown to the ground with the force of each blast, Bean’s entire gang shooting in unison at a drunkard who dared take a potshot at Lilly Langtry’s portrait, Keach’s cartoonish demise, and Bean and Gang’s epic Last Stand. As had been the case with BUTCH CASSIDY’s Oscar-winning “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”, the film features a recurring song motif in “Marmalade, Molasses And Honey” (music by Maurice Jarre, lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman) – which also ended up nominated, but is nowhere near as memorable as that Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic (though Jarre’s score, in itself, is quite good). For that matter, neither is Huston’s film up to the George Roy Hill masterpiece – though it’s certainly better than the talky Robert Altman-directed Buffalo Bill pic.By the way, William Wyler’s THE WESTERNER (1940) had been another film which centered around Judge Roy Bean: played as a semi-villain by Walter Brennan, that characterization had led to his third Oscar. I own it on VHS but, since this month’s schedule is absolutely crammed with movies I need to watch in tribute to someone or other (including JUDGE ROY BEAN itself to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Huston’s passing!), I couldn’t possibly fit it in...

As conception,as plastic,inspiration,style and content,The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean does not seem to be made by the one who directed The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948),The African Queen (1951),Moby Dick (1956),The Misfits (1961),The Night of the Iguana (1964),Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) ,but rather by George Roy Hill,Sam Peckinpah, Robert Altman;is it because John Huston changed,and reissued himself,rejuvenated,or is it because for most of the cinema the decade is more important than the director?Huston is a very interesting director,though not an author in the proper sense of the word.The wave of the whole cinema of that age gave the impetus for such a movie. The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a similar film.Let us begin with a reflection upon Newman's roles.In '69 he enters the second phase of his career.He was 44,and he had already made some 13 important performances ."Bean" is made 3 years later,when he was 47. Helped by his silent,biting and tricky sense of humor,N. synchronized himself with this satirical meridian that claimed to abolish the Method acting and its cinema,by replacing it with out-distanced and aloof performances:sharp,restrained,witty,amusing;Newman was the uncredited test pilot of this transition (before and then while the Method acting took over again,with Pacino-a great admirer of daddy Paul Newman-,and with Nicholson,with the 70s' De Niro,with Dourif,Rourke,etc.).There was something autumnal,decadent and drained in this fanciful sharp new cinema at the end of the '60s and the beginning of the '70s;its charm,as well as its ironic,cynical and disabused tonality,were decadent and autumnal.(Only Robert Altman went ahead and made his own and funny cinema,much overestimated by the likes of Ebert.)Its freedom was the freedom of the fancy,of the riot and disintegration,of the sterile puns,of the straying ,not the robust freedom of the thought or of the vigorous and new conception (that one sees in Welles or in Leone) .The sup-positional realistic content was undermined and contradicted by the corrosive and simplified form;moreover,the respective directors (Robert Altman,George Roy Hill,the oldish John Huston,etc.) lacked the gracefulness and useful,needed,happy facility of the authors of picaresque novels (the nearest form of narration).These movies,made more than 30 years ago,are tests,attempts,and games. It is preferable to play behind the camera,not in front of it.Still,some of them have their charm.Until '69,Paul Newman's career rolled up on several runways:the psychological realism (The Long, Hot Summer ,1958, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,1958, Sweet Bird of Youth ,1962),cut to measure for the Method acting of the '50s and early '60s,that Newman continued to cherish and desire even after it was extinguished,and that he tried to promote through the movies he then directed;then,the tough,cool,or sly guy roles ,the hard men;and finally,his comical expressions.Towards the end of the '60s,Newman did his best to re-mold his career,and he traded upon the new fashion of the quaint westerns;so,he gave his characters from The Left Handed Gun (1958),The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), The Outrage, Harper, Hombre, Cool Hand Luke in exchange for leading roles in quaint westerns such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Buffalo Bill and the Indians,movies that belong to the wave of the Revisionist Westerns ; The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean looks as if it could have been made by Altman (who made Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson and Quintet with Newman),Sam Peckinpah or George Roy Hill."Roy Bean" is caustic and sardonic,and bitter;under the sharp shapes,one feels the contours of a human history ,and the hand of Moby Dick (1956)'s director.There is,as I said,a certain contrast and conflict between the highly stylized form,the acid irony,the bitter sarcasm,and the content that is supposed to be realistic and veridical.Much has changed since.Restrained,keen,fresh,without extravagance, deprived of comical devices,Eastwood is,today,late and not uninspired successor of this critical,droll and bitter cinema.But he uses a suitable and lasting form,and a convenient narration,that guides his art to definitive results,and that brought some considerable achievements.John Huston's palette went from the Bogart of the '40s to the Donal McCann,Albert Finney,Nicholson and Mrs. Kathleen Turner of the '80s.This director made one more movie with Newman:The MacKintosh Man (1973),a thriller not as bad as it is said.