One of the strangest westerns yer ever likely to come across, 1972's THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN is an irreverent, odd, episodic and sometimes funny film.
Paul Newman is excellent as the Judge, an outlaw who finds himself in a wild spot west of the Pecos, where he decides to make himself the law of the land.
He only knows one verdict, hanging.
This is the wild, wild, WILD west and plenty of folks meet the rope.
Screenwriter John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Magnum Force) throws a lot of characters at the screen, each of them featured in their own little vignette, including Anthony Perkins as a grave digging preacher, Tab Hunter as a stuttering horse thief, Roddy McDowell as a ruthless lawyer who just happens to own the land the Judge has claimed and Stacy Keach as albino murderer Bad Bob, one of the funniest bad guys you've ever seen ride into a western town.
This was Victoria Principal's first film role as Bean's young love and she is terrific, as is Ava Gardner as the faraway star Lily Langtry, who the Judge reveres almost as much as his interpretation of Texas Law.
This is a very strange movie. It's serious and sad at odd times, pretty funny throughout and filled with unlikable characters.
The only strangely out of place sequence is a montage of the Judge, Maria (Principal) and a circus bear on a picnic (you read that right) all set to the tune of "Marmalade, Molasses & Honey" sung by Andy Williams. It feels like a desperate bid to recreate the magic of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" in Newman's huge hit Butch Cassidy three years before this film hit theatres.
Newman is excellent throughout, spouting hilarious western philosophy and slinging bullets with the best of them.
My brother Mark and I saw this with my Dad, who laughed through the entire film and then walked out of the theatre with us and said "well that was just filthy.." hahaha. A fond memory for my brother Mark and I as we both said, "You laughed the whole time!" and Dad came back with, "well that was dirty". We still laugh about that to this day.
Our verdict for the judge is admiration for originality and a B for this strange, uneven but enjoyable western.
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