Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. —Henry Fielding

04 May 2022

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)


The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
 is a comic bit of fluff posing as a western. It's a kind of tongue-in-cheek fantasy version of the story of Judge Roy Bean – not that there are serious versions of the man's story. But John Huston's film reminded me of all of the most farcical sections of John Ford's movies. This is just a series of silly scenes intercut with the occasional sentimental scene.

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean might, however, be notable for the fact that it came out in 1972 – the same year as Deliverance – and Bill McKinney and Ned Beatty each play one of Judge Bean's deputies.

No comments:

Post a Comment