THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN: All Hail Bad Bob

Starring Paul Newman, Victoria Principal, Roddy McDowell, Ned Beatty, Anthony Perkins, Jacqueline Bisset, Stacy Keach, Tab Hunter, Anthony Zerbe, Ava Gardner, Bill McKinney, John Huston, Steve Kanaly, Jim Burk, Bruno the Bear. Directed by John Huston. (1972/123 min). 

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM 
WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Review by Mr. Paws😸

"Bean! Hey, Beano! It's me...Bob! Bad Bob!"

It's funny how certain scenes can stick with you long after the rest of the film fades from your memory. I hadn't seen The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean since I was little and remembered almost none of the film, save for the scene where notorious albino gunslinger Bad Bob (Stace Keach) rides into Vinegaroon - shooting and cackling - to kill the titular character (Paul Newman). As the townspeople flee in terror, Bob shoots a horse, orders its owner to cook it for him, chows down on a raw onion and chugs a steaming pot of coffee. While he's calling-out the judge with taunts and insults, Bean shoots him in the back...a hilariously unceremonious demise for such an infamous outlaw.

Edgar Winter's great, great grandpappy.

It's a memorable scene, with an uncharacteristically manic performance by Keach, and emblematic of the entire film. Very loosely based on the real-life figure, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is an episodic, irreverent revisionist western about an outlaw who rides into town, and after getting revenge on a batch of lowlifes, declares himself the judge and spends the next several years dispensing his own brand of swift justice, which nearly always involves a hanging. Working by his side are another band of outlaws he appoints as deputies, his young mistress (Victoria Principal, in her film debut) and a beer-swilling bear given to him by Grizzly Adams. Most other characters - both real and fictional - drift in and out of the story, meaning many in the impressive cast appear only briefly.

The first Captain America.

With his idol worship of actress Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner), Bean is an amusingly eccentric character and Newman looks like he had a blast playing him. And while essentially plotless, the film's fascination with its characters - broadly-drawn as they may be - is infectious. Only during the final act, where the wheels of progress threaten to destroy Vinegaroon, does the narrative begin to lose its way. These scenes almost seem to belong to another movie, though it rights itself at the end with a wonderfully poignant coda.

One of the more underappreciated westerns of the 70s, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is an entertaining film filled with memorable characters (like Bad Bob!) and fun performances by a great cast. Like one of the film's taglines said, if this story ain't true...it shoulda been. This overlooked gem has been given a great transfer for Blu-ray, though it's unfortunately light on bonus features.

EXTRA KIBBLES

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.