The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean Poster

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

PG 12/18/1972 Western, Comedy 2h 0m
64%
User
Score
6.8/10
80%
57/100

If this story ain't true... it shoulda been!

Overview

Outlaw and self-appointed lawmaker Judge Roy Bean rules over an empty stretch of the West that gradually grows, under his iron fist, into a thriving town, while dispensing his his own quirky brand of frontier justice upon strangers passing by.

John Huston

Director

John Milius

Writer

Top Billed Cast

Paul Newman

Paul Newman

Judge Roy Bean

Victoria Principal

Victoria Principal

Maria Elena

Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty

Tector Crites

Matt Clark

Matt Clark

Nick the Grub

Roddy McDowall

Roddy McDowall

Frank Gass

Jacqueline Bisset

Jacqueline Bisset

Rose Bean

Bill McKinney

Bill McKinney

Fermel Parlee

Anthony Perkins

Anthony Perkins

Reverend LaSalle

Tab Hunter

Tab Hunter

Sam Dodd

Full Cast & Crew →

Media

Back From the Dead

Back From the Dead

Trailer

Trailer

Josh Olson on THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN

Josh Olson on THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN

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Poster
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Reviews

A review by John Chard

Written on August 30, 2019

Beanisms!

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is directed by John Huston and written by John Milius. It stars Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Perkins, Ned Beatty, Roddy McDowall, Tab Hunter, Victoria Principal and Ava Gardner. Music is by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by Richard Moore.

In Vinegaroon, Texas, former outlaw Roy Bean becomes the self appointed judge for the region and dispenses his brand of justice as he sees fit.

There were a handful of Quirky Revisionist Westerns that surfaced in the 1970s, usually directed by a big name and starring another, one such film is this effort, and much like the others of its ilk it is met with understandable division. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean can not be recommended in confidence since it is far too rambling and ep...

Read the full review on TMDb →

A review by CinemaSerf

Written on June 27, 2025

It was always going to be difficult for anyone to beat Walter Brennan’s feisty effort as this character from 1940, but Paul Newman and John Huston come close with this slightly contradictory portrayal of the 19th lawman. We start as he, himself, only narrowly escapes a vigilante squad who didn’t much like the cut of his gib and then returns to exact his own vengeance. A chance encounter with “LaSalle” (a barely recognisable Anthony Perkins) sets in train his ruthless reign over a territory that saw him use the rule of law to coax, cajole, threaten and downright extort from anyone who had the misfortune to pass through so he could expand his hick town into something that, believe it or not, did actually have some semblance of law and order to it - providing you were prepared to swea...

Read the full review on TMDb →
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