Watching the nuances in Brennan's performances--especially in roles that would seem to allow for little variation--is to appreciate once again his incomparable place in Hollywood history as the consummate character actor. No star ever had Brennan's opportunities to play both for and against type, to be a hero and a villain, a fool and a wise man. Whether at the center of the action, or on the periphery, Walter Brennan made his presence count as an inevitable part of the landscape of the Hollywood western. Thus he became part of the myth of the West, one so ingrained that it seems inevitable that he became a rancher off-screen.