Always a favorite, but never the VERY favorite, I don't talk about Coop as much as some other actors. I praise the work of Stewart, Tracy, Hepburn and Dunne. I'm quick to credit Lombard, Kerr and Peter O'Toole. But this soft spoken, unimposing boy next door brought a lot to a role, and to the history of cinema. The very fact that he wasn't in your face, that his characters preferred the background, creates a level of sincerity that can be overlooked if you don't closely.
His cowboys and pioneers are rugged and honest. He's what most of us would like to be. But in our world, it's a lot harder! In modern day fables (the Capra classics show him at his best), he's an Everyman with integrity. It's easy to do the right thing when it's convenient. The test comes when you stand to lose something. His Will Kane in HIGH NOON has many levels. None of them are waved like a flag. Not by this actor. SERGEANT YORK shows contemplation and struggle, in the biblical sense even. Much of this is depicted in the actor's face, his eyes. Coop didn't use a lot of words. He didn't need to.
Silly comedy? Along came Coop! BALL OF FIRE is as funny and flighty as anything featuring Cary Grant. High adventure? BEAU GESTE, THE PLAINSMAN, UNCONQUERED and so many others. His strongest, most complex roles came in the Capra films. MEET JOHN DOE is funny, romantic and epic. MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN is a parable worthy of Sunday School. This understated actor brings these roles, these movies, to life in unforgettable ways.
Sometimes we overlook the quiet ones. The people who don't demand attention. Not this time. Not this actor.
Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
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feaito
Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
Good topic RedRiver. Gary Cooper is a favorite, especially his '30s films. We have also discussed him in this thread that might interest you:
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... f=22&t=166
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... f=22&t=166
Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
Love Coop in some of his 50s films, HIGH NOON and GARDEN OF EViL and THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
I don't remember ever coming across the thread Fernando posted, probably a fault of my memory rather than not coming across it before.
I can't believe we haven't discussed him for a long time.
I much prefer the early Gary Cooper, Mr Deeds Goes To Washington, Design For Living and Bluebeard's Eighth Wife along with his silent work. I'm not a huge Western fan so I've probably missed his best later work, I have watched High Noon and Love in the Afternoon, the performance he gives in this later film is really good but I wish he'd have made it ten years earlier but then of course Audrey would have been far too young, it is a testament to his acting skills that even though he is too old for the role to be fully comfortable, he is believable and I end up understanding what Audrey sees in him.
I can't believe we haven't discussed him for a long time.
I much prefer the early Gary Cooper, Mr Deeds Goes To Washington, Design For Living and Bluebeard's Eighth Wife along with his silent work. I'm not a huge Western fan so I've probably missed his best later work, I have watched High Noon and Love in the Afternoon, the performance he gives in this later film is really good but I wish he'd have made it ten years earlier but then of course Audrey would have been far too young, it is a testament to his acting skills that even though he is too old for the role to be fully comfortable, he is believable and I end up understanding what Audrey sees in him.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
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When I was a kid I often confused Coop with Randolph Scott. Both men were tall and lean, with equally sunken cheekbones, light colored hair, and very, very similar voices. Yet, for some reason, Randy always won out in the attraction department for me. Coop was o.k. in his younger movies, and most of his westerns, but in his later years, he didn't seem to want to give up that handsome, leading man image, very much like Clark Gable didn't seem to want to. He was 'way too old for Love in the Afternoon, and they had to have a young girl for the part as she was supposed to be an ingenue, but in High Noon, the wife did not have to be so young, and although I like Grace, she wasn't necessary to play this part, an older actress would have been fine.
Now, Coop was fine in The Plainsman, and terrific in Unconquered and having Paulette Goddard helped a lot in the latter. Also, I can't imagine a better Sergeant York, or Lou Gehrig, although I still giggle at Maria's comments about how truthful her Dad was when he was just citing Gehrig's lines upon his retirement in the movie. He was a fine and humorous Quaker in Friendly Persuasion. I've probably missed some of his silent films and a few from the 30's, but on the whole, I think I've seen 80% of Coops films. When he played the rugged man's man, as in Wreck of the Mary Deare, and They Came to Cordura, he couldn't be beat, so again. I don't understand why he returned to the romantic hero in his later years, especially since he fit so well with Dorothy McGuire and Patricia Neal (who always looked older than she was to me).
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When I was a kid I often confused Coop with Randolph Scott. Both men were tall and lean, with equally sunken cheekbones, light colored hair, and very, very similar voices. Yet, for some reason, Randy always won out in the attraction department for me. Coop was o.k. in his younger movies, and most of his westerns, but in his later years, he didn't seem to want to give up that handsome, leading man image, very much like Clark Gable didn't seem to want to. He was 'way too old for Love in the Afternoon, and they had to have a young girl for the part as she was supposed to be an ingenue, but in High Noon, the wife did not have to be so young, and although I like Grace, she wasn't necessary to play this part, an older actress would have been fine.
Now, Coop was fine in The Plainsman, and terrific in Unconquered and having Paulette Goddard helped a lot in the latter. Also, I can't imagine a better Sergeant York, or Lou Gehrig, although I still giggle at Maria's comments about how truthful her Dad was when he was just citing Gehrig's lines upon his retirement in the movie. He was a fine and humorous Quaker in Friendly Persuasion. I've probably missed some of his silent films and a few from the 30's, but on the whole, I think I've seen 80% of Coops films. When he played the rugged man's man, as in Wreck of the Mary Deare, and They Came to Cordura, he couldn't be beat, so again. I don't understand why he returned to the romantic hero in his later years, especially since he fit so well with Dorothy McGuire and Patricia Neal (who always looked older than she was to me).
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Anne
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Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
Yesterday, I was pressed for time. I'll add a few thoughts now. The man had a way of almost saying something, but hesitating. As if he, himself, were not sure what he wanted to convey. If the character struggles to put his thoughts into words, the viewer will almost certainly be surprised. This adds to the intrigue, and especially to the credibility of the story. I've heard so many times that an actor should look like he's thinking, not just responding to a cue. This actor certainly did that. You never knew what Gary Cooper was going to say next. Half the time, he didn't even know!
PRIDE OF THE YANKEES slipped my mind. This actor made so many fine movies, one can't immediately recall them all. This baseball bio, while corny and overt, showcases an impressive talent in a dramatic scenario. Take or leave the early portion of the story. When it comes to THE SPEECH, get ready to be moved. This is film acting as it's rarely been done before or since. There's a reason this is one of Coop's best loved roles. You'd have to be a rock not to like it!
Was there another actor who could have done John Doe? Stewart would have over sold it. Paul Muni might have shown more pain than promise. This complex character in an almost fantastic setting required simplicity, determination, growth and redemption. The role called for Cooper's talents more than any other I can think of. It's his finest performance, and could hardly have been done without him.
Then there's our western hero. A man of action, as likely to spit tobacco as talk, he upheld the code in MAN OF THE WEST, NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE, THE VIRGINIAN, and William Wyler's quirky THE WESTERNER. With the exception of John Wayne, no other major star of the sound era was so closely asociated with this genre. Tall and confident, he embodied the image and the dream; not as it was, but as we like to tell the story!
Finally, is it true that in accepting one of his two Academy Awards, he said simply, "Shucks"? That's what I've heard!
PRIDE OF THE YANKEES slipped my mind. This actor made so many fine movies, one can't immediately recall them all. This baseball bio, while corny and overt, showcases an impressive talent in a dramatic scenario. Take or leave the early portion of the story. When it comes to THE SPEECH, get ready to be moved. This is film acting as it's rarely been done before or since. There's a reason this is one of Coop's best loved roles. You'd have to be a rock not to like it!
Was there another actor who could have done John Doe? Stewart would have over sold it. Paul Muni might have shown more pain than promise. This complex character in an almost fantastic setting required simplicity, determination, growth and redemption. The role called for Cooper's talents more than any other I can think of. It's his finest performance, and could hardly have been done without him.
Then there's our western hero. A man of action, as likely to spit tobacco as talk, he upheld the code in MAN OF THE WEST, NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE, THE VIRGINIAN, and William Wyler's quirky THE WESTERNER. With the exception of John Wayne, no other major star of the sound era was so closely asociated with this genre. Tall and confident, he embodied the image and the dream; not as it was, but as we like to tell the story!
Finally, is it true that in accepting one of his two Academy Awards, he said simply, "Shucks"? That's what I've heard!
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movieman1957
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Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
I have a radio broadcast of the Marx Brothers where Gary plays interpreter for Harpo. Not surprisingly Gary's answers consist mainly of yes and no answers. But he should could make that funny.
Red, I think you're right about Cooper playing John Doe and indeed Longfellow Deeds. If they weren't him in reality I couldn't imagine anyone playing it better.
I tend to like his later westerns more than the few he did early. They have more depth but that is more due to the way they were made in the 50s.
Red, I think you're right about Cooper playing John Doe and indeed Longfellow Deeds. If they weren't him in reality I couldn't imagine anyone playing it better.
I tend to like his later westerns more than the few he did early. They have more depth but that is more due to the way they were made in the 50s.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
Gary Cooper Movies that I've seen ...
A Man from Wyoming ... 1930
A Farewell to Arms ...1932
Desire ... 1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ... 1936
The Plainsman ... 1936
The Adventures of Marco Polo ... 1938
The Cowboy and the Lady ... 1938
The Westerner ... 1940
North West Mounted Police ... 1940
Sergeant York ... 1941
The Pride of the Yankees ... 1942
Saratoga Trunk ... 1945
Distant Drums ... 1951
It's a Big Country ... 1951
Springfield Rifle ... 1952
High Noon ... 1952
Vera Cruz ... 1954
The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell ... 1955
Love in the Afternoon ... 1957
The Hanging Tree ... 1959
Alias Jesse James ... 1959
They Came to Cordura ... 1959
The Naked Edge ... 1961
A Man from Wyoming ... 1930
A Farewell to Arms ...1932
Desire ... 1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ... 1936
The Plainsman ... 1936
The Adventures of Marco Polo ... 1938
The Cowboy and the Lady ... 1938
The Westerner ... 1940
North West Mounted Police ... 1940
Sergeant York ... 1941
The Pride of the Yankees ... 1942
Saratoga Trunk ... 1945
Distant Drums ... 1951
It's a Big Country ... 1951
Springfield Rifle ... 1952
High Noon ... 1952
Vera Cruz ... 1954
The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell ... 1955
Love in the Afternoon ... 1957
The Hanging Tree ... 1959
Alias Jesse James ... 1959
They Came to Cordura ... 1959
The Naked Edge ... 1961
Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
The one and only time I've been to LA, a theater in Pasadena was showing a Coop double feature. I think it was HIGH NOON and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON. But my girlfriend didn't want to go. Sometimes NOT being in a relationship is more fun! I love when movie theaters screen the classics. It doesn't happen nearly enough. In fact, this was in the mid 1990's. It's even more rare now.
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Yup! A Gary Cooper thread.
I missed those double feature in theaters these days ... That double feature (Starring Gary Cooper) that you shared RedRiver would be a perfect double feature would be great to see. Man, I miss those days!RedRiver wrote:The one and only time I've been to LA, a theater in Pasadena was showing a Coop double feature. I think it was HIGH NOON and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON. But my girlfriend didn't want to go. Sometimes NOT being in a relationship is more fun! I love when movie theaters screen the classics. It doesn't happen nearly enough. In fact, this was in the mid 1990's. It's even more rare now.