Customer Reviews

Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection (The Cowboy and the Lady / The Real Glory / Vera Cruz / The Winning of Barbara Worth)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's a shame that Gary Cooper, today, is largely remembered for only "High Noon", his Hawks and Capra films ("Sergeant York" and "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"), and as Lou Gehrig in "The Pride of the Yankees"; in his day, he was as sexy and popular as Clark Gable, and more esteemed as a cowboy star than John Wayne!

"Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection" offers a selection of titles that will, hopefully, spark renewed interest in this most charismatic American 'Original'. While, sadly, the collection offers little in bonus features, and, with the exception of "Barbara Worth", appears to be unremastered (which is why I only give it 4 stars), each film is very entertaining!

"The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926), was, of course, Coop's breakthrough role, after three years of stunt work and bit parts, and is a bona fide classic. As 'Abe Lee', the young cowboy/surveyor suitor of Vilma Banky, his sexy, natural style would steal the film from star Ronald Colman (in Colman's defense, his role was more restrained, and less interesting). The film, based on a best-selling novel about harnessing the Colorado River to irrigate the desert, garnered great reviews and box office, and gave Coop a spectacular 'start'... (5 stars out of 5)

"The Cowboy and the Lady" (1938), a 'modern-day' Western comedy/romance, presented Coop the way 1930s' audiences loved him best, as a slow-talking, incorruptible cowboy irresistible to women, but a 'gentleman', in the best sense of the word! Falling for the daughter of a Presidential hopeful, posing as a maid (Merle Oberon), he marries her, discovers the charade, then storms into a posh political dinner and speaks so much 'common sense' that her family moves to his ranch! With life-long friend Walter Brennan as his sidekick, this is a real charmer! (5 stars out of 5)

"The Real Glory" (1939), released shortly after his classic version of "Beau Geste", another 'action-oriented' adventure, though lacking the "Geste" polish and style. Coop is a military doctor in the 1906 Philippines, who, with friends David Niven and Broderick Crawford, attempts to help the Filipinos fight off an army of insurgents. Action was never producer Sam Goldwyn's forte, and the film lacks the warmth of a "Gunga Din", although it does offer a rousing climax... (2 1/2 stars out of 5)

"Vera Cruz" (1954), produced by Burt Lancaster and Harold Hecht, is a spectacular, large-scale western, filmed in Mexico. Ex-Confederate Cooper and bandit Lancaster are uneasy partners guarding Denise Darcel and millions in gold, during the Mexican Revolution. While the aging Coop wasn't well during production, he still gives a solid performance, although overshadowed by Burt's flashy portrayal; the film offers a
fabulous supporting cast, including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Cesar Romero, and Jack Elam. "Vera Cruz" was a major influence on Sergio Leone, and has achieved legendary status, among fans of the genre! (5 stars out of 5)

There is a LOT to enjoy, in this Gary Cooper collection!

Gary Cooper is my favorite actor and this is an excellent collection to showcase his diversity as an actor.

The Winning of Barbara Worth is a silent film made in 1926 and was his first credited screen appearance. The story revolves around a young woman named Barbara Worth, her family and other members of the town they live in out in the Nevada desert where they are trying to reroute the Colorado river in order to irrigate the town and make it more habitable. After a year of appearing in movies as a stunt rider, a 25 year old Gary lobbied to win the supporting role of Abe Lee, the son of the surveyor who is working on the irrigation project and a childhood friend of Barbara who he is also in love with. He had already been hired to be a stunt man but he wanted to try his hand at actual acting. They had already cast that part but the actor who was to play it was still finishing another movie. As it became clear he would not be able to make it they gave Gary the part. The irrigation project is successful and the river is diverted but unfortunately after a short time the system is in danger of failing and flooding the town. Gary's character must endure a 24-hour horse ride into town from the dam site to warn them. He is supposed to arrive at Barbara's house and knock on the door. When it is opened he is to say the dam is about to break and then fall flat on his face worn out from his long, arduous journey. He absolutely nailed the scene and indeed he was so good that the studio was afraid he would end up being the star of the picture and not Ronald Colman who plays the lead and is the son of the man in charge of the dam construction project. They were instructed to either cut that scene or reshoot it with Colman making the journey instead, they opted to cut it so unfortunately it does not appear in the film. However this scene as well as his others gave everyone a glimpse of the wonderul, natural acting ability Gary had even that early in his career. This movie was a huge hit when it was originally released and it has an interesting story and incredible special effects as seen when the dam does break and the town floods.

The Real Glory was made in 1939 and is set in the Phillipines during the early 1900s. Gary plays an army doctor named Bill Canavan and his outfit is part of a small group of soldiers that are left on the island to try and help the natives defend themselves from other warring tribes. It is a very good adventure story with lots of scenes shot in the jungles and also in raging rivers. There's a nice love story mixed in and the characters are well developed and very likeable.

Vera Cruz was made in 1954 by Burt Lancaster's production company and he costars with Gary in this very entertaining western set in and filmed in Mexico. Gary and Burt play two men who sell their services as soldiers of fortune to the highest bidder during the Mexican revolution of 1866. They end up on the side of the emperor and are charged with protecting a lady friend of the emperor on her journey to Vera Cruz. However it gets complicated when the two men realize that along with the beautiful woman they are also transporting a large chest of gold that is going to be used to buy weapons. They along with the woman played by Denise Darcel hatch a plan to make off with the gold themselves. Burt and Denise for selfish reasons but Gary intends to give it to the people who are fighting to oust the emperor. There are many wonderful scenes including displays of fancy sharp shooting at the emperor's palace and also of a festival in a small Mexican town with brightly colored costumes and decorations. Wonderful acting performances all around and a very entertaining film.

The Cowboy and the Lady was released in 1938 and is a very funny, charming story about a wealthy young woman played by Merle Oberon whose father is running for president. She has a very boring life and is not allowed to have much fun so one night she rebels and goes to a night club to dance but unbeknownst to her it's also a gambling den which is raided by the police. In order to keep her out of any more trouble her father sends her to his house in Palm Springs. Here she meets a cowboy played by Gary who is in town for the rodeo. He's from Montana (in real life he was from Montana) and he's making the rodeo circuit looking for a wife. She pretends to be a ladies maid so no one will discover her real identity of a presidential candidates daughter and she and Gary fall in love. He proposes to her but she brushes him off because she knows her father wouldn't approve of her marrying a cowboy. Her heart gets the better of her however and she catches the boat he's sailing to Galveston on just as it's leaving. While on the trip they get married and she decides to head back home to Palm Springs while he finishes up his tour with the rodeo then they will meet back up at his Montana ranch. However before that can happen he discovers that she lied to him about who she was. But don't worry, it has a happy ending and is just a joy to watch. My favorite scene is of Gary on his ranch pretending to play house in the new home he's building. It's just a frame so all the workers on the ranch can see him pretending to seat his wife at the dinner table and then also pretending to eat. When he's caught he invites them all inside and serves them imaginary drinks!!!

Then again we must remember that " Cannon Films Group " didnt really make a-list films tobegin with, these guys were b-movie specialists of the Eighties. Most of their Golan & Globus produced films were strict heroic/action types, ie: The Delta Force. This as far as I know was one the few forays into intrigue/suspense.
The story has Robert Mitchum in the title role leading an old but distinguished cast. His adultress wife is played very wonderfully by Ellen Burstyn, and let me say she is the reason this tape hit the VCR so many times back in the eighties. Ellen has a surprise topless scene that is worth the price of admission. The ambssadors loyal friend/security chief is played by Rock Hudson in his last film. He does a good job as they all do with an ok script.
The Ambassador to Israel is trying to bring peace to the Middle East, but his wife has an affair with one of the PLO chiefs, and the affair ends up on film. Rock races against the clock to get the film back and save his friends peace "process" (I hate that word).
Not bad for some late night viewing. I will get a DVD copy when ever it comes out just for the historical value, ya know, Ellens topless scene!!

I must confess that even though I am a silent film enthusiast with quite a collection of silent films on VHS and DVD (and a number of reviews on Amazon), I had never heard of THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH. Now that I have seen it the surprise is even greater. Made by Samuel Goldwyn in 1926 and featuring Gary Cooper in his first credited film appearance, this movie is an outstanding example of a late American silent film. Not a classic but a well constructed, well acted and well photographed film presented here in a pristine print with color tints and a score performed by legendary organist Gaylord Carter. The speed transfer is occasionally too fast but never enough to detract from what you're watching.

The director was Henry King who made the silent classic TOL'ABLE DAVID in 1921 and whose career lasted well into the sound era with other classics such as THE SONG OF BERNADETTE, TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH, and THE SUN ALSO RISES. The casting shows what silent films were truly capable of. Joining Cooper are Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky as the romantic leads which would have been impossible in the sound era as Hungarian actress Banky could barely speak English and Colman's voice was much too urbane to be believable in a Western setting. The story of Western boom towns and the building of a faulty dam which results in massive flooding is based on the novel by Harold Bell Wright and is still relevant today.

Director King knows how to handle both the action scenes and the quieter moments which were his real specialty. THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH is part of the 4 DVD set GARY COOPER: MGM MOVIE LEGENDS COLLECTION which features 3 sound features THE COWBOY AND THE LADY, THE REAL GLORY, and VERA CRUZ which was directed by Robert Aldrich. If you love Cooper then by all means get this set for your collection. If you just want the silent then look for used copies of BARBARA WORTH elsewhere on Amazon.

The title "Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection" is totally midleading here. Gary Cooper was never a part of MGM's hammy stable of contract players in the traditional sense although he did do some films for that studio. The films here aren't among them. "Vera Cruz" was released through United Artists. The other 3 titles were Samuel Goldwyn films also released through United Artists. Sam Goldwyn was never part of MGM. Film history readings will explain, to those interested, how his last name wound up as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In my opinion, MGM has always been about self-aggrandizement and I guess they'll get it any way they can take it. That's too bad as it can create confusion for even arm-chair film researchers studying the old studio system of filmmaking. I always think of post-Thalberg MGM as the "blow-hard" studio with its process packaged films (although there are a healthy number of exceptions).
This Gary Cooper/United Artists collection features 4 terrific films that I highly recommend. I saw a clean print of the rare "The Winning of Barbara Worth" on the big screen a couple of years ago and Cooper's star quality is instantly apparent.
I highly recommend this set.

all the movies were excellent. VERA CRUTS is my favourite.

Good condition delivered five days earlier no damage to the product

Thank you!!!

In my opinion, Gary Cooper was one of the finest actors America has produced. The films in this set are excellent examples of his work. One, in particular, however, caught my attention and I have have watched it many times since buying the set. "The Real Glory" is seldom seen on TV, but has immense relevance to today's news. Set in roughly 1900 in the Phillipines, it describes the impact of a US Government decison to draw down US occupation forces in that country (following its occupation during the Spanish-American War in 1898) at a time when the indigenous Moro (Moslem) peoples were fighting viciously to drive the occupying American forces out. The movie begins with a US Army officers' discussion of a newly received order to withdraw, with a discussion amongst the US Army officers present of the likely murderous effect of withdrawal by the US forces on the non-Moro Phillipino inhabitants. Filmed in the late 1930s, the comparisons to today's headlines are remarkable. I HIGHLY recommend the set, if only for this one movie.

I'm very pleased with this collection. You can get 4 movies of Gary Cooper. You can begin with the silent movie "The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926) when GC was acting in a secundary rol. The other three movies GC had the leading rol. The four movies are very entertaing and GC shows his unique performance.
Details:
"The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926): silent movie, score mono.
"The Cowboy and the Lady" (1938): Audio: English, Spanish and French. Subtitles: English and Spanish.
"The Real Glory" (1939): Audio: English, Spanish and French. Subtitles: English and Spanish.
"Vera Cruz" (1954): Audio: English, Spanish and French. Subtitles: French and Spanish.

If you think of Gary Cooper, the movies that probably come immediately to mind are films like High Noon, Pride of the Yankees, Meet John Doe or Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The MGM Movie Legends Collection for Cooper offers none of these movies, but instead some lesser known Cooper flicks that are still quite watchable.

Chronologically, the first in the foursome is The Winning of Barbara Worth, a late silent film which actually has Cooper in a supporting role, albeit a major one. The title character is an orphan taken in by a man who envisions bringing the water of the Colorado River to the desert. As an adult, Barbara will be wooed by two men: Cooper, the friend she grew up with, and Ronald Colman, who will help develop the critical dam. When the main financier behind the dam refuses to pay for reinforcing it, disaster ensues.

The Cowboy and the Lady has Cooper as a blind date for poor-little-rich-girl Merle Oberon. They fall hard for each other, but she has concealed the fact that she is wealthy since he hates the rich. Eventually, he will find out, and (comic) disaster ensues. In The Real Glory, Cooper is a doctor assigned to a military squad in the post-Spanish American War Philippines. The American troops are there to train the locals so they can protect themselves from raids by the local bandit tribe. As people start being picked off by assassins and cholera, it's up to Cooper to lead a mission to save the day.

In Vera Cruz, Cooper is an ex-Confederate mercenary who goes to Mexico to fight its Civil War for whichever side pays the most. He eventually joins Burt Lancaster and his gang (which includes Charles Buchinsky, later known as Charles Bronson as well as Ernest Borgnine and Jack Elam). Cooper and Lancaster will lead an escort that is taking a countess from Mexico City to Vera Cruz; hidden in her carriage is $3 million in gold, and soon everyone is playing games against each other to get the money.

With one movie made in the 1920s, two in the 1930s and one in the 1950s, this set shows the evolution (and aging) of Cooper the actor and demonstrates why he is one of the biggest names in Hollywood for decades. There are no extras to speak of in the set, and the movies themselves range from near-great (Barbara Worth and Vera Cruz) to good (The Cowboy and the Lady) to just okay (The Real Glory). Overall, I rate this one four stars; it's a good chance to see some lesser known Cooper movies.

I have seen the film a couple of times, and though parts of it were a little cliched, it was generally quite enetertaining.(I also was an "extra" a press photographer, in the hospital scene, so naturally, I think that 20 second sequence is superb !)