coopsgirl
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Posts posted by coopsgirl
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You are too sweet! The 'begging you for mercy' one is one of my very faves. I heard that song when it was new on an episode of *Smallville* and thought it would make a great video and then it just took off and all the sudden I was hearing it in a bunch of commercials and stuff like that. It's a cool song and it fit those scenes so perfectly. That was a really fun one to do.
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*he was definitely a great screen kisser!*
Yes he was!!
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Here's the link to the segment of that documentary that has the scene from *CoD*. It's just a couple minutes into the clip. The other videos you posted ealier are a couple of mine, I'm glad you liked them.
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He first spoke a few words of dialogue in *The Shopworn Angel* in 1928 as they tacked on a talkie scene at the end to what was otherwise a silent film (now lost). His first all talkie was *The Virginian* in 1929. The studio actually had him scheduled to make a different picture as his first talkie but when *The Virginian* came up he lobbied to get that role since he felt more comfortable in westerns at that time.Westerns only make up about a quarter of his films so he really was able to increase his range as his career moved into the early to mid 30s and he also didn?t want to be typecast as a western actor only.
He was definitely not shy with the ladies in private but I think it?s very sweet how he was so nervous to do the romantic stuff on camera. Once he got past the nerves though his kiss packed a mighty wallup
. Laraine Day, his leading lady in *Dr. Wassell* (1944) told an interviewer decades later how surprised she was when he kissed her during a scene b/c it was so much better than most movie kisses she had had before. I?m so jealous! -
It was made after *Wings* and *It*. I believe it was her follow up film to *It*. It didn?t do all that well though b/c it?s a drama and people were used to seeing her play the happy flapper usually and especially after her role in *It*, that seems to be what people wanted. It did get some critical praise though. There are some hilarious stories regarding Gary?s involvement in *CoD*.
He had only had two major roles prior to *CoD*. He played a supporting role in *The Winning of Barbara Worth* and the lead in *Arizona Bound*. Both of these were westerns and that was where he had the bulk of his film experience up to that point. In *CoD* he is supposed to be a rich playboy type and he wore fancy clothes instead of his usual cowboy duds. He was very nervous and uncomfortable and he did such a bad job that he was fired. The guy they replaced him with (don?t know his name) was even worse though so they managed to track Gary down and rehired him.
In one scene he is supposed to kind of breeze into a party and saunter about the room holding a glass of champagne and walk up to Clara?s character. It took more than 20 takes to get it as he kept spilling the champagne all over Clara. They ended up shooting some of his scenes with him sitting down instead of standing b/c his long legs were visibly shaking.
It got even worse when he was supposed to kiss Esther Ralston, his character?s fianc?e. He was mortified at the idea of kissing a woman in front of all those people and on camera. He thought it was indecent to do that in public especially with a woman he barely knew. The director, who knew of his relationship with Clara, told him ?I hope you do a better job then tomorrow in the kissing scenes with Clara!? ? ha!
That fear of kissing on camera would follow him for his next few pictures as the directors would have to coax him into actually holding and kissing these actresses. He would just barely put his arms around them and they would have to tell him stuff like ?she?s not gonna break?. Poor guy, I would have felt the same way. I?m glad he got over it though :x.
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*You are right. I didn't really think it out like that.*
Don?t you know I?m always right? (just kidding
)*This is what I could never understand about Ann - why did she write that speech? Maybe she was so used to trying to get money that it didn't really sink in until later? You can see the wheels turning in her head - she is uncomfortable, and maybe a little afraid of Norton.... I guess we all do things once in a while that we are not proud of.....*
The movie is supposed to be set a few years earlier than it was made so they would still have been in the depression and I guess Ann was just trying to do whatever she could to make a living even if she knew it was wrong. Her conscious finally got the better of her though at the fancy dinner when she could see what the bad guys were plotting and then when John came in and really exposed them, she knew it was wrong and refused to go along anymore.
*I always like to see stars who are in love behind the screen as well as on screen- it is electric when they do touch, or talk to one another. It adds another dimension to what is already a good movie.*
The scene in *CoD* that I was talking about is cute b/c Clara?s character got Gary?s character drunk and tricked him into marrying her. He is quite surprised to find her in his bed the next morning and he doesn?t remember how she got there. He truly does look panicked as he is engaged to Esther Ralston?s character (who is a long time friend of Clara's character) and really loves her. Clara plays it cool and coy as she kinda writhes around a little and gives him those big puppy dog eyes and pretends to pout a little and be upset that he doesn?t remember marrying her.
It?s fun to see them together at that particular time b/c she was enjoying the peak of her career and he was brand new in his. Their quite torrid affair at the time was real but also partly a publicity stunt as Clara could see he had real talent and she was great about helping people out who she thought deserved it like Jean Harlow and Jack Oakie as well as Gary.
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*Children of Divorce* has been restored and preserved and a copy is held in the Library of Congress. I don?t have access to youtube at work or I would post the link but the little snippet I talked about seeing is from a doc on silent films called *Hollywood*. If you go on youtube and search for Clara Bow you should be able to find it.
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*maybe you could practice on someone you are just a little attracted to*
What about this guy? He?s pretty homely and I bet he?d make good practice
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*She probably has to shave her back, too.*
That?s just gross!!
I agree with you that Babe seems one of more human of all the female reporter characters in the movies and we really get a lot of character development with her and she was just such a great actress that you can?t help but love her characters. I gotta disagree though with her reasons for doing what she did as being better than Ann?s in *Meet John Doe*.
Babe wanted to be the best at her job and she went hard after stories. She was also gonna get a month?s paid vacation for getting the goods on Deeds even though she made him look foolish and insane. Ann is the breadwinner of her family and has four people to take care of. She comes up with the John Doe idea and then continues to go along with it to help her family and herself while Babe is only looking out for number one.
I do think though that Babe was probably the better overall person. When Norton tells Ann he wants to start a third party and be their presidential candidate, she goes along with it and writes the speech where John will announce this to everyone at the convention. It was only when John confronted the bad guys at Norton?s house did she finally see how wrong it was and change her mind. She was more blinded by the material goods than Babe was but again, she was poorer than Babe and I guess I can see Ann?s side of it too.
*I like Jean Arthur very much in Mr. Smith, too. In fact, the two roles seem like two parts of the same whole. And her scenes with Thomas Mitchell are so great.... (my first husband was a lot like "Diz". Unfortunately in real life, a drinking buddy does not make the best husband. They just make a good drinking buddy).*
That?s good advice, I guess
. She is great in *Mr. Smith* too but I would say she?s a little more hard boiled in that one than in *Mr. Deeds* even though the roles are pretty similar. I love the scene where she and Diz are getting drunk and she tells him her name is Clarissa and she?s afraid he?s gonna hate it. She played a good drunk 
. I would have loved for Jean and Gary to have done more films together but at least they did a couple. She and Barbara Stanwyck are my fave of his leading ladies. I would put Clara Bow in there but they only really acted together in one film *Children of Divorce* and I?ve never seen it. He was in *Wings* and *It* too but they are never on camera at the same time so I don?t really count those. I do have a clip of them in *Children of Divorce* and when I first saw it I got chills when Clara reached out to hold his hand. It may be silly but I couldn?t help it
. Here were two of my fave people actually in the shot at the same time interacting with each other. It was really cool and that film is like my holy grail of movies. I really hope TCM is able to show it one of these years. I wish Clara had been able to do *City Streets* too, then we could have seen them together in a talkie and I would be in movie heaven :x. -
Hey Molo,
I recorded *John Loves Mary* b/c the clips they showed in Pat?s *Private Screenings* ep looked cute. I hope to get around to watching it soon. I?m also curious to see Reagan in a film as I?ve only seen clips of him in things but never a complete film. He was the first president I was really aware of so that?s just how I?ve always seen him.
Edward Arnold is one of my faves and he was great in *Come and Get It*; he had me in tears at the end. I agree too that he was great in *Easy Living*. My fave parts are when he keeps trying to explain to Jean Arthur how interest works but she just doesn?t get it. I work with numbers for a living and it doesn?t make any sense to me either Jean
. The first thing I saw him in was *Meet John Doe* when he was a baddie. It?s really something that he could go from bad guy to funny and charming without missing a beat. I?d really like to see another film he and Jean did together from 1935, *Diamond Jim*.
Now that I covered all that, here?s what I actually came to talk about
. Last night I watched *Every Girl Should be Married* with Cary Grant and Betsy Drake. Betsy sees Cary in a drugstore one day and decides she?s going to marry him. She spies on him for a couple of weeks and gathers all the info she can about him and then with the help of her friend and several others who get dragged in, she goes about trying to land him. I was watching this one with my mom and stepdad and part way through my stepdad said ?Boy I?m sure glad Gary Cooper isn?t still around? and we all busted out laughing as I saw quite a bit of myself in Betsy
. So through the rest of the movie they kept picking on me asking me ?are you taking notes?? and stuff like that. To be serious for a minute, stalking is a very bad thing and Betsy is definitely stalking him but she is sane so I guess that makes it alright in the movie at least
. It made me think though how we as fans can get so attached to and interested in our favorite actors and actresses; especially us rabid classic movie fans.I just was reading up more on Betsy Drake and I saw that she married Cary Grant the same year this film came out. I guess her character's strategy worked after all - ha!
Message was edited by: coopsgirl
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I?m not surprised that Frank is related to Dr. Grimes who is a dentist and we all know that is the most sadistic profession on the planet. Dr. Grimes nearly gassed one of his patients to death due to an old grudge and I would bet a wooden nickel that Frank gave him the idea.
That is way too cute about the O?s being little hearts! I didn?t even notice it until it was pointed out in the poster thread. Maybe I didn?t notice b/c I just always seem them that way :x.
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*I would never have thought of you as a cold fish, either...*
Inside I feel like a red hot mama but it just doesn?t show on the outside. I totally freeze up around guys I find myself attracted to which doesn?t bode well for an active social life.
*And although it sounds impossible, I think I am equal parts of Helen Ramirez and Amy in High Noon.*
It?s not impossible; people have many different sides so I can see how you might identify with both characters. Nobody wants to be compared to ?Yucky Amy? though,
. One exchange between Helen and Amy that stands out to me is when Amy says she understand how Helen feels being a Mexican woman in that town. Helen says something like ?You do, that?s good. I don?t understand you.? I think she should have said something like ?How can you, you spoiled little white girl!?; then slap her and kick her out of her room
. That pick of Grace with her moustache cracks me up every time!! She really should?ve shaved the old soup strainer before that photo shoot. I guess she was too busy fretting over whether she should save her man or not and just didn?t have the time
. ?Babe? is a neat character in that she kinda lost her innocence so to speak when she moved to the big city but Longfellow (what an appropriate character name for him!) helped her see there were still good guys out there and that she didn?t have to give up on people b/c they weren?t all bad. We could sure use someone like him around now with all the corruption in government scandals coming out every day it seems.
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Good question, is this the real Frank?
Okay, here they are in chronological order of film release. 1 - Mary Brian as Barbara Calhoun in *Only the Brave*
She's a Southerner who falls for a Union spy (Gary) and it's a real cutsey movie. She's an interesting character who at first starts off more like a Scarlett O'Hara type who just sweet talks her way through her problems but she grows up when she falls for Gary and becomes a strong woman who stands up for her man.
2 - June Collyer as Patricia Hunter in *A Man From Wyoming*
Pat is a wealthy girl who joins a Red Cross type group in WWI and decides she's had enough of practicing bandaging the other girls in her unit and she wants to see some action so she wanders off towards the front. Gary's character, who is a Captain, saves her and although they fight at first they end up sneaking away and getting married. Pat is another strong woman who takes care of herself and doesn't shy away from tough situations.
3 - Frances Fuller as Amy Grimes in *One Sunday Afternoon*
Amy is very sweet and shy and she falls for the tough guy in town Biff (Gary) even though he loves her friend Virginia (Fay Wray). When Virginia marries another man, Biff marries Amy as a consolation. She loves him very much and is a good and caring wife to him and he eventually sees that and falls in love with her too. I like her b/c she's sweet and also a tragic sort of character b/c she loves a man who for most of their marriage, did not fully love her back but even when he did a short stint in prison, she still stood by him.
4 - Jean Arthur as Babe Bennett in *Mr. Deeds Goes to Town*
I like Babe b/c she's tough talking but really a softie at heart. She's got a great wardrobe too and an exciting job.
5 - Jean Arthur as Calamity Jane in *The Plainsman*
I gotta put Calamity on the list b/c when I was a kid I dressed up like Calamity Jane for Halloween and that was fun. She's a fun character too who's a real tomboy and that just looks like fun.
6 - Merle Oberon as Mary Smith in *The Cowboy and the Lady*
She's a "cold fish" as one of the other character's calls her and not real good with men and I can definitely identify with that. She tries her best to flirt with Gary's character but he just doesn't bite until she finally gives him a sob story and tricks him into kissing her.
7 - Barbara Stanwyck as Sugarpuss O'Shea in *Ball of Fire*
I just can't tell you enough how much I love that dress Sugarpuss has in this one so she gets a lot of points just for that. She's another one similar to Babe Bennett in that she's a tough talking broad but with the right guy, she just melts and the sensitive girl comes out. Also it would be fun to be part of a nightclub act.
8 - Ann Sheridan as Lucille Clayton in *Good Sam*
It's funny that Ann Sheridan started her career as a sexpot type but in this one she's an average housewife and mother and she did a great job. She and Gary really seem like a real couple and there's one scene where she gets really cracked up and it's so funny b/c it really seems like she is just laughing her head off. It's fun to daydream too about being a suburban housewife during the late 40s (and also early 50s).
9 - Audrey Hepburn as Ariane Chavasse in *Love in the Afternoon*
She's just so naive about men and it's so cute as she tries to save Gary's character from some woman's husband who is gunning for him as he's having an affair with his wife. She tries to make him fall for her by making him think she's just as worldly as he is. He eventually falls for the real her though.
10 - Maria Schell as Elizabeth Mahler in *The Hanging Tree*
Elizabeth is another strong character who has come to America (specifically a small mining town in Montana) to start a new life. She's all alone but she toughs it out anyway and doesn't let anyone stop her from reaching her goals.
I guess I see myself as a mish-mash of a few of these. I'm like Elizabeth Mahler as I went to grad school in London by myself and was far away from home alone but I got through it. With regards to men, I'm like Mary Smith and Amy Grimes; shy and not a very good flirt. I'm also a little like Pat Hunter in that I'm not afraid to go out and do something if it's something I really want to do (I have no desire to go to the front lines like she did though).
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I found a cool thing at Grapevine Video called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood which was a series of shorts where Hedda showed clips of movie stars. It ran from '42-'43 and one of the shorts had some Gary stuff in it. I uploaded it - enjoy!
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More Paramount stars like Clara Bow and Fay Wray.
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Hey Anita,
It's always nice to "meet" a fellow Texan
. I have more than my fair share of pics of Gary, but that's not necessarily a bad thing .*High Noon* is one of my faves and overall I like his westerns the best. I never liked westerns before, but his are great and I am warming up to some others that include other actors I love like Barbara Stanwyck who did a ton of westerns.
Here's a link to my youtube channel and I have a lot of Gary videos as well as some other of my faves like Clara Bow, Stanwyck and Jean Arthur. I hope you'll like them if you get a chance to watch 'em.
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Thanks Jeff! Great pics of Clara, especially that bottom one; it's too cute.
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*Ten North Frederick*
*The Virginian*
*Friendly Persuasion*
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*It's Hitch for me:*
*To Catch a Thief*
*Rear Window*
*Notorious*
Ugh, this is why we could never be a couple; too much Grace Kelly
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Unless my valentine wants to get very jealous while he watches me drool over Gary Cooper doing manual labor, he better leave *The Fountainhead* on the shelf
. This of course applies to my imaginary valentine, who come to think of it bears a striking resemblance to Gary . A lot of good movies have already been listed but I?ll through in *Midnight*. I just watched that one recently and I can see both sexes enjoying it.
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That pic was pretty easy since they aren?t close up
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I tend to like the ones best that are done by family members as they would have had the most access to these people and probably knew them best.
I know I?m biased, but the one Maria did for her father Gary Cooper, is my fave b/c I know how close they were and what a good relationship they had. I got the chance to see her speak about him in person this past summer, and you can tell how much she still loves him and misses him. With so many Hollywood children putting out nasty tell all books about their parents (whether it?s true stuff or not), it?s nice to hear from someone who had a happy childhood and was raised by two loving parents. He may not have been the perfect husband, but by all accounts he was one heck of a great father. He said on many occassions, the thing he was most proud of in this world was his daughter, so I think it was a fitting tribute
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Here's a colorized pic I did from *Ball of Fire*.
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I would be one of my fave actresses, Barbara Stanwyck, on any day she got to wear this dress while filming *Ball of Fire*. It?s my absolute favorite movie costume and her arm candy ain?t too bad either
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Another Gary Cooper western set in Texas is *Man of the West*. It airs on both TCM and the Encore Westerns channel from time to time and is also available on DVD.
Part of *The Cowboy and the Lady* is in Texas too and also stars Gary with Merle Oberon in a romantic comedy with a Western twist.
. Laraine Day, his leading lady in *Dr. Wassell* (1944) told an interviewer decades later how surprised she was when he kissed her during a scene b/c it was so much better than most movie kisses she had had before. I?m so jealous!
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Any Gary Cooper Fans?
in Your Favorites
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Thank you both for the compliments! I'm very proud of them and they are just so much fun to do. Here's another one I just finished.