coopsgirl
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John was cleaning out his office and getting rid of some stuff from some of his finished projects like the Cooper/Hemingway doc and he sent me some of the stuff he gathered when he was making it. One of the most interesting things was a copy of the *Man of the West* script. Yesterday I watched it while I followed along with the script and it was really interesting and fun to see where things were different and then also to see how well (or not so well) the actors followed the notes about their characters.
No surprise here, Gary as Link Jones was spot on as to how his character was supposed to behave and carry himself. Arthur O?Connell who played Sam Beasley and Lee J. Cobb who played Dock Tobin were also right on with how their characters were written.
Julie London as Billie Ellis however didn?t show quite the range of emotions they had written for her. I think she did a fine job, but if she could have played it like it was written, it would have been a little better. In the beginning she is written as being a woman of the world but also tired of her lonely life on the road as a singer. She doesn?t really get across how tired she is of her lifestyle though as fully as it seems they wanted.
The opening scene shows the unfinished school building in the town of Good Hope, Arizona (Link?s hometown). We see people gathered around it working and then it cuts over to Link who is standing with his wife Maria, who is described as a lovely, demure, dark haired woman. Their two sons are also standing with them as one of the townspeople gives Link the money they have raised to hire a school teacher. He kisses Maria goodbye and then shakes his boy?s hands before bending down on his knee to give them a hug. When he gets on his horse and begins to ride away Maria mouths the words ?good luck?.
When he arrives in Crosscut to take the train to Fort Worth, there are several scenes of him that are played to comedic effect to show how out of place he is in a bigger city. Good Hope is shown as a small settlement and the bustling streets of Crosscut are far different. He cranes his neck to look up at some of the tall buildings and the people laugh at him and things like that. I?m glad they cut that out as it seemed to paint him as na?ve and foolish and his character is neither of those. I think it was enough to have him react strangely to the train and not be able to fit in the seat to show that he is out of his element.
The first big difference with regard to Billie and Link?s relationship is their interaction while they wait for the train. She drops her bag and it gets stuck on the tracks. She asks Link ?if you?re not using your feet for anything special today would you mind giving this thing a kick??. The notes say he is taken aback by such an outspoken woman and by how different she is from his wife.
When the train stops for wood, instead of Link getting pistol whipped and knocked out by the bad guys they had him getting shot in the arm. I?m glad they changed that b/c it would have been tough for his character to do all he had to do with only one good arm. After they are left by the train it says Billie?s dress is all ripped up and that she sits down on the tracks and cries but she hides her face in her hands so Link and Sam can?t see her crying. I?m glad they changed that b/c it would have been clich?d for her dress to be torn when it really shouldn?t be. I mean, she got left by a train, not thrown in a wood chipper
. Also with the way she is playing the character as being tough (we haven?t seen a vulnerable side yet) it wouldn?t have made sense for her to start blubbering. There is also one thing they changed that I was quite disappointed about. When they inadvertently run into Dock Tobin and his gang and Link and Billie go out to sleep in the barn that night, it says Link hears Dock coming and he rips off his shirt and lays down next to Billie. Dadgummit!!! Why did they change it to him leaving his shirt on?!? Oh well, I digress.
Link is far more affectionate towards Billie in the script than in the film. I know we?ve debated on here before about whether they slept together or not and the script is no help on this issue. It?s never explicitly stated or even really implied that they slept together but they do kiss in three different scenes and if not for Link?s wife I imagine they would have.
The scene where they are talking the morning after they slept in the barn about Link?s family is written in the script as happening as they are getting ready for bed that night. Link is spreading some hay around for Billie to sleep on as they are talking about it and she also gives her speech about how men only see her as a sex object. She starts to cry and he sits down next to her to comfort her and that?s when they hear Dock coming and he takes his shirt off and they get under the blankets and pretend to be asleep. Since they are on the ground Dock trips over them when he comes in and his speech is delivered as he?s practically laying on top of them.
Once they are on their way to Lassoo they stop to make camp and Billie and Link walk off by themselves. Billie tells him she was scared by what Dock said to her on the ride but she doesn?t want to tell Link. Dock told her that before they got to Lassoo, that Link would ?give? Billie to him b/c Dock was in charge and Link always did as he was told. As they talk some more Billie asks him where he?s from and tells him she wants to know everything about him. She eventually tells him what Dock told her and then she tells Link she loves him. This is where she delivers her last speech of the film and since I don?t have the last few pages I don?t know how they had originally scripted the ending. She kisses him and it says at first he doesn?t respond then he slowly puts his arms around her and they continue to kiss until they hear Coaley and the other bad guys clapping b/c they were watching them.
The night before they go into Lassoo, Link and Billie are sitting in the wagon and he sits next to her holding her and she gives her line about loving to touch him and that she can?t keep the happiness she?s found with him. He tells her ?If I stay alive, and if I get that money back, I?ll be going home, Billie. Home is all I have. But if I die?you?ll be the last person I ever kissed.? Then it says he gently strokes her hair and kisses her softly on the lips. In the actual scene he moves his hand like he?s going to stroke her hair but then he holds back and doesn?t do it. I like that better. We can see he?s attracted to her and he does want to comfort her but he knows he can?t. The next morning as Link is getting ready to leave for Lassoo he kisses Billie again and then when he gets on his horse and if riding away she mouths ?good luck? just like his wife did at the beginning.
Also Link is short for Lincoln and it?s supposed to be set during 1874.
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Cool pic Mongo, thanks for sharing
. It sounds like it was a wonderful time and I'm just still so excited for y'all (and quite frankly relieved it wasn't me b/c I imagine I would just freeze up - ha!). TCM is by far the best network on air not only b/c of the wonderful programming but b/c they actually care about their viewership and show it. -
Well since somebody already picked Gary
, I?ll go with my other main fave.*Clara Bow*
*Call Her Savage* (1932) ? She really got to show off her dramatic chops with this one and while the supporting actors often leave a lot to be desired, Clara truly shines as the star she was.
*It* (1927) ? Can?t leave this one off the list as it was her biggest hit and one of my overall fave films. A cute romantic comedy about a regular girl who falls for her boss at the department store and ultimately wins him. A great Cinderalla story with a modern (well, modern for the 20s) twist. Also Gary has a cameo as a reporter :x.
*Hula* (1927) ? This is one of my faves of hers and it?s a cute story about a girl named Hula (Clara) who lives in Hawaii and falls for Anthony (Clive Brook), the man contracted to irrigate her family?s land. Anthony plays a very straight laced Brit who falls, against his will, for Hula who is carefree and fun loving. There is some drama when Anthony?s estranged wife (who I swear looks like a man in drag) comes to Hawaii and wants him back now that he has gotten a big payday for this job. Hula?s not about to let a little thing like a wife stand in the way though when she sees something she wants and she and Anthony end up together. There is a very cute scene where Hula takes off on her horse so that Anthony will chase her. She falls off and he runs to her to make sure she?s alright. She tells him it hurts her hand and he kisses it so she then points to her eyes and her lips and he kisses them all. It?s pure Clara how she sweetly seduces him and the audience to fall under her spell.
In all these films, as in most of her work, she was the embodiement of youth and vitality as well as a representation of the average American girl of the (then) modern era.
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I don?t think they could have made five better choices to represent the fans at the boards and what a cool thing for them to do!! I?m so happy and excited for y?all and can?t wait to see y?all do your stuff
. I?m especially happy to see my favorite movie *Meet John Doe* made the cut. Thanks for picking it Kyle and I can?t wait to hear your thoughts about it. -
I love it when Sugarpuss tells him to "shove it in your clutch"
. That one is definitely one of my fave of the screwball comedies. Here's another pic I colorized, this time of Clara Bow. I finally got one of her done that I'm happy with.
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That's funny that you picked that one of Clara with the boa b/c I have one from that same photo shoot just from a different angle and I've been trying to colorize it too. What I'm having a hard time with Clara on is her hair. I can't get it a good shade of red. It's either too pink or too brown. I'll keep working on it though.
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Thanks! That one came out really well. I?ve got some more b+w pics of her in that dress and I?ll have to do them too. It?s my fave movie costume and I bet she had fun playing around in it. Here it is in real color.
It cracked me up b/c when the official dvd of *Ball of Fire* came out they used that exact color of magenta that I had imagined the dress to be. I just assumed that must have been the real color and then later I found this pic of her in it, and I was surprised to see it was gold. I?m gonna keep it that nice magenta color in the other pics I?ll colorize though, but I think I?ll tone it down a little. I?ll send you a copy of that movie too if you want. It?s one of my faves and all the character actors who play the professors just about steal the show from Gary and Babs; and that?s not an easy feat
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*Are you jumping out of your cake again this year?*
That?s too messy. I think I?ll just cut some cake with my main squeeze instead :x.
*I was working on a crossword puzzle and he was helping me.*
*What? What has happened to you and your dreams?*
I don?t know? I?ve asked myself the same thing. What happened to the days when I dreamed about me, Gary and lewd acts committed in public?
*You have become domesticated. What happened?*
Being domesticated with this guy isn?t such a bad thing. I?d be a good little housewife and I would love it :x.
Looks like it?s time for bed
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*Which Duke film do you wish me to review first?*
*I hope Bogie showed up tonight.*
You are cruisin? for a bruisin? mister. You better be careful messing with us Texas gals, we know how to put men like you in their place.
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I just googled ?photo colorization software? and Recolor was one that came up. I downloaded the free trial and it was so easy that I went ahead and bought it. I?ve done a couple of Clara but I?m not totally happy with them yet so I?m still working on them. It took me several tries to get one of Gary that looked right. I agree though that the thing on his hat isn?t really the right color. The hardest thing to do seems to be the skin color; that?s my main beef against colorized films and until they can get that right I?m sticking with b+w. Colorizing pics seems easier though and you can get some pretty good results.
Those pics of Clara, Janet and Charles are great. That is one crazy outfit Clara has in that pic. She kinds looks like a drum major with very bad fashion sense
. The *Hula* one is especially cute, thanks! Here?s another one I did of Barbara Stanwyck from *Ball of Fire*. The hair color blurred a little onto the background though but this is one of the first ones I did so I know how to avoid that now. This dress was actually gold but I always pictured it a crazy pink color and apparently so did the people who did the cover art for the dvd
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*What's this about a rack?*
I didn't fill out quite as well as this girl does so I think they'd pay me to take the calendars away
.*Speaking of birthday suits, I'm getting candles ready...*
Shhhh! You gotta keep that quiet!
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I just saw this article on Fox News site about a grad student who decided to make a retro pin up style calendar to raise money for military hospitals and I had to do a double take. She's wearing the same costume in this pic that I tried on at Halloween. It looked cute hanging on the rack but when I put it on, it showed off a little too much so back on the rack it went
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I just saw in the April listings thread they are showing *Starlift* on April 5th. Gary just has a cameo in this one and it's about as close as we're gonna get to seeing him in a musical
. He's dressed as a Texas Ranger (not the baseball team - ha!) and he does a real cute skit about how tough he is and it's just adorable. I have it on dvd (got it from ioffer.com) but I wasn't able to make copies of it so now y'all can see it and I can get a backup copy too . There's also some scuttlebutt going around that Robert Osborne let it leak out in an interview with Classic Images magazine that when their lease to the show the Columbia films is up (not sure when that will be though) they are going to get the Paramount/Universal films from the 30s and 40s. That is fantastic news and I hope it happens......soon!!!!
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My birthday is in a couple of weeks and getting those Paramount/Universal films on TCM is the best present I could get
. It seems they have been working on this for quite a while and I hope it goes off without a hitch. Both Paramount and Universal in the last year or so, have been releasing some of their catalog titles either themselves (in Universal's case) or through another distributor (like Paramount did with Legends Films) so maybe they are finally beginning to weaken. -
Michaela: You can post any of the pics you want on your site. If I get a chance I'll post some there too.
April: Those are beautiful pics from *Meet John Doe* :x. I love that one from *Man of the West* too and put it as my desktop.
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I wonder if any of Frank?s new year?s resolutions included all those movie reviews we?ve been promised for so long now?
I had another dream about Gary last night and it was really cute. He, Rocky (his wife) and Maria (his daughter) lived in my fave childhood home that I dream about quite a bit and we were friends with them and they invited us over one night. Our kitchen opened into the dining room and we had a nice bar you could sit at in between the kitchen and dining area and my mom and I were sitting at the bar, my stepdad was sitting at the table while Rocky and Maria were in the kitchen making pies. Maria was in her early teens and Gary was early 50s. He was famous like he was in real life too.
So we?re all sitting around talking and Gary came in through the back door which opens into the kitchen so I guess he had been outside doing something. He was wearing jeans and a light blue button up shirt and he looked so cute. He asked Rocky and Maria how the pies were coming then he came over and sat down next to me at the bar on my left and my mom was on my right. I was working on a crossword puzzle and he was helping me. There wasn?t really enough room for three people there so me and him were real close and I remembered thinking that I had to behave and keep my hands to myself
. Then I remembered thinking how awesome it was that I was friends with him since he was my fave actor and I was totally in love with him :x.A couple nights before that I had a dream that me and him were married (much better than dreaming about his real wife ? ha!) and we were both around my age, early 30s. It was in the 50s and we were giving a dinner party in our cute 50s house. He had on a nice suit and I had this gorgeous black and with dress. It was sleeveless and the bodice was black with two pieces that overlapped to form a V neckline. It had a black belt and a skirt with black and white flowers on it. My hair was longer and blonde (like it is now but it?s short) and it was fixed in a cute up-do. We were both just mingling around and talking to our party guests ? good times, good times
. Two dreams about him in 5 days is a very good start to the new year
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Here's a cute pic of Gary (and part of Ann Sheridan - ha!) that was posted in the Candid photo thread at the Silver Screen Oasis. It's from *Good Sam* but it must be from a scene that was cut. Gary and Ann are wearing their costumes from a charity event they attended but we only see them after they have gotten home from the event and Gary doesn't have the moustache in the movie.
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You can probably do the same with Photoshop so if you already have it I would try that. That one of Carole is the best one I've done so far and I think it was just the second one I did. I've done a couple of Clara Bow too but I'm not completely happy with them yet.
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You can download a 21 day free trial and after that you can buy it for $29. I went ahead and bought it b/c it's pretty easy and waaay too much fun
. It probably took about 45 minutes to do that pic of Gary. Here's another one I did of Carole Lombard this morning. The women seems to be easier than the men; and more fun b/c they have makeup and jewelry and stuff like that. 
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I found some colorization software online (called Recolor) and I've been playing around with it. It took several tries but I finally got a pic of Gary to look pretty good.
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I was looking through the schedule and I saw they are showing *Today We Live* (1933) on March 23. I?ve only watched this one once b/c frankly I didn?t think it was very good and Gary really seems to have more of a supporting role and not nearly enough screen time to make up for the lousy job done by everyone else and the kinda dull plot. I like Joan Crawford in *Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?* and *The Damned Don?t Cry* but other than that she seemed a little too over the top for me. I think she was a better actress though in her early career before she became more of a caricature instead of a character. Also Franchot Tone is in this one and I really don?t like him. He did a good job in *Lives of a Bengal Lancer* but that?s about the only film I can take him in.
From reading about this one at IMDB.com, the film was originally longer so a good bit was edited out. Maybe this is why it seems like Gary doesn?t have much screen time in the beginning when he and Joan?s character are supposedly falling in love. Their relationship seems very brief and even though it?s Gary, it?s not real believable that they fell for each other so quickly, especially since Joan?s character is angry at him for taking over her family?s estate. His battle scenes in the last part of the movie are good though and fun to watch.
Despite its flaws, it?s still a Gary movie so I?ll record it just in case it?s a better version than the one I have
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That's a beautiful shot of Gary and Colleen, Jeff
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That is a pic of Gary but I can see how he looks a tiny bit like Rock Hudson there. It's from *Lives of a Bengal Lancer* (1935).
That's a great pic of Jean Arthur too. She looks like a Derrick Doll in that shot; they were the cheerleaders for the Houston Oilers back in the day.
I think Jean missed her calling as a cheerleader
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I hope everyone has a great and safe New Year?s eve tonight. A little birdie told me that Frank was going to a swanky party tonight and he?s gonna try to use his unfortunate team allegiances to get chicks.
Girl on left: ?You?re a Pirates fan?!?
Frank: ?Yup? he says dejectedly.
Girl on right: ?You?re a Cowboys fan too?!?
Frank: ?Yup? he says even more pitifully.
Girls together: ?Oh you poor, poor man? they say sweetly.
Oh, who are we kidding. No matter how good looking he is those girls are off to find someone who roots for winning teams leaving Frank all alone to reflect on the path his (sports) life has taken
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I'm looking forward to watching *Lucky Star*. It's the only one of their silents that I haven't seen. It looks like a real tear jerker though and I hate crying. I'll have to watch that one by myself so no one can see me bawling.
. Also with the way she is playing the character as being tough (we haven?t seen a vulnerable side yet) it wouldn?t have made sense for her to start blubbering. 
. It sounds like it was a wonderful time and I'm just still so excited for y'all (and quite frankly relieved it wasn't me b/c I imagine I would just freeze up - ha!). TCM is by far the best network on air not only b/c of the wonderful programming but b/c they actually care about their viewership and show it.
Any Gary Cooper Fans?
in Your Favorites
Posted
The movie would have been quite a bit longer if they left everything in that was in the script so I imagine the beginning scenes were cut for length and also they aren't really necessary to the plot. It makes Link seem more mysterious not knowing in the beginning where he's from or what he's doing.
Also the fight scene between Link and Coaley was much more violent and graphic in the script. Coaley gouges at one of Link's eyes until it bleeds and Coaley breaks his hand when he misses Link and hits a tree instead. It was also written in there that they should miss a punch of two during the course of the fight to make it seem more realistic.
Following along with the script gave me an even better appreciation of how great an actor Gary was. He acts just like the character is described in each scene and really brings him to life. I mean there are the words and actions described on the page and then you see them acted out perfectly; it's really amazing. The whole movie making process seems even more complex when you see just how much work went into the script and that's only a small part of the whole. It's almost a wonder movies ever get made at all
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