coopsgirl

Here?s an interesting tidbit about Gary?s leading lady (Laraine Day) from Dr. Wassell John shared with me in his last email as we were talking about the film. *I remember an interview with Larraine Day, in which she talked about kissing on screen. She was still, decades later, under the thrall of Cooper's kiss. She said that she hadn't expected it to be so explosive. He really kissed her. She said that Cary Grant would like to have kissed like that, but couldn't. Nor could John Wayne, she added.* He also said that the real guy was happy with Gary?s portrayal of him and wrote him and Rocky a nice letter about it.

I know the TCMprogrammer who posts here sometimes has said that *Good Sam* is on the list of Christmas films they have been trying to get for the past couple of years. No luck again this year but maybe they'll get it one of these days. I really like that one and it's a very sweet, funny movie.

I found this in another thread where *Life* magazine has their photo archive online now. Here's the link to all the Gary pics I found. http://images.google.com/images?q=gary+cooper&q=source%3Alife *Here?s a cute one from Along Came Jones* *Gary and Maria in Aspen 1949* *Cover of the Oct 1940 Life mag* *This one really tickled me b/c he?s way too big for that chair*

Here are the ones the I currently watch the most:: Meet John Doe (this would probably be my absolute fave) High Noon (and this one is a very close #2) The Hanging Tree It (Clara Bow version not the one with the creepy clown) If You Could Only Cook The Thin Man I Walked With a Zombie Babyface Ladies They Talk About (who doesn?t love a good Babs in prison flick?) Young Frankenstein I?ll finish it off with some of my very faves: Disney?s Cinderella Parent Trap (Hayley Mills version) Wizard of Oz Princess Bride Sound of Music

*after watching THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY, I can tell you that Ricky Nelson is not in this film; instead, a helium balloon has taken his place, ethereal, vacuous, eternally weightless.* I haven?t seen that one but I love Ricky Nelson :x. When I was a kid and Nick at Nite used to actually play old tv shows, I would watch all that stuff like Donna Reed (1st season is soon to be released on dvd), Mr. Ed, Patty Duke, etc? Well, one night they started showing Ozzie and Harriet. I thought it was great and the next day I told my mom that I had found this great new show. She asked me what it was and I said it was called Harry and Ozziet. She was confused for a minute then she busted out laughing and explained to me that it was not new and how to properly pronounce it . I still call it Harry and Ozziet though! A few weeks ago we found a set of dvd?s of their early seasons and they are like new to us b/c usually the reruns they would show was later on when Ricky was older and had become a teen idol (he was awfully dreamy). If you want to see some really good stuff though, you gotta go back to the beginning when he around 12-14. Ricky got the best lines and man was he funny. In one episode they are all sitting around the table at breakfast and Harry (aka Harriet) was reading the paper and she saw a strange story about a woman who was divorcing her husband b/c all he did was sit around and play the tuba. Ricky looks at her and asks very seriously ?A tube of what Mom?? We were laughing so hard we had to pause it and it took several minutes before we got over it. In another one Ricky came home from school in a bad mood and he was complaining that the new girl didn?t like him. So older brother David is picking on him about it and Ricky says he doesn?t like her b/c she didn?t think he was cute and most of the other girls did. David tells him he?s not cute and Ricky says ?I don?t know, boy. I was looking in the mirror and I gotta tell you, I?m not bad.? He just delivered these lines so seriously and deadpan and coming from that skinny little 13 year old body just makes them all the more funny. Of course, looks wise I prefer him like this much better :x.

*Here?s a question though, how come I got stuck with Frank?! That doesn?t seem fair.* *Boy, ain't that the truth. But which Frank is Theresa talking about? Think about it.* I?m all for being stuck with Frank James Cooper, but Frank Grimes, I?ll have to pass . *I bet when I found him at home he was watching one of Gary?s movies and he was so engrossed I probably had to beg him to come with me to help look for you .* *Yes, I was trying to figure out why Lamby was missing from your High Noon DVD? What did you do with her?!* I stuck a mannequin in her place, I?m surprised you even noticed the difference. I guess you missed the compliment I gave you when I said you might look like this guy instead of old toothy Conrad. From your silence I can only assume that you do not, what a pity .

Yep, that's one of his lost films .

Great find!! John sent me a link to neat website and they had a cool theater program for *Beau Sabreur*. http://thepapercollector.blogspot.com/2008/11/gary-cooper-in-beau-sabreur.html

That is so cool April!! I'm glad you got the pic of it.

That's cool stuff about editors. I didn't know any of that. That was pretty sneaky putting it under a technical guild. It's definitely one of most creative aspects of a film in that editing is what gives it the final look.

*You are the naughty one!* Hey, I swear I was just looking at his face.....oopsie drifted off there again . *Clash of the Titans* rules!!!!

*I don't know why Angie thinks that what Frank looks like!* You?re right Michaela. I bet he actually looks like this. And if he did, I definitely wouldn?t mind holding?...oh sorry my mind drifted off there for a minute

*oh yeah did i mention you were holding hands when yall came in* Surely you are mistaken. I would never hold hands with that yucky boy. I?ve had my **** shot though so maybe it will protect me . It is crazy that we have so many of the same types of Gary dreams usually within a day or so apart, if not on the same nights. I still get tickled thinking about how we both dreamed he was our dad but neither one wanted to tell the other one. When you finally told me it made me feel better knowing I?m not the only one who may need some help from Dr. Freud . *its a good thing your part of gary was there to save you.* Which part do I get? *was he really the bad guy?* No, fortunately you?re the only one around here who dreams about old Frankiefurter . Seriously, I found much creepier pics of him but they were too bad and I didn?t want to be that mean. See, there?s the sweetness again Frank . Movie monsters today ain?t got nuthin? on old Frank, err I mean Conrad.

I think I remember you saying something about it before and I bet it will be good. He had a pretty interesting life and career. I?m so far behind on books though it?s pitiful. I still haven?t finished Frank Capra?s book, I have one on Lou Gehrig I want to read and I also got an autographed copy of the book Esther Ralston wrote. Reading about adult cognitive development (for school) isn?t nearly as much fun but that is taking up most of my time unfortunately .

Crazy dream!! Here?s a question though, how come I got stuck with Frank?! That doesn?t seem fair . I bet when I found him at home he was watching one of Gary?s movies and he was so engrossed I probably had to beg him to come with me to help look for you . Did you see the dream I posted yesterday where Gary saved me from being molested by this awful man at a bbq? It was scary but at least it was different for a change. I usually don?t have the damsel in distress dreams. If anything, Gary needs someone to save him from me . Frank confessed that he was the bad guy in my dream but he tried to use the lame excuse that he just wanted some more bbq. I?m surprised I didn?t recognize him right away. No wait, that?s the wrong guy. Here?s Frank.

*Some of them are very entertaining, but I think on the whole, he was overrated. He needed someone to help him edit....* The critics quite often panned his work but audiences usually ate it up. Kind of reminds me of a lot of movies today, of course I'd rather watch a DeMille movie anyday over anything from Michael Bay, Uwe Boll, Seth Rogan, etc... Speaking of editors, DeMille pretty much always used the same one, Anne Bauchens. I don?t know much about her but I think it?s cool that a woman carved out a pretty lengthy and successful career behind the cameras. If I worked in movies I would be an editor so I think that?s especially neat. It's hard to do epic movies well and not lose sight of your goal or get caught up in a tangled mess. I'm still amazed that Victor Fleming was able to turn out two of the most beloved movies of all time in the same year (*GWTW* and *Wizard of Oz*). He had to step in and take over both troubled productions and he did a masterful job. He also directed two of my very faves, *The Virginian* and *Mantrap* with Clara Bow. Victor and Clara were a pretty hot item for a while during that time and I love this quote about him from Clara: "Of all the men I've known, there was a man.? He was 16 years older than her and I think that caused some friction and they eventually parted in ?27 as she began dating Gary (partly as a publicity stunt to help his career). While she had some rather complimentary things to say about Gary?s anatomy, she also called him a Momma?s boy and I think it hurt her that his mother didn?t approve of her (or Lupe Velez a few years later). I can?t blame Momma Cooper though, as much as I love Clara, I?m not sure I?d want my son dating someone like her either .

DeMille?s films are usually entertaining but with a little bit of tweaking I think a lot more of them could have been true classics. I?ve got a major beef with *Greatest Show on Earth*. Can you have a beef with an inanimate object? Oh well . I?ve seen it and it was okay, but not one I would watch again so you can imagine my surprise and shock when I learned it won Best Picture for 1952. That year it should have been *High Noon* and *Singing in the Rain* duking it out for that honor and *SitR* didn?t even get a nomination. I would have given it to *HN* b/c it?s one of most well made movies Hollywood has ever produced. There isn?t any extra fluff to drag it down, the set design and cinematography perfectly capture the raw, stark nature of the plot, and with the exception of Grace Kelly, everyone did a fantastic job, especially Gary and Katy Jurado. *SitR* is nearly this well made but I think the Broadway Melody number is too long and begins to drag down the film. I usually fast forward through it now when I watch it. Other than that though, they are two fantastically made films and either one would have been a much better and worthy choice. Unfortunately, Hollywood and D.C. politics reared their ugly heads and DeMille was given the Oscar as a sort of lifetime achievement award for all his work. Westerns weren?t as highly regarded at that time as serious movies either and with the blacklisting of Foreman, Noon?s screenwriter and actors like John Wayne calling the film un-American, that killed it?s chances for the big prize.

I doubt they had anything personal against Gary, they just didn't like that someone that young was playing the part. They wanted someone closer to his actual age. I doubt it would have been as good though with someone else b/c it's another typical DeMille film in that it's too long and not really as rewatchable as so many other of Gary's films. All the actors do a good job but it's like *For Whom the Bell Tolls* and *Northwest Mounted Police* (also a DeMille film) in that it's just not as exciting or entertaining as it should be given the subject matter. Gary saves all these films in my opinion and without him, they wouldn't be much worth seeing. Just a couple weeks ago I finally got all the way through *NWMP*. I?ve had the movie probably over a year and the two other times I?ve tried to watch it I have actually fallen asleep which I rarely do; I can?t even take naps during the day unless I?m sick ? ha! Gary?s not in that one enough for my tastes and I tend to drift off during his absence and then wake up when I hear him talking again but by that point I?m lost as to what?s going on. Out of the four DeMille movies Gary did I like *Unconquered* and *The Plainsman* the best. *Plainsman* is especially good and you would not think it was a DeMille film. It?s only a couple hours long, doesn?t drag anywhere, and it just very well made. Usually DeMille?s film were too overdone and they just missed the mark. They are usually too long (I don?t mind a long movie if it?s good) with too many unnecessary subplots that bog the main premise down. If he had made *NWMP* and *Dr. Wassell* as well as he did *The Plainsman*, they would be very good to great films. As they are though, it?s not too bad a way to pass the time.

I bet he would have made a good doctor even if female patients were too nervous to be around him; he had the right demeanor for it. Now ?playing doctor? with Gary is totally different though and something I would not be too nervous to do . In *Dr. Wassell*, he stays on the island of Java with a group of soldiers that are pretty badly injured and can?t be taken on any of the transport ships that are leaving b/c they will be going through enemy waters and may need the injured men to fight so there?s no room left for those who can?t. He manages to get them to the other side of the island even while the Japanese are invading and he sneaks them onto another ship and gets them to safety. I?m not sure what the actual Dr. Wassell thought of Gary?s portrayal but I know his family wasn?t happy about it. Gary would have been around 43 when they made the movie but the actual guy was 58 when this event occurred. Because of his age it does make what he did all the more impressive and of course that was lost in the film since he was played by a much younger man (who I think was at the peak of his beauty).

I read in one of the new articles I got (well, new to me anyway ) that he said he had always been interested in surgery and medicine and he thought he would have liked being a doctor. That made me think of you April b/c I know how much you like him in those roles. Can you imagine if he was your doctor?! I'd be too nervous to ever tell him what was wrong with me . He was also a doc in *The Real Glory*. Message was edited by: coopsgirl

Here's a pic from my new scrapbook stuff from *Dr. Wassell*. The first line in the little paragraph cracked me up! They are wrong, this is a pretty **** picture :x.

The way my program is set up we kind of do a bunch of mini-dissertations and then we do the actual real dissertation at the end. I'm pitifully behind where I should be but I'm getting back on track now .

*Coopsgirl, please spare the octopus next time and let me have it as a pet. Tell Gary to pick up an earthworm instead.* He probably used a worm to catch it . Here's one for you.

I have thought about starting a Gary website but I would want it to be really great and I?m sure that would take quite a bit of work. I?m still trying to finish my Ph.D. (hopefully only a couple more years to go!) and I doubt I would have the time for it now. Maybe one of these days though.

*I like him better when he's playing the nice, noble guy, Angie, but such a performance also is a testament to his acting range.* I agree with both statements. He is a good guy in that one but he?s a good guy with a meat hook who won?t take crap from anybody .