coopsgirl

If you want to see the original *Beau Geste* you need to go all the way back to the silent movie days. Ronald Colman played the lead in the 1926 version. Here?s an interesting bit of trivia regarding these films. Gary starred in the sequel to *Beau Geste* titled *Beau Sabreur* in 1928. So when he then played the lead in the 1939 remake of *Beau Geste* he became the first and only actor to appear in a sequel before he was in the original ? weird .

I think this one probably did come from a VHS copy. It looks better when you're actually watching it thought b/c when you pause it for the screencap, it gets kinda fuzzy.

Here are some *Blowing Wild* screencaps. FYI, I decided to watch *Garden of Evil* instead . *Babs in her boudoir* *Pouring her old flame a drink* *Making sure the new foreman at her husband's drilling site is comfortable* *Maybe a little too comfortable* *Having another drink* *Oops, how'd that get in there?*

Well, you know my preference is for older Gary so that gives *Blowing Wild* a leg up right there, add in one of my faves Barbara Stanwyck, and it's a recipe for great entertainment . Speaking of the three films Gary did with Babs, their characters and relationships are different in each film and that's cool b/c they weren't just playing the same thing each time in a slightly different situation. She's definitely bad girl Babs in *Blowing Wild* and that's always fun to watch. You know, I'll think I'll go watch that one now.

Nope, he doesn?t have any blu-ray movies yet. The newest releases though of *High Noon* and *The Westerner* looks like they are in HD if I watch them on my blu-ray player. They are really beautiful prints as well as *Man of the West* and *Garden of Evil* which also look great on that one. I expect to see more classic films in that format next year as I have read that we'll get 70th anniversary editions of *GWTW* and *Wizard of Oz* as well as *Metropolis* with the additional footage that was recently discovered in an archive in Argentina in blu-ray and hopefully some more as well. I get peeved when I hear people talking about how it?s a waste to convert an old movie to HD b/c they won?t look any better. Every film will look better in HD as long as you?re working from a good print. With a bad print it will exaggerate flaws like scratches but as long as the print if very good (like the new versions of *High Noon* and *The Westerner* ) the effect is amazing, it really gives the films a more three dimensional feel.

I like everybody?s lists. It seems like we all picked some of the same movies as our top faves so that?s neat. It really just all depends on what I?m in the mood for. Older cowboy Gary is my fave so I tend to watch a lot of his 50s westerns the most but then some days I get a hankering for young soldier Gary so I pop in *A Man from Wyoming* or something like that. Basically, I don?t usually go more than a few days without watching one of his movies, even if I don't always have time to watch the whole thing. A little Gary's better than no Gary at all . Also, that is excellent news about a potential *Wings* blu-ray dvd, especially since I have a blu-ray player. I check the Home Theater Forum website nearly every day and they were kinda sketchy about what they talked about during the Paramount part of their recent tour of the studios so it?s nice to hear it from someone who was there.

I don't like the ones where he dies so those are usually ones I rewatch the least, with the exception of a couple that made it in the faves list.

*Haven?t seen:* Children of Divorce (1927) ? print still exists Arizona Bound (1927) - lost Half a Bride (1928) - lost Beau Sabreur (1928) ? only trailer survives and yes, I have it The Legion of the Condemned (1928) - lost The Shopworn Angel (1928) - lost The First Kiss (1928) - lost Betrayal (1929) - lost The Wolf Song (1929) ? fragments survive The Texan (1930) ? print still exists The Spoilers (1930) ? print still exists I Take This Woman (1931) ? print still exists, has been restored and may soon fall into public domain *Favorites:The top three are my absolute faves and then the rest are the ones I rewatch the most roughly in order* Meet John Doe (1941) High Noon (1952) The Pride of the Yankees (1942) The Hanging Tree (1959) Blowing Wild (1953) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Ball of Fire (1941) Sergeant York (1941) Man of the West (1958) Springfield Rifle (1952) Dallas (1950) The Westerner (1940) The Naked Edge (1961) The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) The Plainsman (1936) Friendly Persuasion (1956) City Streets (1931) The Virginian (1929) A Man from Wyoming (1930) Doomsday (1928) Love in the Afternoon (1957) Vera Cruz (1954) Garden of Evil (1954) Return to Paradise (1953) Distant Drums (1951) You're in the Navy Now (1951) Bright Leaf (1950) Good Sam (1948) Only the Brave (1930) Unconquered (1947) Cloak and Dagger (1946) Saratoga Trunk (1945) Along Came Jones (1945) Casanova Brown (1944) The Real Glory (1939) The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) The General Died at Dawn (1936) Peter Ibbetson (1935) The Wedding Night (1935) Now and Forever (1934) Operator 13 (1934) One Sunday Afternoon (1933) A Farewell to Arms (1932) His Woman (1931) Fighting Caravans (1931) Morocco (1930) Seven Days' Leave (1930) The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) Ten North Frederick (1958) Lilac Time (1928) Nevada (1927) The Last Outlaw (1927) *Least Favorites: These aren?t movies that I necessarily dislike, but the ones that I watch the least* The Fountainhead (1948) (This one however is the only one that I do actively dislike and have only watched once all the way through) They Came to Cordura (1959) ? I like this one but the ending is too hard to watch more than once The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) - I?ve only seen this one once but it was good, just not highly rewatchable Task Force (1949) ? good just not one I rewatch a lot The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) ? long but pretty good and the tub scene is the best part For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) ? not sure why this one isn?t more entertaining but Gary and Ingrid are great and he does look extraordinarily beautiful in this one North West Mounted Police (1940) ? another long one and I have fallen asleep both times I?ve tried to watch it. It?s Gary?s first color film and I wish it was more entertaining. There are also long sections without him and that?s usually when I drift off only to wake up when I hear him talking again . Beau Geste (1939) ? good but ending is too sad Souls at Sea (1937) ? good just not one I rewatch a lot Desire (1936) ? I like this one but I don?t like Dietrich so I really have to be in the right mood to watch it The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) ? torture scene really bothers me b/c it?s about fingernails and I can?t stand stuff to do with fingernails Design for Living (1933) ? don?t like Miriam Hopkins Today We Live (1933) ? Gary isn?t in this one enough and all the other actors do pretty poor jobs Devil and the Deep (1932) ? don?t like Tallulah Bankhead or Charles Laughton The Real West (1961) - this is the last thing he did and the ending is very sad where he gets up and walks away. It usually makes me cry so I don't watch it very much

Now how am I supposed to concentrate on making my list when you distract me with yummy beefcake?!?

I love making lists!!! I'll get to mine tomorrow .

I saw this on Fox News at lunch and thought it was very timely considering we were talking about *FWTBT* recently. It?s an article about a Marine who recently died. He fought in Vietnam and in order to stop about 200 North Vietnamese tanks from overtaking the area he was guarding he pulled a Robert Jordan and blew up a bridge. The way it?s described in the article is almost identical to that scene in the movie ? freaky! Is it weird that I picture this guy looking like Gary? . http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,446140,00.html

This is a good one. I usually enjoy the comedies, romances, and horror silents the best. The first time I saw this was late one night quite a while ago. I was tired but had to stay up and watch it and it was worth it.

That one of him lighting his ciggy is my fave too! Those color pics are just great but they're making it quite hard to concentrate and I have to check a report for errors right after lunch. Let's hope I can focus for about 10 minutes .

Maybe Susan looks kinda awkward in that pic b/c she?s trying not to pass out. No wait, that?s how I would look if he was ever to be that close to my face :x. I do have a tendency to freeze up around people I find attractive, I really gotta get over that ? ha! I especially love the *Friendly Persuasion* pics. It?s neat to get see the behind the scenes stuff and they are such great quality pics.

I love the *American Film Treasures* sets and I have the first two that were released and they are truly treasure chests full of amazing stuff. I think we?ll see a lot of good stuff coming from Columbia via Sony in the future as the guy in charge of their home video department actually does see the value in their classic film library. In an article linked at the Home Theater Forum website he said (sorry I can?t remember his name) there would be more Jean Arthur and early Capra films coming out in ?09. I hope we will eventually see some more silents from their vaults as well. Capra describing how they made *Submarine* is hilarious as they tried to get the model to actually look like a real sub and not a toy sub in a dirty tank. I haven?t seen that one so you?ll have to let us know if they pulled it off or not. *Eve?s Leaves* sounds quite interesting too .

*Then it sounds like the Film Forum lined them up in the appropriate order.* Good one . I hope the weather will be good enough so you can get out and see some of them. I'm going to see *Nothing Sacred* tomorrow and it says it's a 35mm print and I was telling John about that screening too and he said if it was 16 or 35mm it would probably look good, better than the washed out color in the dvd version. I hope it will look good.

I hope it will get a theatrical release and it would be cool if TCM could get the rights to show it as well but I don?t know what the plans are for it exactly. I?m sure John will let me know when they get the deal figured out and then I?ll let y?all know too . April, I told him about the Film Forum screening in case he didn?t know and that?s the one he?s going to. We were talking about how the one with Gary is part of a double bill with the Clark Gable movie too and John was cracking me up saying Gable hated to be with a woman after Gary (in this case it would be Carole Lombard) since Gary was known to be very good in bed and Gable wasn?t.

*?If Robert Jordan were alive he?d be way to the left of those guys, and he?d be a lot harder for them to admire.?* I?m not much of a fan of Hemingway (as a person or an author) and I haven?t read *FWTBT* but it sounds like they made the character more likeable for the movie; kinda like how Disney cleans up the original stories for their films based on fairy tales . My knowledge of the Spanish Civil War is sketchy at best as I?m much more fluent in ancient through renaissance history so I really don?t know which side was better or if there even was a ?better? side. For me, the best thing about the movie version is the relationship between Robert and Maria and the chemistry between Gary and Ingrid. I imagine that?s also the part I would like about the book best. I can see how both candidates could relate towards someone like Robert Jordan, but as a conservative myself, I hope they don?t gravitate too far to his radical ideals as extremism in either direction is never good. The best part about this though is the pic of and the mention of Gary; he still pops up an awful lot and that?s great!! Speaking of Gary and Hemingway, in the latest email I got from John Mulholland this weekend, he?s still working on cutting his documentary about them down to two hours which the distributors want. No time table yet on its release but hopefully it will be out there soon. He also said he is going to the screening of *Now and Forever* coming up in New York and he told me that *I Take This Woman* could lapse into public domain soon. He knows the guy who did the restoration on it years ago so it should be a good print and let?s hope someone will pick it up and release it!!!

Hi Chris, I?m glad you enjoyed the movies. Interesting choice of Melvyn Douglas for March?s part in *Design for Living*. I think that would have been good casting, even though like you said, Frederic was fine overall. I?d replace Hopkins with Glenda Farrell. She?s got the same spunkiness and sense of independence but comes off better I think. One of my favorite parts is when Gary needs a clean shirt so he decides to flirt with (maybe even more than just flirting) the laundry woman to get it, even though she has a moustache ? ha! Gary was excellent in *Peter Ibbetson* and if it was up to me, he would have at least gotten an Oscar nod for his part. The scene in prison when he realizes that Mimsy sent him the ring and the dreams were real, is so wonderfully done as we see him go from despair to hope. It?s just such a beautiful movie and I hope TCM will show it one day so more people could see it.

Great article, I'll respond more tomorrow . Real quick, here are a couple of cute pics I just found on ebay. *Legion of the Condemned* *The writing on the back of this one said 'Gary Coope and Sandra Shaw in her New York apartment'. I'm guessing it's right around the time they got married and it's sweet b/c they both look very happy.*

Here's our Halloween spread I made this year (yes I actually cooked - ha!!). The hot dog things are supposed to look like mummies. And some brains for dessert!

The bubble fogger is awesome and that's pretty much the response we got from everybody. We had one kid who didn't say trick or treat, as soon as I opened the door he just said 'that is awesome' with a big smile. I got mine at the Halloween Spirit store that are open around this time every year for $70. It was pricey, but it was worth it .

There is most definitely nothing scary about Gary , and you know how I feel about *Unconquered*. So far we've had around 100 trick or treaters and it's only 8:30!!! Our house it always the hit of the neighborhood and this year is no exception. I got a new thing this year and it's a huge hit with adults and kids. It's a fog machine but the fog comes out inside of bubbles and when the bubbles pop it releases the fog. It's totally awesome!!! The doorbell rope thing sounds very cool . From what I've heard about *Kongo*, you feel like taking a shower afterwards. It's a talkie remake of the silent filme *West of Zanzibar*. I liked that one so I'm looking forward to this version with Walter Huston, Lupe Velez (one of Gary's playmates ), and Virginia Bruce.

*Are you gonna fire up some X-Files or are you gonna let that hideous monster Count Coopula haunt your mansion?* Now you got me wanting some Count Chocula cereal . First we're gonna watch *Haunted Palace* and then *Kongo*. I'm especially excited to see *Kongo*; it sounds really dirty and nasty and depraved - right up my alley!!

Now see, you say something nice and then we have to stop picking on you for a while; that's no fun . I'm nothing if not snazzy . I'm not sure what you're implying about me liking tricks but I don't think I like . Happy Halloween!!