Any Gary Cooper Fans?

[CoopfanDan]

Message Deleted

[MissGoddess]

Dan, Angie---the 30s is my favorite decade for movies, too and long has been. I love the snap and crackle of the energy and all that fast clipped dialogue. I find it energizing just to listen to the performers talk!

 

Dan, it looks like you picked a great lineup of movies there. 20 Century, directed by Howard Hawks, is said to be the movie that started the whole "screwball" craze (the adjective being coined for Carole Lombard's zany character). Dodsworth, while not a screwball comedy, is simply one of the best movies ever made and a deeply poignant one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

One Claudette Colbert screwball comedy you won't want to miss is Midnight, made in 1939. It's not on dvd, which is quite idiotic, but if you can get your hands on it you will love it I'm sure. I think the 1942 comedy you may be referring to with Claudette and Mary Astor may be Preston Sturges' The Palm Beach Story, my personal favorite of this richly funny director's comedies.

 

I love all of Gable's movies I've seen, and agree his ones with Jean Harlow are a sheer delight.

[MissGoddess]

If anyone is interested, I found this article about a recently found and restored Colleen Moore silent comedy, Her Wild Oat. The article also gives a little background on the actress. Colleen Moore was at one time the most popular actress in Hollywood and co-starred memorably with Coop in one of his best silents, Lilac Time.

 

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/58/58herwildoat.html

[coopsgirl]

Thanks for the link about Colleen Moore. It's always exciting when somebody finds a lost film. It gives you hope that more will surface someday. I'd like to get more of her movies too and will probably buy the two they listed at the end of the article that are gonna be released. I'm finally getting around to building up my Clara Bow collection. I have three of hers on the way (one silent and two talkies). They both represented America's youth in the '20s perfectly and Clara seems to have been more of the sexy flapper type and Colleen was more of the sweet flapper girl. The dollhouse she built is absolutely amazing and if I ever find myself in Chicago I will definitely go see it.

 

A couple days ago I found a series of videos from a documentary about 1920s Hollywood on youtube and Colleen was in it several times talking about her experiences. I'm not sure when it was made but it looked like it was around the 60s or early 70s. They showed a clip from the end of *Lilac Time* too. Youtube is blocked again on my work computer but when I get home I'll post the link. The whole series was fascinating and it was cool to see those stars once they got older. Colleen didn't look much different, even had the same hairstyle.

[MissGoddess]

I wanted to add that what tickled me the most to learn about Colleen Moore was how she was credited with giving Gretchen Young her new first name, "After my most beautiful doll" and that she published a book on how to make money in the stock market. My kind of girl!

[MissGoddess]

I am currently reading Scott Eyman's biography of Ernst Lubitsch and just came across the paragraph that talked of the one movie in which he directed Clara Bow, called Kiss Me Again. It sounded like an absolute delight and I was so sorry to learn it is a "lost film". I'm sure no other director could have captured her unique charisma half so well as Lubitsch. She was quite a saucy minx with him and at one point he called a "fresh kid" but she also thought of him as "a godsend", since he apparently helped her through some rough times.

[CoopfanDan]

I will keep my eyes out in 2008 for tcm to show that movie Midnight with Claudette Colbert. The Palm Beach Story is the one of the movies I ordered along with Dodsworth. I am also getting the movies Trouble in Paradise 1932 and the Animal Kingdom with poor old Ann Harding which nobody seems to like or remember.

[coopsgirl]

I do like Ann Harding . My only criticism of her from *PI* was her voice just wasn't quite right for the part. She was a good actress though and I can't really think of anyone else who would have been right other than her.

 

Here's the clip with Colleen Moore and they show parts of *Lilac Time* starting around the 2 minute mark. The whole series is very interesting and I watched them all.

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wZ9-Uy0xBxo

[coopsgirl]

Here's some more info on the series that clip I just posted came from. It's also the series that I got the *Children of Divorce* clip from. It looks like it was going to be released on dvd but copyright issues have held it up. I found all 13 episodes on vhs at amazon for $500. I believe I'll just wait for the dvd release which will hopefully come.

 

*Hollywood*, also known as *Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film* was a documentary series produced in 1980 which discussed the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.

 

The series consisted of thirteen one hour episodes, with each episode dealing with a specific aspect of Hollywood history. It was produced by Thames Television, and was written and directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill. The actor James Mason provided narration.

 

Technical quality was an important aspect of the production. Silent films had often been screened on television from poor-quality copies running at the wrong speed, usually accompanied by **** tonk piano music. Hollywood used silent film clips that were sourced from the best available material, shown at their original running speed and with orchestral scores, giving viewers a chance to see what they originally looked and sounded like.

 

The producers recorded the recollections of many of the period's notable artists, and illustrated their interviews with scenes from their various films, as well as production still photographs, and historical photographs of the Los Angeles environs. Subjects such as Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow were represented by film scenes, but where possible the series made use of contemporary interviews by survivors of the era.

 

Among the notable people who contributed interviews were:

 

Actors - Mary Astor, Eleanor Boardman, Louise Brooks, Jackie Coogan, Dolores Costello, Viola Dana, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Janet Gaynor, Leatrice Joy, Lillian Gish, Bessie Love, Ben Lyon, Colleen Moore, Gloria Swanson, Blanche Sweet, John Wayne (in one of his last interviews), and Lois Wilson.

 

Directors - Clarence Brown, Frank Capra, George Cukor, Allan Dwan, Byron Haskin, Henry Hathaway, Henry King, Lewis Milestone, Hal Roach, King Vidor and William Wyler.

 

Also interviewed were dancer Agnes de Mille, writer Anita Loos, writer Adela Rogers St. Johns, stuntman Yakima Canutt, and Rudolph Valentino's brother, Albert Valentino.

[MissGoddess]

That's an impressive list, Dan! I like alot of those pre-codes on it, too. And I will be curious to see what you think of them. Agreed that the remake of When Ladies Meet is not as interesting as the earlier 1933 version, but it's still a fine cast. Valley of Decision, Mogambo, Test Pilot, and the Harlow/Gable movies are all worthwhile entertainment.

[cashette]

Hi Dan, I am very impressed with the list of movies that you are planning on recording. This past week I watched "Hereos For Sale" and "Taxi" because of Loretta Young> You will enjoy both these movies. I will be taping the two Loretta movies on your list "Four Men And A Prayer" and "The Squall". "The File On Thelma Jordan" and "Shopworn" are two Barbara Stanwyck movies that I do not currently have. The Gary Cooper box set that Universal has reduced is a very good buy. I have only seen half of the titles in the set.

[cashette]

Hi Dan, I am very impressed with the list of movies that you are planning on recording. This past week I watched "Hereos For Sale" and "Taxi" because of Loretta Young> You will enjoy both these movies. I will be taping the two Loretta movies on your list "Four Men And A Prayer" and "The Squall". "The File On Thelma Jordan" and "Shopworn" are two Barbara Stanwyck movies that I do not currently have. The Gary Cooper box set that Universal has reduced is a very good buy. I have only seen half of the titles in the set.

[CoopfanDan]

It looks like the one with Stanwick and Gable will be in the Forbidden Hollywood pre-code out March 4th. Also another Gable pre-code Free Soul will also be out on that one. So with these two and the one coming out in the Crawford set, we will have almost a box set worth of Gable movies in Feb and March. An early Bette Davis movie will also be included. You won't find any Gary Cooper movies ever in these sets as all of his pre-codes were as wholesome as his later movies if not more so.

 

"On March 4, Warner Home Video (WHV) will introduce a second group of sassy and taboo films from Hollywood's Pre-Production Code era with the DVD debut of TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Volume 2. Following the success of last year's Volume 1, this new 3-disc collection will contain five pre-code sizzlers, with some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Disc One spotlights Norma Shearer in her Best Actress Oscar?-winning role as The Divorcee and again in A Free Soul; with Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable. Disc Two features Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak in Three on a Match paired with the Michael Curtiz-directed comedy Female starring Ruth Chatterton as a no-nonsense CEO. Disc Three features William Wellman's powerful drama Night Nurse, which stars Barbara Stanwyck with a very young Clark Gable, along with the new documentary feature Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood. The film provides fascinating insight into the American psyche of late 1920s and early 1930s, illustrating why, more than seventy years later, the so-called "Pre-Code" movies remain among the most vital and provocative films ever made. Each of the features contained in TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Volume 2 have been digitally remastered from newly-restored film elements. The collection also contains bonus features such as commentaries and theatrical trailers. The three DVD set, containing the five vintage classics and the new documentary feature will be available as a collection only, selling for $49.92 SRP."

[coopsgirl]

Not all of Gary's pre-codes were 'wholesome'. Six minutes of *A Farewell to Arms* had to be edited out so it could be released and *Design for Living* along with *Babyface* (which also had to be edited) are a couple movies that really began to turn the tide toward the production code. Of course the majority of his pre-codes were much like his films after the code was put in place.

 

You've picked a lot of good movies to record coming up. I have *The Ex-Mrs. Bradford* and it's really good, similar to the *Thin Man* movies but with slightly different twists. *So Big* is a very good family drama and I think you'll really enjoy it.

 

I have *Night Nurse* and am just about to watch it right now. I'm excited too about all the Gable/Harlow films and the other early Stanwyck movies.

[MissGoddess]

*Night Nurse* is a good, edgy little pre-code showing a young Gable when he was still playing gangsters with his own brand of thuggish menace. I thought the story about the victimization of the children was particularly strong even for a pre-code. Stanwyck and he wouldn't team up again until 1950 with To Please A Lady, which is in her new box set. I think Barbara had more chemistry with Gary.

[coopsgirl]

My mom watched *Night Nurse* with me and we both really enjoyed it. I lost track of how many times we see Barbara and Joan Blondell in their underwear - ha! Of course it is a precode. Clark was definitely a bad guy and how . He looked pretty snazzy in his chaffeur uniform. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing him without a moustache though - ha!. It was a very interesting plot and really different to see a bootlegger (Ben Lyon) as a good guy. This is the only movie I've seen with Barbara and Clark together but so far I think she and Gary did have the best chemistry of any leading men she was paried with.

[MissGoddess]

I lost track of how many times we see Barbara and Joan Blondell in their underwear - ha!

 

Yes, how about that. Who knew nurses wore such exquisite underwear? I think you and I just made alot of guys interested in seeing this movie now.

[coopsgirl]

I got a couple of Clara Bow's movies and watched them over the weekend and they were great. I got *True to the Navy* (1930) and *No Limit* (1931). Rex Bell, who she would marry in '31, had a part in *True to the Navy* and it was cute to see them together. She also sings an adorable song in that one.

 

*No Limit* (released on my b-day Jan 16, 1931) however is kinda sad. The movie itself isn't but the circumstances surrounding Clara's life at the time are. It was the next to last movie she made at Paramount before they cancelled her contract. The trial against Daisy Devoe who was embezzling money from Clara and also where all Clara's dirty laundry was aired out had occurred in 1930. Clara was set to star with Gary in *City Streets* but due to graphic stories of he and Clara's relationship coming out at the trial the studio replaced her with Sylvia Sidney to try and detract attention from Gary.

 

The basic plot of *No Limit* is Clara and one of her friends are ushers at a theater and they have a friend who inherited a Park Avenue apartment from a dead relative but he's going on a trip and needs someone to watch the apartment. Clara and her friend agree to it but then discover it's also the home of an illegal gambling den. So my mom and I are watching it and they show an outside shot of the theater and up on the marquee in bright lights its says *Gary Cooper in Fighting Caravans*. We got so tickled!! Then I got to thinking it was strange that they would advertise one of his films in one of her movies b/c it was around that time that they were trying to keep him from being associated with her. They show the marquee at least twice and then they also show a program from the theater and it's on their too in real big letters.

 

Also this weekend I finally got around to copying all my old dance recitals from vhs to dvd's. My mom and I were watching them and during one from the '90s one of the classes (looked like 6th or 7th graders) did a tap dance to Taco's version of *Puttin' on the Ritz*. When it got to the point where he says Gary's name we just looked at each other and cracked up laughing! Even when I'm not watching one of his movies he still pops up .

[coopsgirl]

Here's some more stuff from *Children of Divorce*.

 

 

[coopsgirl]

[CoopfanDan]

Yeah I'm hoping the play some of those Clara Bow movies on TCM soon. I've just rented a WC fields movie from 1925 titled Sally of Sawdust. It's a pretty good silent movie with some great pictrure quality from image similar to the quality of their version of "It".

[coopsgirl]

Besides Gary, Clara is the only person who I would like to see all of her movies. Their not ground breaking cinema or anything like that, but they're just fun, cute movies. She was just so full of life and energy and had a phenomenal screen presence that's just fun to watch. Here are all the films in the group that I'm bidding for on ebay.

 

Films in this 13 DVD set include:

DVD #1: Mantrap & Capital Punishment

DVD #2: Get Your Man & The Primrose Path

DVD #3: Hula & My Lady of Whims

DVD #4: Call Her Savage & Saturday Night Kid

DVD #5: Hoop-la & Free To Love

DVD #6: Kid Boots & The Wild Party

DVD #7: True to the Navy & No Limit

DVD #8: Dangerous Curves & Love Among Millionaires

DVD #9: Black Oxen & Down to the Sea in Ships

DVD #10: Dancing Mothers & Parisian Love

DVD #11: WINGS (This film won the Oscar for Best Picture!!)

DVD #12: IT (Clara Bow's most famous film)

DVD #13: A bonus DVD not pictured: The Plastic Age

 

I've seen clips of *Kid Boots* with Eddie Cantor (who I also like) and it looked really funny and cute. She sings a couple songs in *Love Among the Millionaires* so it's worth it just for that. Clark Gable has a bit part in *The Plastic Age*. *Down to the Sea in Ships* was her first real movie and she looks completely different in that one b/c she plays a tomboy and was still in her teens. She got real good reviews for her parts in *Dancing Mothers* and *Call Her Savage* which are more dramatic parts. A young Jean Arthur (she plays Clara's sister) and Jean Harlow are in *Saturday Night Kid* from 1929. So there's a lot of good stuff there.

[CoopfanDan]

I have the original Ben Hur silent and both Gary Cooper and Clark Gable were extras. I can never find Gary in any of these movies when I am watching them though so I have stuck to known parts that he had when considering watching some of those silents.

 

Oh I think I would like to see all the movies at least from the 30's on many actors and actresses including but not limited to Gary Cooper, Ronald Colman, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Jean Harlow, Lorreta Young, Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard , Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Cary Grant, Helen Hayes, June Collyer, Francis Fuller and I think I could name 20 or 30 more.

[CoopfanDan]

Getting way off target but wanting to bring back up the colorization issue just for old time's sake, DVD beaver now has comparison photos of the new double disc It's a Wonderful life. They have stills from the restored Black and white and also the color. To me these color stills always look great but when I watch the colorized movie with motion the color looks pretty bad. I'm not sure on this one but I am sure that even the color stills look aweful to all you ladies with your better color vision then men eyes. It is men that do these colorizations so of course they are going to look good to 80 percent of the men out there like me:

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/wonderfullife.htm

 

And here's some more very detailed information on the Forbidden Hollywood pre-codes:

 

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=66274

 

Home Theater forum started a thread on what people want in a Vol 3 that should be out by the end of December. That fourm is kind of interesting as the studio execs that make the decisions on the box sets at WB acually visit that place and have on line chats once or twice a year. Gary Cooper is not a popular topic on there an since WB owns none of Cooper's pre-code movies, I will stay off of posting on that thread. I think there is only one maybe two Gary Cooper fans on that board. Many of the people that post there are in fact the same people that post online movie reviews and film critics and such. Gary is never popular with that type of crowd. Actually the one reviewer that called Frank Capra a fascist posts there I believe. However, that forum is the best place to find out on upcoming releases though and I am always checking in there to see what is coming out if anything.

 

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=264302

[CoopfanDan]

Well three guys posted at HTF stating they loved the colorization for It's A wonderful Life. So let us see if my theory will hold out and if I can get the three women with exceptional color perception to point out that it looks really fake.

 

Additional comment added after examining the colorized photos:

 

I must say that I found these frame stills to It's a Wonderful Life to be incredable looking. I can not see how even Angie could find any fault in the colorization for this film. This double disc release with the original black and white is a sure buy from me to preplace my 1998 version of the film.

 

If any of Gary's movies were done to this level of colorization I would buy them for sure. They would never replace the original black and whites but would be a perfect commplement to watching them in color on occasion after repeated viewings of the black and white versions.

 

This looks to be the biggest buy of the Christmas season for me. There will be a color version of It's a Wonderful Life running on my TV on Christmas Day this year.