Any Gary Cooper Fans?

[FrankGrimes]

That was a terrific recap of your meeting with Maria Cooper Janis. I really enjoyed reading it. You're quite a lucky dame to have experienced such a wonderful trip and meeting with Maria. She's 70?! You have to be kidding me. She looks stunning! Wow! The "other" girl in the photos ain't too shabby herself. Who is she? You look just as stunning, Coopsy's Clarita. I love your hair and your choice of outfits was on the mark. You are a very pretty girl. Gary Cooper who?

[CoopfanDan]

Thanks for sharing your story and your wonderful trip. Did she say what her favorite Gary Cooper movie was? Did your parents enjoy the trip as much as you did?

 

High Noon shipped out to me on Sunday from Amazon, so I should be getting it any day now

[MrJordan]

Thank you very much coopsgirl for letting me and every other Gary Cooper fan live vicariously through

your once in a lifetime experience! I can imagine how surreal it must have been to have met and actually talked to his daughter.

[Senta]

Hi Angie,

Thank you very much for sharing your experiense with us. It was great reading. It is true that it is hard to belive that Maria is already 70 y/o/ she look so stunning as you do too.

Regards,

vera

[coopsgirl]

What did you do with the Frank we all know and love (to pick on)? Thank you for the compliments .

 

Dan: She said one of his favorites was *Pride of the Yankees*. An excellent choice . I should be getting my copy of *High Noon* today too .

 

We all had a great time just doing stuff around the city too. We didn't venture out of Midtown Manhattan b/c we had so little time but we did go to the Empire State building twice, once during the day and again at night. When you go up in the elevator to the 86th floor observatory, your ears pop. I got tickled b/c it made me think of the scene in *Meet John Doe* when Gary asks Walter Brennan if his ears popped in the elevator of their hotel. I didn't know that could actually happen and thought they just made it up for the movie.

 

We also saw Radio City Music Hall, NBC studios, CBS studios, Rockefeller Center, the Chrysler building, a lot of beautiful churches and all the fancy stores on Fifth Ave. I got two pairs of earrings from Tiffany's and I'm wearing the silver butterfly pair today. We also had breakfast at a real New York diner (not a touristy place) and it was great.

 

We also walked a little way through Central Park and it was really nice. The Metropolitan Museum of Art where the events were held has some awesome stuff but we weren't able to spend much time looking around. My stepdad did skip *Ball of Fire* on Saturday and looked around the museum and he really enjoyed it.

 

Overall, the city was great and much cleaner than you would think for its size (at least the parts we were in looked nice). The people were great too. There's a lot of 'em but they go about their business and pretty much stay out of each other's way. Based on our short time there, I will say New Yorkers are far more pleasant than Londoners. There were several times when I would be walking down the street in London minding my own business and men would say rude things to me or make lewd comments out of the blue. British gentleman are only a myth these days .

 

Here are some more pics of the city.

 

*From inside Central Park*

 

 

*Chrysler building from street level*

 

 

*View of the Chrysler building all lit up from the Empire State building*

 

 

*Empire State building ? man that?s one big building!!*

 

 

*The pie piece shaped building in the middle is the Flatiron, New York?s first skyscraper built in 1902. It?s 285 feet which is dinky now in comparison to the Empire State building at 1,453 feet. Of course, nearly everything looks dinky next to the ESB which is now the second tallest building in the country since the Twin Towers are gone.*

 

 

*Person dressed like Statue of Liberty outside Central Park*

 

 

*View from Empire State building. You can barely make out the Statue of Liberty in the middle*

 

 

I also got the exact souvenir I wanted from the ESB. It?s a figurine of the building with King Kong on the top. It?s so cute and it?s right next to my computer at work.

[CoopfanDan]

Those are some beautiful pictures of NYC. I'm glad you all had such a wonderful time and didn't come across any of the stereotype people such as in the Out of towners. I think just the huge population of NYC would bother me a little as I like my cities a little bit smaller.

 

It is interesting that Gary and Maria both didn't like Marco Polo. It certainly isn't an all time favorite of mine but I enjoyed it when I watched it. If I had the choice of what movies I would like out on dvd, I would have picked many others over it such as The Hanging Tree. We do have the Hanging Tree on VHS transported to dvd-r but I would love to see that movie in its original widescreen format on dvd or Blu-ray. If that movie ever comes out on Blu-ray and not dvd, I will be buying myself a blu-ray player the same day I hear on it's release. Maria does own 65 - 75 percent of The Hanging Tree, which is why WB has not spent the money on restoring it as they would receive very little in sales of it to re-pay the restoration costs. I hope Maria and WB can come to some sort of an arrangement to get it restored and released. I would have picked The Spoilers and The Naked Edge over Marco Polo as well to get released on dvd first.

 

I think MGM with all their releases over the last year now only have two movies yet to release on Gary in The Naked Edge and Return To Paradise. I like The Naked Edge better than Return to Paradise but with MGM's Gary Cooper track record, I wouldn't be surprised to see them both released by next May. It's too bad that Universial and WB are not as interested in Gary Cooper as others. Sergeant York would be a good canidate for Blu-ray. Eventhough it was released way back in November of 2006, it is still the number one best selling Gary Cooper dvd release on Amazon at 367 sales rank ahead of all the other recent westerns. I would also love to see Friendly Persuasion restored and released on Blu-Ray. They are WB two biggest selling Gary Cooper titles.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/dvd/418604/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_d_3_4_last

 

I guess I spoke to soon as High Noon at the time of writing this post is now the best selling Gary Cooper DVD release with Sergeant York in second place. They do flip flop back and forth a bit between number 1 and number 2. I suspect that High Noon will get pretty high in sales with all the praise its picture quality is getting on the new release all over the internet.

[coopsgirl]

I thought I would like living in a big city and I was in London for about a year and that was plenty. It?s fun to live in a place like that for a while though b/c there is so much to do. I don?t like crowds though and being around that many people gets old pretty quickly if you don?t like it. Austin is nice b/c it?s big but not too big. There are lots of cool things to do and I live about 25 miles outside of the city out in a more rural area. Although my area is growing up fast and won?t be little much longer.

 

*Marco Polo* isn?t one of my faves, but I do like it pretty well. If they had gotten a better actress for it I would put it up higher. Sigrid Gurie was really bad and the way she says ?Marco Polo? like she just had a lobotomy drives me crazy. I also think it?s cute that at the beginning when Gary?s little sidekick is looking for him, he finds him at Angelina?s house. Even though my name is Angie (not short for anything) my mom has always called me Angelina a lot .

 

It would be wonderful if MGM would release those two. *Naked Edge* is one that I rewatch the most and I?ll definitely take better versions of all of his color movies. I really hope we can get a better version of *The Hanging Tree* one of these days. I?ve seen that one so many times I could probably do the whole thing in my sleep . I would probably pass out from the shock if *Children of Divorce* ever sees the light of day.

 

It will be great when they put out his first blu-ray movie. Maybe within the next year or so we?ll get one. The new version of The Westerner is pretty dang close though in my blu-ray player (and you?re upconverter) so I guess that?ll have to do for now.

[JakeHolman]

>Most of the people looked more in the 50-80 range. There were a lot of younger people though that turned out the next day for the movies.

 

Thanks CoopsGirl...

 

Great pictures and article...

 

By the way, The Yankees Still *Rule*...

 

From A big Gary Cooper Fan...

 

I'm here in hot and nitty gritty Texas...

 

And, would not want it any other way...

[coopsgirl]

*By the way, The Yankees Still Rule...*

 

I don't know about that . I sure hope my 'stros can beat y'all this weekend. I would squeal with delight .

 

*I'm here in hot and nitty gritty Texas...*

 

*And, would not want it any other way...*

 

It can be tough living in Texas sometimes (especially the summertime) but it's worth it pardner .

[CoopfanDan]

Hi Angie,

 

I received High Noon today and will say that it is the best black and white picture on my new HD TV that I have ever viewed. I would say it is a notch up from the other Paramount restoration of It's a Wonderful Life from a couple of years ago. They both would have been done at the same time but I think they did a better job with High Noon. It has perfect image quality. No scratches, perfect brightness and contrast and sharper in my view to the other recent Gary Cooper MGM release of the Westerner, which was also near perfect if it wasn't for a few less sharp scenes in the background with people's faces. With High Noon everything is super HD like sharp in close ups and even the people in the background. It is an amazing restoration they did that I garantee is better in picture quality than It's a Wonderful Life if you had a chance to view that Paramount restoration.

[CoopfanDan]

I also viewed the new 50 min documentary. It is very good. They replaced the John Wayne threatening to force Cooper out of the movies with a generic people threating to force him out of the movies. It uses the old over bright High Noon footage from the previous releases for reference which looks just plain horrible on my new TV. No detail is left to Grace's complicated white neck patterns of her dress. It's just all white. I'm glad they used this footage though as it will show people just how much better the new restoration is on their big HD displays.

[coopsgirl]

Hi Dan,

I had time to watch John?s documentary (which is wonderful) and a little bit of the movie before the Astros game yesterday and you are right about how great the picture quality is. If this was released on blu-ray, it wouldn?t look any better. I can?t wait until Friday night after the game (where I hope we beat the Yankees into a pulp) and I can watch the whole movie and the doc again. Here is a quote from the doc (I found it on Moda?s website about it) that was my fave part b/c it perfectly describes Gary?s performance.

 

 

Brian Garfield

Author, "Western Films"

 

?Cooper is heart-stoppingly splendid. One of the most intense performances by any actor ever to have been filmed.?

 

Here?s part of a review I found (the link was on the new doc?s blog page).

 

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/33516/high-noon-2-disc-ultimate-collectors-edition/

 

Gary Cooper was never better than he is in this movie. A stoic yet homey screen presence, his confidence slowly deteriorates even as he shores up his resolve. Though there are fine supporting performances by Lon Chaney Jr. and Katy Jurado, it's really Cooper's film, the narrative resting entirely on his sturdy shoulders just as the task of subduing Frank Miller is being left to Marshal Kane. There's a reason he won the Oscar for Best Acting. In fact, Oscars were also awarded to High Noon for Best Editing, Best Score, and Best Original Song for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'," the recurring theme, sung by Tex Ritter, that follows Kane around like a melancholy cloud. These are the essential components that make this film work so well, and they deserved to be zeroed in on when it came time to hand out the statues. (Carl Foreman's finely tuned script also deserved a nod, but he was on his way to being blacklisted by that point; a redress in his reputation would come later.)

 

It's one of those movies you can watch over and over and never tire of. Thrilling, insightful, and inspiring, High Noon should be owned by all. Truly timeless, it always speaks to whatever period it's viewed in, and in our troubled world, the plight of Marshal Will Kane will never cease to have meaning.

 

I know I never get tired of it . I have to put *Meet John Doe*, *PotY*, and *High Noon* in a three way tie for my #1 fave of his. They are all so great. But, I have to put Will Kane alone in the top spot of my fave of Gary's characters. I'm also more attracted to him in this movie than any other and it's b/c of both how he looks and who the character is. He's exactly what a man should be, at least to me :x.

[coopsgirl]

I noticed too that they used the old, bright footage for the doc. I guess they couldn?t get the restored version. I was glad to hear an explanation as to why one of the guys in the saloon tells Kane ?you only have two deputies now?. He only has one deputy that we can see. Apparently there was another one but they cut his scenes later and just didn?t have time to reshoot that reference to two deputies. It?s not a big deal in that it really doesn?t affect the movie but it always kinda puzzled me.

 

I also noticed they did leave in the part where Clinton names John Wayne as being involved in all the behind the scenes mess. That part would have been tough to edit out so maybe that's how it made it in. However that is the only reference to him by name.

[CoopfanDan]

I know with the new documentary, I have been given a better understanding of the complexity of the picture and how it wasn't as simple of a western as I had originally thought. Also, with the picture quality now being perfect, I think High Noon has moved up to my favorite Gary Cooper and favorite western of all time. It truely gets better and better with repeated viewings and never gets old.

[coopsgirl]

The more I watch it, the higher it moves up on my list too. You pick up on more things the more you watch it. I also wonder about all the things that we didn?t see. Like why did Will and Helen break up? How did Will and Amy meet? When Harvey tells Will he?s been washed up for more than a year what exactly does he mean by that? Has Will known Amy during that whole year and was it his love for her that made him lose interest in being a lawman and is that what Harvey picked up on? Did he meet Amy when he was still with Helen or did he break up with Helen before that b/c he didn?t see her as the marrying kind? I love that it leaves all these questions open and I think it adds a level of richness to the film b/c everything isn?t explained for you.

 

The remake, if it does actually come to fruition, will merely be a pale imitation as I wouldn?t put much faith in modern film makers or actors to put the high level of skill into it as went into the original. It seems that with *High Noon* everyone was really going on all cylinders from behind and in front of the cameras (Grace Kelly excluded ).

 

I was surprised to hear that Will Kane was supposed to be in his 30s. I don?t think that would have worked nearly as well. That isn?t to say people in their 30s haven?t been through a lot or aren?t mature. I?m pretty grown-up, most of the time but having him as an older man works better. Being in his early 50s, this implies he?s been a lawman possibly 20 or 30 years. He?s clearly looked up to and respected like a father figure and I don?t see that working as well with a much younger man. Thank goodness that lettuce farmer who put up the rest of the film?s budget had the good sense to insist they cast Gary.

 

I also find it very interesting that all the women in the film can see that what he?s doing is right. Helen knows why he?s staying and also Sam Fuller?s wife and the woman who speaks up in church are clealy sympathetic towards him. Amy at first doesn?t understand but she does by the end.

[coopsgirl]

*Headshot 1947*

 

 

 

*General Died at Dawn*

 

 

 

*Gary and Fay Wray at costume party in 1933*

 

 

 

*Ball of Fire*

 

 

 

*This is really cool. It's a pic from Gary's college annual of 1924. I think it's safe to say he was the best looking one there *

 

 

 

[CoopsGal]

LOL, All the other images took a while to upload but that costume party was the first to appear. I thought I was in the wrong thread!

That costume is so goofy, Ang!

Good thing I wasn't in the library when I saw THAT

[coopsgirl]

I had seen a little version of that costume party pic but it only showed them from the waist up. When I saw the whole thing, I busted out laughing . You gotta love a guy who is not afraid to look that silly :x.

 

*City Streets*

 

 

*FWTBT*

 

 

*Sgt. York*

 

[whistlingypsy]

coopsgirl/Angie: I really like the photo from City Streets showing Gary with Sylvia Sidney. They make a really lovely couple. I don?t like to choose favorites, but I think my favorite actress must be Norma Shearer. I recently went searching for photos of Norma with Gary Cooper and I found these really nice images of the pair together. The second photo includes George Raft and Gary?s wife, Veronica Balfe (credited as Sandra Shaw in the film Blood Money~1933) at a dinner party. I don?t know the date, but I assume that these photos were taken after 1936, since Irving Thalberg does not appear in this series of photos.

 

 

 

[coopsgirl]

Those are nice pics and I hadn't seen the second one. Judging by how Gary looks, I would say they were from the late 30s.

 

Norma Shearer was a good actress and I think she had a beautiful head of hair .

[coopsgirl]

*The Westerner - this one has the original actress who was cast*

 

 

 

*Beau Geste*

 

 

 

*City Streets*

 

 

 

*Man of the West*

 

 

 

*Love in the Afternoon*

 

[ricksplace]

my favorite movie is NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE,will it ever be shown ? just like to know.

[Senta]

Who was originally cast at Westerner, Angie? Very interesting pic, thanks. They did of course a great job with this new Westerner DVD but it is a pity that at MGM usually they have no documentaries at all. This movie sure deserve collector edition there is so much to say.

[coopsgirl]

Hey Vera!

 

I can't remember the name of the actress in *The Westerner* pic but I do remember the story behind it. She was like a pet project of one of the top studio guys and he wanted to build her up so she got cast in the movie. Then one of the other top guys had Doris Davenport as an actress he wanted to build up and these two guys didn't like each other so that first actress was fired and replaced with Doris. I think Sam Goldwyn is the one who wanted Doris but I don't remember for sure.

 

Hey Ricksplace - I don't know if TCM has any plans to show *NWMP* or not. You could suggest it on the suggest a movie page.

[pktrekgirl]

Wow! Even more great photos posted in this thread! I really need to sit down and go through it - tons of good stuff for me to use, and I'm not even taking advantage of it.

 

Lovely photos ladies! I salute your ability to constantly come up with new ones!