Any Gary Cooper Fans?

[CoopfanDan]

The irony of the fact that GC turned down Ninotchka because of the negative

reaction to Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is made even more ironic because of the

growing reputation of Bluebeard in the last decade. Bluebeard was far ahead

of its time, I guess.

 

It would have been terrific to see GC and Garbo in Ninotchka

If Ninotchka is even half as good as Bluebeard's Eigth Wife, I am sure I will love it. I don't know if I appreciated it that much on first viewing, but when I started making some audio clips for Kim (Mrs. Cooper), I grasped the true brilliance of this before it's time comedy. There's so many classic comedy lines in that movie for Gary. My favorite is the below one where he is trying unsussesfully to use the power of his mind to change things:

 

"I feel fine; It was a nice day yesterday, it's a nice day today, it'll be a nice day tomorrow. I feel fine, I feel fine, I feel very fine! "

How do you feel, Mr. Brandon.

"Not so good."

"We have mutton stew today..."

"Yeuck, I hate mutton stew. ...I liked mutton stew yesterday, I like mutton stew today, I'll like mutton stew tomorrow...(begins to eating it) Yeuck."

 

I hope if any dvd's are released next year that this one and Desire are released as they along with Ball of Fire are my three favorite comedies of Cooper's and all must have's on dvd.

[CoopfanDan]

Miss G.

 

In addition to the icons radio show, I have found that just about everything that was stated on her and her personal statements are just very appealing to me. Without even seeing her movies yet, I think that I will become a very big fan of hers. She sounds like she was a very intelligent and strong woman in real life. I love just about every personal quote of hers that I have read on her.

 

Her instinct, her mastery over the machine, was pure witchcraft. I cannot analyse this woman's acting. I only know that no one else so effectively worked in front of a camera. ?

?Bette Davis on Garbo

 

Garbo's sets were closed to all visitors and sometimes even the director! When asked why, she said: "During these scenes I allow only the cameraman and lighting man on the set. The director goes out for a coffee or a milkshake. When people are watching, I'm just a woman making faces for the camera. It destroys the illusion. If I am by myself, my face will do things I cannot do with it otherwise."

 

Garbo was criticized for not aiding the Allies during WWII, but it was later disclosed that she had helped Britain by identifying influential Nazi sympathizers in Stockholm and by providing introductions and carrying messsages for British agents.

 

Garbo, according to movie director Jacques Feyder: "At 9 o'clock a.m. the work may begin. "Tell Mrs. Garbo we're ready" says the director. "I'm here" a low voice answers, and she appears, perfectly dressed and combed as the scene needs. Nobody could say by what door she came but she's there. And at 6 o'clock PM, even if the shot could be finished in five minutes, she points at the watch and goes away giving you a sorry smile. She's very strict with herself and hardly pleased with her work. She never looks rushes nor goes to the premi?res but some days later, early in the afternoon, enters all alone an outskirts movie house, takes place in a cheap seat and gets out only when the projection finishes, masked with her sunglasses".

 

She disliked Clark Gable, a feeling that was mutual. She thought his acting was wooden while he considered her a snob.

 

Personal Quotes

 

"There is no one who would have me...I can't cook."

 

"Being a movie star, and this applies to all of them, means being looked at from every possible direction. You are never left at peace, you're just fair game."

 

"You don't have to be married to have a good friend as your partner for life."

 

"I wish I were supernaturally strong so I could put right everything that is wrong."

 

"Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it."

 

"Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening."

 

"I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' There is a whole world of difference."

 

"I don't want to be a silly temptress. I cannot see any sense in getting dressed up and doing nothing but tempting men in pictures."

 

"The story of my life is about back entrances, side doors, secrets elevators and other ways of getting in and out of places so that people won't bother me."

 

"If only those who dream about Hollywood knew how difficult it all is."

 

"Your joys and sorrows. You can never tell them. You cheapen the inside of yourself if you do." "There are some who want to get married and others who don't. I have never had an impulse to go to the altar. I am a difficult person to lead."

 

[When asked in her later years by a fan if she is Greta Garbo]: "I * was* Greta Garbo."

 

"Gimme a whiskey with ginger ale on the side and don't be stingy, baby." -- Garbo's classic opening line from her very first talking film "Anna Christie"

 

"If you're going to die on screen, you've got to be strong and in good health."

 

"There are many things in your heart you can never tell another person. They are you, your private joys and sorrows, and you can never tell them. You cheapen yourself, the inside of yourself, when you tell them."

 

"What, when drunk, one sees in other women, one sees in Garbo sober."

 

"I live like a monk: with one toothbrush, one cake of soap, and a pot of cream."

[CoopfanDan]

John,

 

Thanks for the other recomendations for film noir.

[CoopfanDan]

The only possible good thing that would ever come out of re-making Man of the west is that the original may finally come out on region 1 dvd. So I am all for remaking Man of the West, Bright Leaf, Blowing Wild, and about 40 other Gary Cooper movies that are not out on dvd yet. Remakes always seem to inspire a release to dvd of the original and in some cases a remastered and special eddition of the original, which is always a good thing in my view.

[coopsgirl]

*The Fountainhead* is my least fave of all of Gary's films but you are right in that he will definitely make you drool in that one. In general I find him much sexier in his 40s and 50s than any other years. The scenes between him and Patricia are so hot that if you put a pot of water near the tv I think it would boil!! That's when their lengthy affair began that almost ended his marriage so the passion between the two is very real. Here are some of my fave pics from that one.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my personal fave.

 

[CoopfanDan]

"That's quite an impressive compliment you are paying to me, Dan, my fellow Keystoner. Even if you don't end up liking any of the films you rented, I applaud your willingness to try something different. I really admire that. I will return the favor by watching more Gary films. The Fountainhead is next for me but I do have others on tape and I'm going to get the Peter Ibbetson box set. Maybe I can provide a new voice in the Coop wilderness."

 

One more you should look for recording or renting is Sergeant York. It is Howard Hawks best movie and Gary's as well in my humble opinion. It has been called in recent years a propaganda movie but in reality it is just a beautifully filmed movie with an incredable real life story of Sergeant York that has just about everything in including an awesome love story, life in the coutry, religion and war conflicts, comedy, action, adventure and just about everything else you can put in a movie all of which was perfectly edited into the movie and filmed beautifully by Howard Hawks. It is the only perfect movie I know of with not a single flaw. Some of the war scenes may seem over the top but upon reading the real life story of Sergeant York, I discovered that these scenes were not over the top at all and was simply how it happened. Sergeant York was the most decorated person that came out of ww1 and the real Sgt York was on the set every day during the shooting of this movie to make sure they got it all right. He was very much against his war heroics and would have never allowed them to overdramatize his war exploits.

 

You have my respect for your appeciation of classic movies but not for your appreciation of the Dallas Cowboys as fellow keystoners are suppose to be huge Steeler fans like myself. I am a HUGE Steeler fan and would not miss a game for anything. Football is the only sport I will watch.

[coopsgirl]

*Angie, that picture of Gary in his Bengal outfit with the two ladies is great. He looks so sexy there, mustachioed and all. I'm trying to figure out what's holding those dames up, they can't manage to stand up so close to him!*

 

I think that 'dame' on the right is his mom (ha!) but I'm not sure about the other one. It looks like she's having the same reaction I would - giggling like an idiot!!

[CoopfanDan]

Angie the main reason I like the fountainhead (though it is not one of my all time favorites) is because Cooper's character stands by his convictions. I greatly admire people who are like this even if I don't always agree with them.

[coopsgirl]

Frank - I think we would get along famously if we were co-workers but I don't see how we'd ever get any work done between baseball, MST3K and Gary and other movie discussions . My other Gary/baseball buddy recently retired and that stinks. My boss is a big Astros fan too though but nobody else likes Gary or MST3K. That's okay though b/c I can talk to myself about them for hours (it's the whole only child thing I guess - ha!).

 

I watched *Top Secret* yesterday afternoon and I was worn out by the time if was over from laughing non-stop. I loved it and the connection with *Cloak and Dagger* was great.

 

Dan - I'm glad you're giving some more of Barbara's movies a try as she's one of my faves ya know. *Babyface* and *Sorry, Wrong Number* are both very good. I recorded *Martha Ivers* this morning and I'm excited to see it. I have got to see *Double Indemnity* too. I think Frank's right in that I probably wouldn't like noir films in general but maybe a few here and there like *Indemnity*.

[MissGoddess]

>>>It would have been terrific to see GC and Garbo in Ninotchka. <<<

 

Indeed it would, John. As marvelous as Melvyn Douglas is in it, Coop would have taken it to another level.

[MissGoddess]

Dan,

Great quotes on and by Garbo! No other actress was held in such awe by her peers. Davis, Dietrich, Hepburn---all looked up to her.

 

By the way, the blurb about Gable's "dislike" for her is not true. He was quite in awe of her artistry and talents and said so. But then, so much trash is attributed to him, it's not surprising that bit still gets around.

[MissGoddess]

I believe *Double Indemnity* to be among the most hard-core noirs I've seen, and therefore not a favorite of mine, so if you like it Angie & Dan, then you guys will like a lot of others even better. Neither Stanwyck nor Douglas plays a likable or admirable character, though his is less pernicious. And it's cynical in the extreme---I sometimes think Chandler and Wilder is too much for one movie. However, Eddie G Robinson's role as "Keyes" is a marvel, the best of the lot. *Martha Ivers* is a movie I'm lukewarm on. None of the characters are very well defined. Of Barbara's noirs, I like *Clash by Night* far and above the rest. In fact, it's the only time I can think of that she was dominated by the male character (Robert Ryan). She's weak AND strong in one movie and it makes her acting more powerful to me that way.

[MissGoddess]

>>>I think that 'dame' on the right is his mom (ha!) but I'm not sure about the other one. It looks like she's having the same reaction I would - giggling like an idiot!!<<<

 

Of course, I meant "dame" only in the most respectful sense, dear Mrs Cooper (senior).

[CoopfanDan]

"By the way, the blurb about Gable's "dislike" for her is not true. He was quite in awe of her artistry and talents and said so. But then, so much trash is attributed to him, it's not surprising that bit still gets around."

That is good to know as I do like Clark Gable's movies and I am recording everything that comes on TCM on him. I aways liked Gone with the Wind but never really saw too many of his other movies. The only talking movie of Garbo's that I have seen so far is one that I recorded that Gable was in called Susan Lenox and I did like that movie. I never thought that Gable was wooden and hate when people use that term. It seems like it is only used on the really great male actors, so it must be an extreme compliment to be called wooden whatever that means. I did get to half of one of Gable's really good 30's movies on TCM called They met at Bombai and now I am awaiting it to be shown again on TCM so I can record it. I think I am most interested in his 30's movies as this seems to be when he got the best roles for movies with the exception of Run Silent Run Deep and Command Decision which were two awesome war movies. I think he may have lost a little after losing Carole lumbard or the movie companies just didn't offer as good of parts but he wasn't real good in that Mogambo movie in my view.

[CoopsGal]

I sometimes think that there are two parallel universes now, our (so-called) real

world, and our online world.

 

 

Scientists have finally been proven wrong; because you're right, John: there is another world out there...and it's called the cyber world.

 

 

Phones, mail boxes, stationery envelopes and pens are beginning to be obsolete; and it'll only be a matter of time until Back to the Future is a proven fact.

[CoopsGal]

If Ninotchka is even half as good as Bluebeard's Eigth Wife, I am sure I will love it. I don't know if I appreciated it that much on first viewing, but when I started making some audio clips for Kim (Mrs. Cooper), I grasped the true brilliance of this before it's time comedy. There's so many classic comedy lines in that movie for Gary. My favorite is the below one where he is trying unsussesfully to use the power of his mind to change things:

 

"I feel fine; It was a nice day yesterday, it's a nice day today, it'll be a nice day tomorrow. I feel fine, I feel fine, I feel very fine! "

How do you feel, Mr. Brandon.

"Not so good."

"We have mutton stew today..."

"Yeuck, I hate mutton stew. ...I liked mutton stew yesterday, I like mutton stew today, I'll like mutton stew tomorrow...(begins to eating it) Yeuck."

 

 

That movie was sheer hilarity throught-and-through! His facial expressions, his spot-on comebacks and the sharpness of both his and Claudette's deepenening hatred for one another was perfect for the film -- it was too funny!

 

 

That quote is one of my absolute favorites; I say it all the time when I'm in a stressful situation! haha -- and it works.

[CoopfanDan]

Yes I know you loved that movie Kim, and I have to thank you for pointing out all the parts to me that has turned me into a big fan of it as well as I wasn't always. In fact, I thought it was an average film of his the first time I watched it but it is one of the movies of his that gets better with each viewing. I think it is one of my top ten favorites now and I never get tired of watching any of his comedies. Ball of Fire, Bluebeard's Eigth wife and Desire I can watch over and over and over again and they never lose there abiltiy to entertain me. These movies along with Cary Grant comedies are the best things to watch when I am feeling down. I surely hope that the rumors are ture that both Desire and Bluebeard's Eigth Wife will be released in a DVD box set next year as this will open them up to a great many more people to enjoy as they are never shown on TV. Desire is not really a comedy I don't think but Gary Cooper's singing in the car scenes sure makes it one for me.

[jrabideau]

I agree on all counts. I'm glad you didn't miss my post. sometimes its ok to watch a film that

doesn't necesarily entertain. I just think King Vidor the director threw in the love triangle to

stimulate the audience. Because who would go see a film that wasn't a bit entertaining.

[jrabideau]

thanks so much for sharing with me your views. Thanks for the photos, and yes in the 40's and

50's he was a hunk as well. Yup! take care~

[jrabideau]

thanks so much for sharing with me your views. Thanks for the photos, and yes in the 40's and

50's he was a hunk as well. Yup! take care~

[jrabideau]

thanks so much for sharing with me your views. Thanks for the photos, and yes in the 40's and

50's he was a hunk as well. Yup! take care~

[jrabideau]

oops! excuse the double posts

[jrabideau]

Frank, your welcome back was great! thanks much appreciated you took the time to acknowledge a new friend.

[CoopsGal]

Yes I know you loved that movie Kim, and I have to thank you for pointing out all the parts to me that has turned me into a big fan of it as well as I wasn't always. In fact, I thought it was an average film of his the first time I watched it but it is one of the movies of his that gets better with each viewing. I think it is one of my top ten favorites now and I never get tired of watching any of his comedies. Ball of Fire, Bluebeard's Eigth wife and Desire I can watch over and over and over again and they never lose there abiltiy to entertain me. These movies along with Cary Grant comedies are the best things to watch when I am feeling down. I surely hope that the rumors are ture that both Desire and Bluebeard's Eigth Wife will be released in a DVD box set next year as this will open them up to a great many more people to enjoy as they are never shown on TV. Desire is not really a comedy I don't think but Gary Cooper's singing in the car scenes sure makes it one for me.

 

 

It's a movie that I can't tire from watching over and over again. Along with your list of comedies I must add Casanova Brown; that one is just too cotton-pickin' adorable! My whole family adores it...

 

 

I'm not sure if this is true: but Fran?ois Truffaut said that Miriam Hopkins was supposed to take the role as Nicole de Loiselle. I am so glad they chose Claudette.

[CoopfanDan]

Yes I forgot about Casanova Brown as that is one of my top one's as well.