Arizona Bound

Arizona Bound

Directed by John Waters. 53 mins. (1927)

Gary Cooper – Dave Saulter

An easygoing Arizona cowboy, more devoted to his prized white horse than responsibility, is forced to prove his courage when he is framed for a stagecoach gold robbery—pursuing the real culprits across the desert to clear his name and win the respect of the woman he loves.

Also starring Betty Jewel and El Brendel.

This silent Western, filmed on location in Bryce Canyon National Park, is now considered lost, with no known surviving prints.

Wings

Wings

Directed by William A. Wellman. 144 mins. (1927)

Gary Cooper – Cadet White

Two rival young men from different social backgrounds, both in love with the same woman, enlist as fighter pilots in World War I, where the trials of combat transform their rivalry into friendship before a tragic turn tests loyalty and forgiveness.

Also starring Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen, and Jobyna Ralston.

One of the first great aviation epics, Wings featured groundbreaking aerial photography and large-scale battle sequences drawn from director William Wellman’s own wartime flying experience. The film won the first Academy Award for Best Picture and also received the award for Engineering Effects.

MARIA’S NOTES

This film WINGS is about the use of airplanes in World War 1 and the talented and brave men who flew them to daredevil extremes. It notably won the First Best Picture of the Year Academy Award in Hollywood in 1927 and introduced on screen, oh so briefly, a young handsome unknown actor who we literally- hear say a only a couple of lines—his last words being “Luck or no Luck when your time comes you’re going to get it”! and he walks out of the tent. Brief minutes later we see a shadow pass over the tent, hear a loud crash, and we know the pilot’s luck ran out! The movie audiences reacted so strongly and flooded the studio with letters wanting to know who was that incredible looking young man who gets killed?  And so, a Star was born, who became one of the Icons of the Movie Industry. In those 90 seconds Gary Cooper captured the audience with a force of personality and a look in his eyes that overshadowed the 2 established stars of Wings, Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen. Director William Wellman, a terrific pilot himselfwho was part of the group of American pilots who joined to fight for the French in WW1 called the Lafayette Escadrille, directed the air fight scenes. One scene called for a plane to cash into a farmhouse. None of the stunt men wanted to do it, and Bill said “Never mind- I’ll do it myself”. You have never seen air combat scenes like this anywhere on the screen—even today, and, with no trick photography! My father’s career was launched by Wings. He never forgot that humble beginning which introduced one of the most revered stars and actors of the 20th century. With his looks, personality and integrity Cooper came to represent the best a Hero can be …the best an American can strive to beon screen and off.

Maria Cooper Janis

The First Kiss

The First Kiss

Directed by Rowland V. Lee. 60 mins. (1928)

Gary Cooper – Mulligan Talbot

A restless young heir returns to his family’s decaying estate on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, where forbidden love and long-buried tensions threaten the fragile honor of a once-prominent clan.

Also starring Fay Wray, Lane Chandler, Monroe Owsley, and Matthew Betz.

During production on the Chesapeake Bay, Fay Wray accidentally fell overboard while filming on a boat, and Cooper dove in to rescue her. The film is considered lost, with no known surviving prints.

CONTINUED READING: One of Coop’s Most Popular Co-Stars, Fay Wray – Subject of a New Memoir by Her Daughter Victoria Riskin

The Winning of Barbara Worth

The Winning of Barbara Worth

Directed by Henry King. 98 mins. (1926)

Gary Cooper – Abe Lee

A young cowboy working on an ambitious irrigation project in the Southwestern desert finds himself in rivalry with an Eastern engineer for the love of a rancher’s daughter, as the fate of their struggling community hangs in the balance.

Also starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Charles Lane.

Gary Cooper’s first substantial screen role after years as a stunt rider, the film helped launch him as a leading man. Based on the bestselling 1911 novel by Harold Bell Wright.

The Legion of the Condemned

Legion of the Condemned

Directed by William A. Wellman. 80 mins. (1928)

Gary Cooper – Gale Price

After heartbreak in civilian life, a disillusioned American aviator joins the French Foreign Legion during World War I, only to confront a fateful mission involving the woman he once loved—now a suspected spy behind enemy lines.

Also starring Fay Wray, Barry Norton, Lane Chandler, and Francis McDonald.

This silent wartime drama reunited Gary Cooper with Wings director William A. Wellman and reused aerial combat footage originally shot for that film. Long considered lost, only fragments of Legion of the Condemned survive today.

CONTINUED READING: One of Coop’s Most Popular Co-Stars, Fay Wray – Subject of a New Memoir by Her Daughter Victoria Riskin

Nevada

Nevada

Directed by Edward Killy. 62 mins. (1944)

Gary Cooper – Nevada

A drifting cowhand is wrongfully accused of murder after being found with stolen money beside a slain miner, and must clear his name while evading a corrupt land baron’s plot to have him lynched.

Also starring William Frawley, Anne Gwynne, and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams.

Based on Zane Grey’s Western novel, the film was released by Paramount in a shortened reissue version in 1944 drawn from the original 1927 silent production featuring Gary Cooper.

Lilac Time

Lilac Time

Directed by George Fitzmaurice. 80 mins. (1928)

Gary Cooper – Capt. Philip Blythe

During World War I in rural France, a British aviator billeted at a farmhouse falls in love with the farmer’s daughter, their fragile romance unfolding beneath the constant shadow of aerial combat and loss.

Also starring Colleen Moore, Eugenie Besserer, Burr McIntosh, and Kathryn McGuire.

A silent wartime romance noted for its atmospheric sentiment, the film inspired immersive exhibition practices—one Boston theater famously scented its auditorium with lilac perfume during screenings.

Doomsday

Doomsday

Directed by Rowland V. Lee. 60 mins. (1928)

Gary Cooper – Arnold Furze

When a restless farmer’s daughter is drawn into a world of privilege and sophistication, she must choose between the steadfast love of a humble rural life and the seductive promise of wealth and status—placing two very different men, and two futures, in conflict.

Also starring Florence Vidor, Lawrence Grant, and Charles A. Stevenson.

Adapted from Warwick Deeping’s novel Doomsday (1927), the film was praised for Gary Cooper’s early screen presence; The New York Times critic Mordaunt Hall noted his performance as “wonderfully natural,” with an “ingratiating personality.”

Children of Divorce*

Children of Divorce

Directed by Frank Lloyd 70 mins (1927)

Gary Cooper – Edward D. “Ted” Larrabee

A young flapper tricks her childhood sweetheart into marrying her. He really loves another woman, but didn’t marry her for fear the marriage would end in divorce, like his parents’. Complications ensue.

Also starring Clara Bow, Esther Ralston, Einar Hanson and Norman Trevor

James Hall was originally chosen to play the male lead in this silent movie, but the role was given to Gary Cooper at the insistence of star Clara Bow. The role helped to propel Cooper towards superstardom.

Maria’s Notes

Children of Divorce made in 1927, represented an early major learning curve in Gary Cooper's acting career.

A much publicized romance with the "IT "girl Clara Bow and himself had the gossip columns buzzing. In fact, it was she who helped him get the part in that film. It turned out to be a tough moment for my father as he was not used to playing the kind of character the role required - that of a fast talkin' society boy type, sophisticated and spoiled. It was a big jump from the "born in the saddle" western cowboy and his other smaller roles.

In one scene where he is supposed to be smartly drinking champagne with Clara Bow, he apparently spilled it all over her in 23 straight takes! Up tight and flustered, Cooper got himself fired and became very depressed thinking his acting career was over.

B.P. Schulberg, a major Associate Producer at Paramount, went to bat for my father, arranged to have him re-hired, and talked to his other leading lady, Ester Ralston, encouraging her to be extra kind to him. When a new director Josef von Sternberg was hired, things on set took a better turn, my father’s confidence returned and so the magic that emanated from Gary Cooper on screen become evident again.

The romance between him and Clara Bow ran its course. In fact, her way of life he found depressing but he remained fond of her and was grateful for her part in shaping his early Hollywood life.

Maria Cooper Janis

Beau Sabreur

Beau Sabreur

Directed by John Waters. 70 mins. (1928)

Gary Cooper – Maj. Henri de Beaujolais

A loyal officer of the French Foreign Legion uncovers treachery within the ranks and undertakes a perilous mission across the desert to secure a fragile peace—risking his life and honor in a volatile land.

Also starring Evelyn Brent, Noah Beery, William Powell, Roscoe Karns and Mitchell Lewis.

Based on the novel Beau Sabreur by P. C. Wren, a companion story to Beau Geste. Actors Noah Beery and William Powell, who died in Beau Geste, return here in different roles.