The Virginian*

The Virginian

Directed by Victor Fleming. 91 mins. (1929)

Gary Cooper – The Virginian

A principled ranch foreman in the Wyoming Territory finds his loyalty tested when he discovers that his closest friend has turned to cattle rustling, even as he courts the town’s new schoolteacher.

Also starring Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, Helen Ware, and Eugene Pallette.

Based on Owen Wister’s landmark 1902 Western novel, the film was Gary Cooper’s first talking picture and first leading role in a Western. Though initially anxious about his speaking voice, Cooper later called the Virginian his favorite role.

MARIA’S NOTES

It’s hard to realize that in 1929 out of 20 thousand movie theaters only1500 were wired for sound. My father had a naturally deep voice that served him well as the “talkies” transformed the film industry. Owen Wister’s The Virginian hit the screens with a huge impact—the book itself from which the film was made had sold 1.6 million copies in those days, and it gave my father one of the classic lines in Western movie history… ”If you want to call me that, Smile”. The story is not ‘dated” and in fact there is a resonance with another film classic of Gary Cooper’s, High Noon. The point being you don’t run away from your duty- even as it puts your own life on the line. The romantic cowboy/hero image of my father pulls you into the very essence of the story, in fact, to the essence of Gary Cooper himself… on screen and off.

Maria Cooper Janis