Even though actor Gary Cooper began in silent cowboy movies, it was only when his first talkie was released did he establish his on-screen persona as the laconic good-guy Westerner in November 1929's "The Virginian." The Victor Fleming-directed film firmly encased Cooper's portrayal as the tall, handsome and somewhat shy cowboy, the character-type he played in a number of motion pictures. Hearing his voice for the first time proved to the public the actor had the chops to convey a down-home hero with a deep but clear voice. Cooper was initially apprehensive about the approaching technology of sound recordings, fearing his Montana drawl would ruin his young acting career. Randolph Scott, a budding actor who was born and schooled in Virginia, was brought in by Paramount Pictures to coach Cooper on the Virginian accent he was so familiar.
"The Virginian" was the third film adapted from Owen Wister's 1902 novel of the same name. Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 version and a 1923 silent preceded Fleming's movie (Because of the mass destruction of Virginian farms from the Union Army during the Civil War, many from the state immigrated to the unsettled West to begin anew.). Wister's book established the cultural clash between the pioneers who had long survived the harshness of weather, arid land, and lawlessness, to those newly-arrived Easterners accustomed to a more pampered way of living and a code of behavior relying on an honest law enforcement and a fair court system.
The Wyoming ranch foreman (Cooper), in charge of large herds of cattle, is constantly fending off cattle rustlers. One gang leader making a nice living of stealing others' livestock, Trampas (Walter Huston), is the villain Cooper must confront. In a famous early scene in a saloon, Trampas insults the Virginian, who draws a gun when Huston says, "I'll tell ya, you long-legged son of a-" Cooper retorts, "If you wanna call me that, smile." After a long pause, Trampas shows a big smile and says, "With a gun against my belly, I-I always smile." Trampas will never forget. He persuades the Virginian's best friend, Steven (Richard Arlen) to join him in the riches of rustling cattle.
Molly Wood (Mary Brian) is the civilized Easterner arriving to teach school. When she hears the Virginian hanged Steven, whom she liked, for stealing his ranch's cattle, she goes nuts on Cooper. In a memorable scene, Mrs. 'Ma' Taylor, tending the wounded Virginian when he's shot in an ambush by Trampas, tells Molly the reality of the West and its harsh living. Molly is stunned to hear there's a brand of courage and a code of honor not understood in the civilized East, a code that is the bedrock of cinematic Westerns. As scholar Joan Mellen notes, "'The Virginian' outlined a new, unrelentingly male personality. Cooper's a man of action, not words. He says, 'Would book learning do a cowpoke any good?' He's tough with men, but behaves like a gentleman with women."
Such themes permeated in Cooper's most famous role in 1952's "High Noon," and was repeated in his lesser films. "The Virginian" served as a model in a number of future Western motion pictures.
"The Virginian" was the third film adapted from Owen Wister's 1902 novel of the same name. Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 version and a 1923 silent preceded Fleming's movie (Because of the mass destruction of Virginian farms from the Union Army during the Civil War, many from the state immigrated to the unsettled West to begin anew.). Wister's book established the cultural clash between the pioneers who had long survived the harshness of weather, arid land, and lawlessness, to those newly-arrived Easterners accustomed to a more pampered way of living and a code of behavior relying on an honest law enforcement and a fair court system.
The Wyoming ranch foreman (Cooper), in charge of large herds of cattle, is constantly fending off cattle rustlers. One gang leader making a nice living of stealing others' livestock, Trampas (Walter Huston), is the villain Cooper must confront. In a famous early scene in a saloon, Trampas insults the Virginian, who draws a gun when Huston says, "I'll tell ya, you long-legged son of a-" Cooper retorts, "If you wanna call me that, smile." After a long pause, Trampas shows a big smile and says, "With a gun against my belly, I-I always smile." Trampas will never forget. He persuades the Virginian's best friend, Steven (Richard Arlen) to join him in the riches of rustling cattle.
Molly Wood (Mary Brian) is the civilized Easterner arriving to teach school. When she hears the Virginian hanged Steven, whom she liked, for stealing his ranch's cattle, she goes nuts on Cooper. In a memorable scene, Mrs. 'Ma' Taylor, tending the wounded Virginian when he's shot in an ambush by Trampas, tells Molly the reality of the West and its harsh living. Molly is stunned to hear there's a brand of courage and a code of honor not understood in the civilized East, a code that is the bedrock of cinematic Westerns. As scholar Joan Mellen notes, "'The Virginian' outlined a new, unrelentingly male personality. Cooper's a man of action, not words. He says, 'Would book learning do a cowpoke any good?' He's tough with men, but behaves like a gentleman with women."
Such themes permeated in Cooper's most famous role in 1952's "High Noon," and was repeated in his lesser films. "The Virginian" served as a model in a number of future Western motion pictures.