The Virginian

Plot synopsis:
A man known only as the Virginian (Gary Cooper) is ranch foreman at Box H Ranch near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. At a saloon in Medicine Bow, he and the cattle rustler Trampas (Walter Huston) vie for the attentions of a barmaid; when Trampas insults him, the Virginian pulls a gun and tells him to smile. Soon afterwards, Molly Wood (Mary Brian), a new schoolteacher from Vermont, arrives in town. The Virginian and a drifter named Steve (Richard Arlen) vie for her attentions, but she ultimately chooses the latter. However, as Steve was his childhood friend, the Virginian gives him a job at the ranch.
Unhappy with the Virginian's violent nature, Molly tries to change him but is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Steve and the Virginian enjoy playing pranks together, switching babies during a baptism; they also make quail calls for secret communications. However, Steve falls in with Trampas' gang. Although warned by the Virginian that no good will come of it, Steve continues with the gang. When they (minus Trampas) steal cattle from Box H Ranch, the Virginian is forced to hang all involved, including Steve. The Virginian vows revenge on Trampas for forcing him to do so.
Disgusted by The Virginian's callousness, Molly leaves him. However, after he is shot in the back by Trampas, she decides to treat him, and they fall deeper in love; they eventually decide to marry. On their wedding day, Trampas comes back to town for revenge and challenges the Virginian to a shoot-out. The Virginian quickly draws his six-shooter and kills the bandit in the streets. He then marries Molly, and the two prepare to open their own ranch.

Tags: prank

Review:
"The Virginian" is one of the first well-known western "talkies." Released in 1929 and starring Gary Cooper who later became one of the great heroes of the western genre, this movie contains all of the archetypal elements of classic western films.
And there is a villain who abides by no moral code, who must be defeated by the hero to uphold his honor and his values.The classic representations of good and evil through black and white are used extensively and effectively in this film.
Cooper always wears white, the villain(Huston) always wears black.
However, the most morally ambiguous character, Cooper's friend Steve, always wears a mixture of the colors, and as he continues down a dark path, his colors become darker and less ambivalent.This is a pretty good movie, particularly the hanging scene, the shootout at the end, and basically any interaction between Cooper and Huston.
This movie is considered to be one of the very first westerns to represent the classic elements of the western genre, and its influence on later westerns is quite clear.
For film students and fans of the western genre alike, this is a fun film to watch and thoroughly enjoyable.
(Note: very interesting comparisons can be made to later westerns, particularly "Shane" and another Cooper film, "High Noon").
Gary Cooper delivers, with a formidable supporting cast, an excellent performance which struck a cord with audiences who had seen it way back when.
Victor Fleming adds life and mobility to the camera that many directors were struggling to find through the cramped constraints of the early talking picture.
Fleming knew that disc recording wasn't going to make it in the movies for much longer and decided to use the improved Western Electric sound-on-film system.
Mary Brian is gorgeous as the loved but lonely heroine from Vermont, stranded and alone in a world so wide open and unpredictable that Coop's presence (after much deliberation) proves warm and protective.
Richard Arlen, who was billed way above Coop in "Wings" (1927) makes a fine supporting character in the role of Steve, a cocky cattle rustler thirsting for adventure in all the wrong places, much different from David Armstrong, the character he portrays in "Wings".
This proves his ability to adapt to different roles, which is to me, a film-maker myself, one of the most important qualities an actor can possess.
Of all the actors in the picture, I think his performance is probably the best; his make-up, his voice, his devilish smile make him a formidable adversary for our man Coop.
This picture deserves a DVD release for more reasons than I care to list, if only to lend itself to a new generation of an audience.
An artful early talkie western.
I have to admit, the Western genre usually isn't up my alley, but this one grabbed me when I saw it as a teenager on Christmas break in 1973, and so when I saw it was for sale on DVD-R I bought a copy.
My memories did not deceive me - it is still a very good Western whose technique is seemingly unencumbered by the youth of sound technology in 1929.Some things are rather obvious Western clichés, such as the fact that the hero - The Virginian (Gary Cooper) - is always wearing a white hat and generally a light colored shirt.
Steve (Richard Arlen), the Virginian's friend, starts out wearing gray looking clothing.
Then there's the famous line "Smile when you say that" uttered by the Virginian to Trampas.
Among those that still exist there's 1925's "Go West" with Buster Keaton being given this command and who would comply if only his facial muscles would let him.However, Paramount, the studio that in the early talkie era employed Lubitsch, Chevalier, and Dietrich and made so many sophisticated precodes was also capable of making one of the best of the early sound westerns.
Those hanging them are without malice - it is just something they have to do or else they'd be overrun by the lawless and starve to death.Civilized America is symbolized by schoolmarm Molly Stark (Mary Brian), imported from Vermont to teach the pioneers' children and increasingly horrified by the savagery of the place.
The romance between her and the Virginian has many parallels in "High Noon" made 23 years later.Not to say this one is all serious though, there are plenty of laughs to be had especially in the first half of the film.
Especially charming and funny is the scene where Molly and the Virginian discuss Romeo and Juliet with the Virginian giving insight into the soul of a pioneer with his interpretation of the story.
Palette like Cooper had been around during the silent era, but the coming of sound increased their value as performers.
I'd recommend this to fans of the early talkie whether Westerns are normally of interest to you are not.
Although I particularly like the 1946 version of this classic western story with Joel McCrea, this 1929 version of The Virginian has a lot to recommend it, not the least of which is Gary Cooper in the title role.From the first silent version of the story that Cecil B.
DeMille directed until a 2000 made for television film that starred Bill Pullman as the cowboy who's only known by the state he originally hails from, this is the story that set the standard for the western novel that has come down to this day.
Owen Wister (1860-1938) was a classmate and close friend of Theodore Roosevelt and when the book came out in 1902 it was dedicated to the new president who was in his second term of office.Both Wister and Roosevelt were easterners who had gone west at critical portions of their lives and made careful note of the mores and customs of the people living there.
It certainly was a period where certain folks did make up their own version of the law out in Wyoming and in this Wyoming setting of The Virginian as law and order was usually days if not weeks away, lynching lawbreakers was an accepted if not honored practice.And that's what happens in The Virginian as Gary Cooper catches old friend Steve played by Richard Arlen rustling cattle of the Box H ranch where he is foreman.
It's unfortunate that he did not catch gang leader Trampas played by Walter Huston, but the incident sets the scene for the inevitable western showdown.There was western literature before The Virginian, popularized by writers like Ned Buntline.
Usually they took real western characters and made up these fantastic unreal stories about them.
Real western historians in fact are still trying to separate truth from myth about all these people because of these stories.Wister was a careful chronicler of what he saw and what he saw set the standard for later writers like Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Luke Short, etc.
All the western clichés we've grown to expect in films got their start right here.The Virginian set the standard in literature and film for a whole genre of entertainment.
The coming of the talkies is often looked on as a sad time, when silent stars were washed up, stalwart filmmakers tried and failed to fight the change, and movies in general became a little awkward.
But for every tragic failure there was a success story, and there were just as many actors and directors who were able to adapt and even thrive in the new medium.One such star was Gary Cooper.
Coop had been around a while, working his way up from bit parts in the silent era, eventually garnering a few lead roles but not making a huge splash.
The Virginian was his third sound picture but it was the one to make him a star.
Such is Cooper's effortless demeanour and naturalism, you could believe he is an old pro, and he shows none of the stiltedness associated with early talkie performances.On the other side of the camera we have director Victor Fleming, a man who has been largely ignored by film historians despite his importance, although thankfully that trend is starting to be reversed.
Fleming did not compose the most elegant shots or weave in clever bits of symbolism, but his pictures are almost invariably excellent.
It's documented that Fleming coached his actors a fair bit, and it appears the main thrust of his coaching was to make them act at a snappy pace.
There are few pauses in a Fleming picture, and sound is particularly useful to him, because we can hear the actors spit their dialogue at each other or punctuate the drama with gunshots and slammed-down whiskeys.
Whenever the actors stand still, he has a horse or an extra trot past in the background.But Fleming is wise enough to know when to calm things down, and indeed the more sedate scenes have a greater impact after the usual flurry of action.
When Cooper and Brian sit together among the trees, the only movement is the wind gently rustling their clothing, giving a quiet tenderness to the moment without quite allowing things to be completely still.
The sequence seems eerily drawn out, but again without the drama slowing to a standstill.The view of the Old West we get in this version of The Virginian is not quite the romantic evocation of freedom tinged with danger that we normally see in the genre.
Fleming, Cooper and the rest of the cast have really brought out the tragic aspects of Owen Wister's novel, the sense of loss and betrayed friendship.
They have also given punch and excitement to the presentation, something which works equally well for action sequences like the tense final standoff, as it does for dramatic scenes, such as the verbal showdown between Mary Brian and Helen Ware.
THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929), directed by Victor Fleming, from the popular 1902 story by Owen Wister, stars Gary Cooper in his talking movie debut.
Having made an impression with theater audiences in a small role from the silent World War drama, WINGS (Paramount, 1927), that earned the distinction of becoming the first Academy Award Best Picture winner, Cooper was soon elevated to leading roles in other silent features, some being westerns, before a whole new career opened for him when his spoken voice was heard for the first time.
As the title character, Cooper's success in talkies was assured, even without an Academy Award nomination for a western role that was honored earlier to Warner Baxter playing The Cisco Kid in IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1929).The plot development set in Wyoming introduces the nameless cowboy known to all simply as The Virginian (Gary Cooper) mainly because he's from Virginia.
Working as a foreman of the Box H Ranch near Medicine Row, his best pal, Steve (Richard Arlen), a free-spirited cowboy, believes there's a better way to earn money than working.
It so happens that, unknown to the Virginian, Steve is connected with Trampas (Walter Huston, in traditional villain role of thick mustache and dark hat) and his gang of cattle rustlers.
Arriving from the Union Pacific train is Molly Stark Wood (Mary Brian), the new schoolteacher in town.
At first Molly dislikes The Virginian and devotes her attention to Steve, even with these two acting like little boys playing jokes on one another.
Eventually the laughs come to an end as Steve, Pedro (Charles Stevens) and Jim (James Mason) are caught by a posse for cattle rustling, forcing the Virginian to take leadership in their hanging execution the next morning.
Others in the supporting cast include: Helen Ware (Mrs. Taylor); Eugene Palette (Honey Wiggen); Chester Conklin (Uncle Hughey); Victor Potel (Nebrasky); George Chandler, Ed Brady and Nena Quartero in smaller roles.Regardless of its age and familiarity, THE VIRGINIAN is an oldie but a goody.
"When you call me that, SMILE!" and "Get out of town by sundown" are the film's most famous quotes.
Notable scenes include the Virginian and Steve's greeting each other to the whistling sound of a quail; Molly's reaction to her schoolroom of children singing "Three Blind Mice" off-key; Virginian and Steve switching infants in separate room prior to their christening; The Virginian's reaction when having to participate in Steve's execution and hearing an actual quail's whistling prior to it; tense moments between the Virginian and Trampas, among others.
Unlike early talkies of the time, THE VIRGINIAN is well paced for 90 minutes, and refrains from actresses, mainly Mary Brian, from overacting in the silent film tradition by allowing her to give a more natural performance.
THE VIRGINIAN may seem strange to contemporary viewers where underscoring is non-existent, unless one counts the mooing sounds of cattle steer heard during the opening credit titles.
Unlike some early talkies, there's no inter-titles depicting what's to take place in the next scene to come.Next to The Marx Brothers comedy, THE COCOANUTS, THE VIRGINIAN seemingly appears to have been the only other Paramount theatrical release from 1929 made available to broadcast television with frequent revivals in the sixties, seventies and onward, indicating its popularity decades after its initial release.
When distributed to video cassette in the early 1990s, the clam-shell box labeled the 1929 edition as the original version, overlooking the fact that there were two earlier silent editions that preceded it: 1914 (Dustin Farnum) and 1923 (Kenneth Harlan).
Paramount remade the newly Technicolor and underscored edition of THE VIRGINIAN (1946) starring Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy and Barbara Britton in the Cooper, Huston and Brian roles, with more emphasis on Molly than on the titled character.
THE VIRGINIAN also became the basis of a television series starring James Drury in the 1960s.Unseen on cable television since its presentation on American Movie Classics (1994-1999), THE VIRGINIAN (1929), along with other frequently shown screen adaptations as the 2000 TV movie, turns up occasionally on Encore Westerns, most commonly after sundown where programs directors smile when they do that.
While "The Virginian" is a bit less enjoyable due to it being a very early and old fashioned film, it is worth seeing and helped to make Gary Cooper a star.
When I say it's old fashioned, it's because early sound pictures tended to have little incidental music and the films aren't as polished as films made by Hollywood just a couple years later.
This is definitely the case with this film...plus like so many later westerns, much of the story creates a mythic version of the West that never actually existed.Soon after the film begins, the new school teacher, Molly, arrives from back East.
The Virginian (Cooper) is smitten with her but she is a bit difficult to get to know due to her eastern ways.
Eventually, however, they start to like each other...and this is damaged by the Virginian going off on a posse to catch cattle rustlers.
This is because one of the rustlers turns out to be his friend, Steve (Richard Arlen)...and Molly blames the Virginian for the posse hanging Steve.
However, they soon patch things up and are on the way to a happy marriage...when the leader of the rustlers, Trampas (Walter Huston) arrives in town and promises to shoot the Virginian if he's not out of town by sundown!
See the film.The acting isn't bad but a bit subdued...like ALL films from 1929.
They tended to be a bit more stagy than later films but despite its limitations and clichés, this film is quite watchable and well made for the era..
Seems like a silent movie.
Gary Cooper is the romantic hero, with an enormous amount of eye makeup and an "aw shucks" demeanor that's supposed to win the girl over.
The simpering heroine is Mary Brian, a new school teacher in the small western town.
Walter Huston, with an enormously fake mustache plastered to his lip, is the villain, who actually utters the line, "I'll give you 'til sunset to get out of town."The movie was made in 1929, so what more do you want?
In this very early talkie, it's easy to imagine it as a silent film, with an afternoon of reshoots to record some dialogue.
You can give it a whirl if you think Gary Cooper was cute when he was younger, or if you like silent westerns.
If you're careful, you can catch Eugene Pallette in an early role, as well as Randolph Scott in a cameo!.
Gary Cooper's The Virginian is old-fashioned but still charming.
Ha, ha, ha, ha!" This is one of the most legendary lines in Western movie history as exchanged between Gary Cooper and Walter Huston (Cecil B.
The story of a ranch foreman who has to hang his best friend Steve for stealing cattle under Trampas and the schoolmarm Molly who loves him is still a compelling story to tell for the early talkie era though it might seem old-fashioned today.
There is, however, an interesting exchange between the schoolmarm (Mary Brian) and an old pioneer woman (Helen Ware) about violence vs.
Cooper is a natural in his talkie debut as is director Victor Fleming with live outdoor filming.
Walter Huston is great as the villainous Trampas.
There are some interesting musical interludes at the beginning and interesting dialogue between Cooper and Brian about Romeo and Juliet.
There's also the amusingly gravelly voiced Eugene Palette as Honey, one of Cooper's friends.
If you're a fan of early talkie westerns, by all means seek this one out!.
Victor Fleming doesn't let us down!.
For his initial all-talking movie, Victor Fleming directed Gary Cooper in a rousing version of The Virginian (1928).
Although Cooper's account of the title role was both charismatic and convincing, acting honors were stolen by Richard Arlen, of all people, as the hapless Steve.
Walter Huston as the evil Trampas also overshadowed Cooper.
Mary Brian's somewhat colorless heroine proved no match for the male trio, although she did come into her own at the climax.
In fact, Fleming emerges as one of the few major directors who was not frightened by sound, but continued to handle the script in a thoroughly filmic - rather than a stagy - fashion.