Tuesday, February 23, 2010

THE COWBOY AND THE LADY (1938).


The Cowboy and the Lady(1938). Western comedy/romance. Cast: Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. Director H.C. Potter. Written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien based on a story by Frank R. Adams and veteran film director Leo McCarey. It won an Academy Award for Sound, Recording (Thomas Moulton) and was nominated for two others, Original Score (Alfred Newman) and Original Song ("The Cowboy and the Lady", Lionel Newman and Arthur Quenzer).

Not having any fun, Mary Smith is surrounded by the friends of her father, Judge Horace Smith. Looking for a little excitement, her Uncle Hannibal takes her to a gambling club, which is raided by the police. To keep her name out of the news paper her father decides to send her to Palm Beach to avoid trouble. While there, her two maids, Katie Callahan and Elly, invite her to go on a blind date with them. She develops a crush to rodeo star Stretch Willoughby and to catch his attention, she tells him a hard luck story about supporting her father and sisters while working as a maid. The next day Stretch proposes and she joins him on a boat to Galveston. There they are married by the captain and all seems well, until, Katie calls with the news that Mr. Smith will be in Palm Beach. Mary tries to tell Stretch the truth, but she can't because he does not like the rich. Not knowing what else to do, she tells him that she has to return home because of a family emergency. When she arrives home, her father not happy with her news, asks her to hostess his dinner party. Stretch decides to go to Palm Beach to look for his new wife. Arriving at the Smith home, he walks in on their dinner party and learns of Mary's real identity. When Stretch arrives home in Montana will he have his new bride on his arm?

The story line is so romantic. When Gary Cooper's character says "When a man feels this way about a woman, it's time to get married" and as the camera fades to the porthole. :::sigh:::


Merle Oberon (18 February 1911 – 23 November 1979), began her film career in British films and the role, Anne Boleyn in the film, The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Leading roles in such films as: The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)  which helped  her career.  She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel Goldwyn. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in, The Dark Angel (1935). A car accident in 1937 caused facial injuries that almost ended her career, but she soon performed in her best known role, as "Cathy" in Wuthering Heights (1939). Her career continued until the end of the 1940s.

3 comments:

  1. I need to see this again, it's been awhile. I'm on a new kick to see more of Merle Oberon's films of late. Thanks for sharing Dawn.

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  2. Dawn, I love this movie. It is just pure fun! Even with all that fun, Merle and Gary make us care about the romance of Mary and Stretch. I think that H.C. Potter had a gift for directing star-crossed romances: The Farmer's Daughter, Mr. Lucky, Shopworn Angel, and, if you count the love affair between a former urbanite and his would-be country estate, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. If you haven't seen Shopworn Angel, you will love it; it is ultra-romantic!

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  3. Hi Noiree, I love this movie too. i have not seen
    Shopworn Angel. if it is anything like The Cowboy and the Lady, i'm there. Thank you for stopping by.:)

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