Monday, June 8, 2009

Gary Cooper frustration - over!

Okay, all women have a Gary Cooper frustration one way or the other. But what I'm referring to is the small parts he played in the Clara Bow films It and Wings from 1927, before he got famous.
I described my delight when recognizing him as the Newspaper Reporter in It, and my devastation of how quickly they got rid of him in Wings, in my posts about them. (Click on the film titles to be transfered to those reviews.)

Now that I have learned how to handle a movie editor, I've fixed for all of you who haven't seen him in the above mentioned roles to see them here. Enjoy!

(And sorry for the silly text in the It clip, I just couldn't resist.)






8 comments:

Mykal Banta said...

Lolita: Folks generally remember Cooper these days from High Noon. He was an older man by then, already dying of Cancer. Thanks for posting this as a reminder of how flat beautiful the man was as a youth. Without venturing into the "R" rated stuff, have you ever heard what Clara Bow said about him? -- Mykal

Lolita of the Classics said...

Radiation Cinema:
Haha, no! Tell me ;) I've heard that he was "well equipped" and that Tallulah Bankhead always said that the gonnorhea that caused her to almost die during a hysterectomy was gained from Cooper, though...

Mykal Banta said...

OK, here goes: Ms. Bow, who had a torrid affair with Cooper and was known to never mince words, said that "He was hung like a horse and could go all night." -- Mykal

Lolita of the Classics said...

Radiation Cinema:
Haha, it was she who said that? I have read that quote somewhere. Did she nnotice him as Newspaper Reporter and Cadet White, or after he got famous?

Fan Classic Movies said...

I like the text you added to "It". Coop has a special way to walk because of his broken hip that's how you always recognize him.

Didn't Clara Bow ask for Coop to be in every movie she starred in?

As for the well-equipped quote. Can't say I blame the girl for wanting Coop. That's quite a good feature in a man, if I may say so ;-)...

Lolita of the Classics said...

Fan Classic Movies:
Thanks! I didn't know he had a broken hip. Anyway, that makes him walk like a man! A bit cowboy like, haha.
So Clara actually had her eyes on the Newspaper Reporter? Attagirl!

Fan Classic Movies said...

Yes, he broke it very early in his life so that's the special Cooper walk you see ;-). You can see it in The Plainsman, dear...when he tries to rescue Jean Arthur from the Indians. He seems to drag his, I believe, right leg but in a very sexy way.

Personally I think Coop had more sex appeal when he got older and was in his mid to late 30s. I didn't like him as much when he was in this late 20s.

Fan Classic Movies said...

BTW, this noticeable dragging of his right leg because of his broken hip was apparently also the reason Clara Bow claimed, after they'd separated, that Coop had no ass to shove or something to that effect. What a potty mouth! On the other hand all the women he was with claimed he was a good lover so maybe just revenge on Bow's part.

Too bad we can't verify that anymore. Haha.