The Winning of Barbara Worth

Gary Cooper was one of the most consistently popular stars of classic cinema from the beginning of the talkie era to his death in 1961. However there is a lesser-known early chapter to his career, when he played supporting roles in a series of silent pictures. He never achieved stardom in this period, in part because a lot of his appeal was founded in his warm, steady voice. Still, his charming persona was enough to shine through even in these non-speaking days, as this, his first credited appearance, shows.

The Winning of Barbara Worth was a prestigious picture in its day, directed by the respected and capable Henry King. King was really good at these human dramas played out against a grand backdrop. On the one hand he keeps the vastness and deadly potential of the desert a continual presence, with landscape shots that seem to go on forever. But on the other hand he is not averse to stripping away all other business to just focus us on people and their faces. There are some really neat close-ups here, such as Gary Cooper jealously spying on Vilma Banky with Ronald Colman, or Banky as she walks out on Colman. These shots aren't overused, and they seem to segue naturally into the editing pattern rather than being "look-at-this" attention-grabbers. But what is really impressive is the way King can arrange things to tell the big story and the intimate one simultaneously. Look at the scene in which the water flows into the irrigation system. The crowd cheer and dance ecstatically, but the main characters who have put more into this than any other are stood still, as if overcome with emotion. There are a handful of close-ups of various reactions, and then we see Banky and Colman share their first kiss, and all the liveliness behind them reflects the intensity of the moment. As the kiss breaks off there is a sudden feeling of awkwardness between them, and the slowing of the crowd seems to mimic this too.

And this is very much a *silent* drama of reactions, expressions, motions and body language. Gary Cooper may not have his voice here but he does have that deep, sensitive face and steady, deliberate way of moving. His acting is only passable at this stage, but he has the look of a man one can implicitly trust, and this goes a long way in screen stardom. And yet for this picture Cooper is ostensibly the third wheel, behind dapper, moustachioed lead man Ronald Colman. Colman was a very decent dramatic player, and as with Cooper there was something innately likable about his manner which secured his success into the sound era. Colman is very good here, and it is only his experience as an actor coupled with his own honesty and simplicity that prevent him being outshone by Cooper. The leading lady is Vilma Banky, who shot to fame as the object of ravishment for Rudolph Valentino. In this slightly more grown-up picture she reveals herself to be a very fine actress, and like her two male co-stars she has a capacity for deeply expressive reacting. Sadly her career was to fizzle out in the sound era, probably because English was not her first language.

Story-wise, The Winning of Barbara Worth is a tale of progress and prosperity that is very typical of Roaring Twenties optimism. And perhaps herein lies another reason why Cooper didn't become a cinematic icon until a few years later. The end of the silent era happened to coincide with the beginning of the great depression. Before that, Cooper's down-to-earth nature didn't really fit with the grandiose flights of fancy that made up most of 1920s cinema. However by the 1930s, cinema had suddenly become very different in its scope and focus. Heroes became ordinary men who worked for a living, and the heroin really would marry the boy next door. As it is, this picture sees Cooper as the homely type whom Banky loves as a brother. There's no real problem with this – Cooper isn't miscast, he's simply in the wrong time for lead roles – and he plays his part aptly in what is a very worthy 20s drama.

This is a great example of a silent film that captures some of the original pioneering spirit of those American settlers determined to make a go of it - even in the harshest of circumstances. Charles Lane is "Jefferson Worth" - a rancher who rescues orphaned "Barbara" (Vilma Bánky) and brings her up as his own daughter. Years pass and as she grows, so do the ambitions of the territory - and when a developer arrives with an engineering project that could irrigate the arid land, they jump at the chance. Problem is, the developer skimps on the construction of the dam, and so at the first heavy rainfall upstream it all goes a bit awry. Meantime, both the stepson of the crooked developer "Willard" (Ronald Colman) and her father's ranch foreman "Abe" (Gary Cooper) are fighting for the favour of "Barbara" and it's not long before everything comes to a head. Technically, the imagery is super - the film copes well with what must have been very intense sunlight, and the detail is perfect. Maybe just the odd too many inter-titles that can break up the pace a bit, but in the round it's a well made, enjoyable piece of cinema history with a decent story and lovely score from Ted Henkel played on the Wurlitzer to boot.

Henry King directs this Western full of romance and heroics. Irrigation engineer Willard Holmes (Ronald Colman) is hired to build a water system for a parched Southwestern community. Barbara Worth (Vilma Banky), the adopted daughter of ranch boss Jefferson Worth (Charles Lane), falls for the debonair outsider, much to the annoyance of Worth Ranch foreman Abe Lee (Gary Cooper). This romantic rivalry leads to hardship and danger, all of which serves to empower local baron Greenfield (E. J. Ratcliffe).

It is odd seeing Colman in a western setting, but he handles himself well enough in the milieu. Cooper, in his first starring role, is green but has undeniable screen presence. Banky is lovely and satisfactory. The most memorable sequence is the big finale river flood, and it's well executed.

A familiar title, as it was Gary Cooper's debut, I've always thought it was some sort of drama about settlers in which a fort or township called 'Barbara Worth' (as in 'Santa Barbara') gets saved at the end.

However Barbara Worth turns out to be the name of the heroine, and the plot proves more of a soap opera than an action movie, as Ronald Colman and Gary Cooper vie for her affection.

Who cares? Despite their combined star power, Colman has little to do, and Cooper even less. Vilma Banky is charming in the title role, but the personal drama proves remarkably uninteresting. What makes the film live is the superb photography by George Barnes and Gregg Toland - shown off to perfection in the beautiful tinted print available - and the flood created when the Colorado bursts its banks, engineered by special effects veteran Ned Mann, (best-known for his work in Britain for Korda during the 30's), who presumably also created the Dust Devil we see at the start.

Beautifully photographed epic silent western following the story of a toddler baby girl caught in a desert sandstorm that kills her mother, the child's only surviving parent on their family's wagon trek along a lonely desert trail. Rescued by a man named Jefferson Worth, soon little orphan Barbara becomes his adopted daughter - cut to fifteen years later, where our Barbara (played by Vilma Banky) is now a young beauty living with papa in the small desert town of Rubio City. Enter new arrival, Willard Holmes, engineer set to help bring water to the desert and turn it into a garden spot. Of course he's handsome (well, he's played by Ronald Colman, after all) - but Barbara already has a local fellow, Abe Lee (Gary Cooper), who is completely smitten over her (and extremely handsome too - how's a girl to choose?!). Holmes actively pursues Barbara while Abe Lee watches from the background - but soon a misunderstanding leaves the whole town believing Holmes is a money hungry bad man!

This film is a stunning visual masterpiece showcasing images of wagons and people and horses moving against a backdrop of yellow-tinted sun-lit desert that looks absolutely gorgeous, not to mention the exciting flood climax featuring a fast-paced race on foot and wagon between the townspeople and the approaching roar of the Colorado river which is expertly brought to life. The DVD of this features a totally gorgeous tinted print that really makes the cinematography in this pop, plus a well done organ score done before a live audience (who you can sometimes hear laughing in the background). A really excellent film.