The Cowboy and the Lady

Definitely the most somber 30s rom com I can recall thanks to Greg Toland's camera which seems most at home in fog enshrouded Gulf steamers and shadowy, dark Palm Beaches of the mind. And since the film is not very funny, with endless variations on the tiresome Capra-esque trope of urban=bad while rural=good, you tend to remember the cinematography way too much. C plus.

This film has about as far-fetched of a plot as you can find: a Presidential candidate's wily daughter goes on holiday, takes company with a brooding young cowboy and eventually marries him. Without a doubt, this film is a curio, but is still watchable for the performances of two of my favorite actors, Oscar-winner Gary Cooper and Oscar-nominee Merle Oberon. Won the Academy Award for Best Sound.

A thin comedy which has a few amusing moments but isn't as funny or charming as it clearly believes itself to be. Oberon looks stunning, which, after seeing her in The Divorce of Lady X, shows the importance of the cinematographer to a leading lady.

Leo McCarey was one of the co-writers of this romantic/screwball comedy which might account for the fact that it is several notches above the average, (though Dorothy Parker and Lillian Hellman and a whole host of others are also said to have contributed), and is both very funny and very likable. Like so many other comedies it's based on the premiss of mistaken identity, in this case when cowboy Gary Cooper assumes rich Merle Oberon is a lady's maid. Naturally they fall in love. H C Potter directed, very nicely indeed while the excellent screenplay is credited to S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien. Both Cooper and Oberon are very good indeed though a decent supporting cast are given too little to do. It won an Oscar for Best Sound Recording and was also nominated for it's score and for Best Song.

The film opens with a dinner scene, where we learn that someone is running for office; cut to the two brothers Hannibal (Harry Davenport, always played the kindly uncle or judge) and Horace Smith (Henry Kolker), lamenting about the antics of Horace's daughter Mary ( Merle Oberon ). There's the setup of the movie, and being filmed in the prime of the Hayes Code, we know there will be comical, but innocent , simple, misunderstandings. Love the symbolism of Mary knocking over the "house of cards" she has built on the coffee table. Great scene where she talks about the rules of dating with the maids (the hilarious Patsy Kellly & Mabel Todd). Enter Gary Cooper as the polite cowboy "Stretch Willoughby". Say no more. Just watch for the ups and downs as sidekick Walter Brennan makes wisecracks to help the plot along, along with some slapstick physical comedy. Also check out the cast of thousands in the writer category, which includes greats Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker. Directed by Henry Potter, who would make THREE movies with Cary Grant! Fun, but probably would have been more hilarious if it had been filmed prior to the production code.