American folk hero, 1936–43 Gary Cooper

cooper , jean arthur in mr. deeds goes town, 1936

the year 1936 marked important turning point in cooper s career. after making frank borzage s romantic comedy film desire marlene dietrich @ paramount—delivering performance considered contemporary critics 1 of finest—cooper returned poverty row first time since silent film days make frank capra s screwball comedy mr. deeds goes town jean arthur columbia pictures. in film, cooper plays character of longfellow deeds, quiet, innocent writer of greeting cards inherits fortune, leaves behind idyllic life in vermont, , travels new york faces world of corruption , deceit. capra , screenwriter robert riskin able use cooper s well-established screen persona quintessential american hero —a symbol of honesty, courage, , goodness—to create new type of folk hero common man. commenting on cooper s impact on character , film, capra observed:

as thought of gary cooper, wasn t possible conceive else in role. not have been closer idea of longfellow deeds, , think in terms of cooper, bob riskin found easier develop deeds character in terms of dialogue. had cooper. every line in face spelled honesty. our mr. deeds had symbolize uncorruptibility, , in mind gary cooper symbol.

both desire , mr. deeds opened in april 1936 critical praise , major box-office successes. in review in new york times, frank nugent wrote cooper proving himself 1 of best light comedians in hollywood . performance in mr. deeds, cooper received first academy award nomination best actor.

cooper , jean arthur in plainsman, 1936

cooper appeared in 2 other paramount films in 1936. in lewis milestone s adventure film general died @ dawn madeleine carroll, plays american soldier of fortune in china helps peasants defend against oppression of cruel warlord. written playwright clifford odets, film critical , commercial success. in cecil b. demille s sprawling frontier epic plainsman—his first of 4 films director—cooper portrays wild bill hickok in highly fictionalized version of opening of american western frontier. film greater box-office hit predecessor, due in large part jean arthur s definitive depiction of calamity jane , cooper s inspired portrayal of hickock enigmatic figure of deepening mythic substance . year, cooper appeared first time on motion picture herald exhibitor s poll of top ten film personalities, remain next twenty-three years.

in late 1936, while paramount preparing new contract cooper raise salary $8,000 week, cooper signed contract samuel goldwyn 6 films on 6 years minimum guarantee of $150,000 per picture. paramount brought suit against goldwyn , cooper, , court ruled cooper s new goldwyn contract afforded actor sufficient time honor paramount agreement. cooper continued make films both studios, , 1939 united states treasury reported cooper country s highest wage earner, @ $482,819 (equivalent $8.31 million in 2016).

in contrast output previous year, cooper appeared in 1 picture in 1937, henry hathaway s adventure film souls @ sea. critical , box-office failure, cooper referred picture , saying, exciting, , interesting. , good. in 1938, appeared in archie mayo s biographical film adventures of marco polo. plagued production problems , weak screenplay, film became goldwyn s biggest failure date, losing $700,000. during period, cooper turned down several important roles, including role of rhett butler in gone wind. cooper producer david o. selznick s first choice part. made several overtures actor, cooper had doubts project, , did not feel suited role. cooper later admitted, 1 of best roles ever offered in hollywood ... said no. didn t see myself quite dashing, , later, when saw clark gable play role perfection, knew right.

cooper , claudette colbert in bluebeard s eighth wife, 1938

back @ paramount, cooper returned more comfortable genre in ernst lubitsch s romantic comedy bluebeard s eighth wife (1938) claudette colbert. in film, cooper plays wealthy american businessman in france falls in love impoverished aristocrat s daughter , persuades become eighth wife. despite clever screenplay charles brackett , billy wilder, , solid performances cooper , colbert, american audiences had trouble accepting cooper in role of shallow philanderer. after all, succeeded in european market. in fall of 1938, cooper appeared in h. c. potter s romantic comedy cowboy , lady merle oberon, sweet-natured rodeo cowboy falls in love wealthy daughter of presidential hopeful, believing poor, hard-working lady s maid. efforts of 3 directors , several eminent screenwriters not salvage have been fine vehicle cooper. while more successful predecessor, film cooper s fourth consecutive box-office failure in american market.

in next 2 years, cooper more discerning roles accepted , made 4 successful large-scale adventure , cowboy films. in william a. wellman s adventure film beau geste (1939), plays 1 of 3 daring english brothers join french foreign legion in sahara fight local tribes. filmed in same mojave desert locations original 1926 version ronald colman, beau geste provided cooper magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, , role tailored personality , screen persona. last film in cooper s contract paramount. in henry hathaway s real glory (1939), plays military doctor accompanies small group of american army officers philippines christian filipinos defend against muslim radicals. many film critics praised cooper s performance, including author , film critic graham greene recognized never acted better .

from westerner whom bell tolls

cooper returned western genre in william wyler s westerner (1940) walter brennan , doris davenport, drifting cowboy defends homesteaders against roy bean, corrupt judge known law west of pecos . screenwriter niven busch relied on cooper s extensive knowledge of western history while working on script. film received positive reviews , did @ box-office, reviewers praising performances of 2 lead actors. same year, cooper appeared in first all-technicolor feature, cecil b. demille s adventure film north west mounted police (1940). in film, cooper plays texas ranger pursues outlaw western canada joins forces royal canadian mounted police after same man, leader of north-west rebellion. while not popular critics predecessor, film box-office success—the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1940.

edward arnold, barbara stanwyck, cooper, , walter brennan in meet john doe, 1941

the 1940s cooper s prime years actor. in relatively short period, appeared in 5 critically successful , popular films produced of finest performances. when frank capra offered him lead role in meet john doe before robert riskin developed script, cooper accepted friend s offer, saying, s okay, frank, don t need script. in film, cooper plays long john willoughby, down-and-out bush-league pitcher hired newspaper pretend man promises commit suicide on christmas eve protest hypocrisy , corruption in country. considered critics capra s best film @ time, meet john doe received national event cooper appearing on front cover of time magazine on march 3, 1941. in review in new york herald tribune, howard barnes called cooper s performance splendid , utterly persuasive portrayal , praised utterly realistic acting comes through such authority . bosley crowther, in new york times, wrote, gary cooper, of course, john doe life , in whole—shy, bewildered, non-aggressive, veritable tiger when aroused.

joan fontaine , cooper @ academy awards, 1942

that same year, cooper made 2 films director , friend howard hawks. in biographical film sergeant york, cooper portrays war hero alvin c. york, 1 of decorated american soldiers in world war i. film chronicles york s backwoods days in tennessee, religious conversion , subsequent piety, stand conscientious objector, , heroic actions @ battle of argonne forest, earned him medal of honor. initially, cooper nervous , uncertain playing living hero, traveled tennessee visit york @ home, , 2 quiet men established immediate rapport , discovered had in common. inspired york s encouragement, cooper delivered performance howard barnes of new york herald tribune called 1 of extraordinary conviction , versatility , , archer winston of new york post called 1 of best . after film s release, cooper awarded distinguished citizenship medal veterans of foreign wars powerful contribution promotion of patriotism , loyalty . york admired cooper s performance , helped promote film warner bros. sergeant york became top-grossing film of year , nominated eleven academy awards. accepting first academy award best actor friend james stewart, cooper said, sergeant alvin york won award. shucks, ve been in business sixteen years , dreamed might 1 of these. s can ... funny when dreaming made better speech.

barbara stanwyck , cooper in ball of fire, 1941

cooper concluded year @ goldwyn howard hawks make romantic comedy ball of fire barbara stanwyck. in film, cooper plays shy linguistics professor leads team of 7 scholars writing encyclopedia. while researching slang, meets stanwyck s flirtatious burlesque stripper sugarpuss o shea blows dust off staid life of books. screenplay charles brackett , billy wilder provided cooper opportunity exercise full range of light comedy skills. in review new york herald tribune, howard barnes wrote cooper handled role great skill , comic emphasis , performance utterly delightful . though small in scale, ball of fire 1 of top-grossing films of year—cooper s fourth consecutive picture make top twenty.

cooper s film appearance in 1942 last under goldwyn contract. in sam wood s biographical film pride of yankees, cooper portrays baseball star lou gehrig established record new york yankees playing in 2,130 consecutive games. cooper reluctant play seven-time all-star, died previous year amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als) —now commonly called lou gehrig s disease . beyond challenges of portraying such popular , nationally recognized figure, cooper knew little baseball , not left-handed gehrig. after gehrig s widow visited actor , expressed desire portray husband, cooper accepted role covered twenty-year span of gehrig s life—his love of baseball, rise greatness, loving marriage, , struggle illness, culminating in farewell speech @ yankee stadium on july 4, 1939 before 62,000 fans. cooper learned physical movements of baseball player , developed fluid, believable swing. handedness issue solved reversing print batting scenes. film 1 of year s top ten pictures , received eleven academy award nominations, including best picture , best actor (cooper s third).

ingrid bergman , cooper in whom bell tolls, 1943

soon after publication of ernest hemingway s novel whom bell tolls, paramount paid $150,000 film rights express intent of casting cooper in lead role of robert jordan, american explosives expert fights alongside republican loyalists during spanish civil war. original director, cecil b. demille, replaced sam wood brought in dudley nichols screenplay. after start of principal photography in sierra nevada in late 1942, ingrid bergman brought in replace ballerina vera zorina female lead—a change supported cooper , hemingway. love scenes between bergman , cooper rapturous , passionate. howard barnes in new york herald tribune wrote both actors performed true stature , authority of stars . while film distorted novel s original political themes , meaning, whom bell tolls critical , commercial success , received ten academy award nominations, including best picture , best actor (cooper s fourth).

cooper signing autograph servicewoman in brisbane during tour of south west pacific, november 1943

cooper did not serve in military during world war ii due age , health, many of colleagues, got involved in war effort entertaining troops. in june 1943, visited military hospitals in san diego, , appeared @ hollywood canteen serving food servicemen. in late 1943, cooper undertook 23,000-mile (37,000 km) tour of south west pacific actresses una merkel , phyllis brooks, , accordionist andy arcari. traveling on b-24a liberator bomber, group toured cook islands, fiji, new caledonia, queensland, brisbane—where general douglas macarthur told cooper watching sergeant york in manila theater when japanese bombs began falling—new guinea, jayapura, , throughout solomon islands. group shared same sparse living conditions , k-rations troops. cooper met servicemen , women, visited military hospitals, introduced attractive colleagues, , participated in occasional skits. shows concluded cooper s moving recitation of lou gehrig s farewell speech. when returned united states, visited military hospitals throughout country. cooper later called time troops greatest emotional experience of life.

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