Truly Dreadful Film

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a superb example of a thirties romantic comedy. Merle Oberon, who the following year would dazzle the world in WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939), here pre-dazzles the world with her witty charm, big eyes, and mischievous smiles. Gary Cooper is the tall (very tall, compared to Oberon, whom he cannot kiss without practically bending double) innocent cowboy whose favourite gal is his mare Bess. Oberon is the rich and cocooned daughter of a politician who wants to become President of the USA, and uses her to host his dinners just as the bachelor President James Buchanan used to do, when his daughter became 'the First Lady'. Early in this film Oberon is even toasted at one of the dinners as 'America's future First Lady'. (Her father is clearly a widower, though this is never stated.) This film had more writers than any film I have ever encountered. There were seventeen of them! The main screenplay appears to have been written by the well-known playwright and screenwriter S. N. Behrman. But he must not have done a good enough job, because 16 other people had to be brought in to pep up the script. They included such famous figures as Anita Loos and her husband John Emerson, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, and Robert Ardrey. With all that talent thrown into the soup, it is no wonder that many witty lines appear throughout the film, many of them doubtless having come from the acerbically mirthful Anita Loos. The film also had three directors, H. C. Potter being credited but the other two, including the famous William Wyler, not being credited. The reason for this deluge of talent was due to confusion on the part of Samuel Goldwyn. As several reviewers have pointed out, Goldwyn started with a title he liked and then tried to find someone to write a story for that title. Talk about top-down instead of bottom-up! There had already been three films made with the title THE COWBOY AND THE LADY. The first was a 1903 short, apparently lost. Then there were two silent films of the same title, made in 1915 and 1922, both based upon a play by Clyde Fitch. Both these films are also apparently lost, and neither had any relation with this 1938 film except for the title. Probably Goldwyn knew the title, whether consciously or subconsciously, from the 1922 film, it stuck in his mind and he got fixated upon the possibilities which it gave for an entertaining story. The juxtaposition of a cowboy and a lady was ready-made for comic possibilities, especially in America, where cowboys resonated with the public in contrast with the stuffy New England Establishment. The film succeeds in being very amusing and entertaining, and in this case too many cooks did not spoil the broth.

I saw this movie recently on TCM and for the most part, loved it!I liked the shy, bumbling character of "Stretch" and the sheltered, Mary who fell hard for him.Of course, being sheltered, she was limited in her experience with men.But fortunately, she fell hard for a man with character and who loved her truly.I knew that when she lied and misrepresented herself that she would be caught.I especially loved the night when they married. It was a sweet throwback to an earlier time when single ladies weren't in single men's rooms at night or any time for that matter! It wasn't proper in 1938. It was very sweet and romantic for Stretch to propose marriage. His search for a wife was over!Here are my slight criticisms:Also, unsure if I can believe that his REAL name was "Stretch".Then, there are the scenes where Mary was at the rodeo cleaning up. She became filthy and her dress was torn as a result.I would think that she could have had her maids send her some clothes or wire her some money so she could purchase some clothes and toiletries. Or even ask her new husband to purchase her some clothes. There was a scene where she attempted to purchase some pants but was interrupted by the phone call. Why didn't she or Stretch purchase clothing and toiletries for her she before she boarded the bus?Even rich ladies have to bathe and look presentable. A rich lady with her background wouldn't travel on the train for 3 days in a filthy, torn dress and unwashed. Suppose her dad and his friends had ALREADY arrived when she got there? How would she explain her appearance?Also, the scene in the framework of the house lasted a little too long, in my opinion.But other than that: I enjoyed this movie! Gary and Merle were great in the leads!

Though slow moving at times, overall "The Cowboy and the Lady" is an entertaining romantic comedy with a twist, a high society lady whose father is about to throw his hat into the ring as a candidate for President falls head over heels in love with a rodeo cowboy. There are two scenes that really pack a comedic wallop. One is aboard the ship from Florida to Galveston, Texas, when 'Stretch' Willoughby (Gary Cooper) compares horses to people while wooing Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) when suddenly a crew member starts singing an outlandish song, "Give a man a horse he can ride." It becomes more outrageous when Stretch joins in and Mary ends the tune with a bass vocal. The other is when Stretch pretends to be entertaining his beloved wife, Mary, in their new house with only the framework completed. Cooper shows a hidden talent for pantomime that is very good indeed. Before he knows it his partners played by a bow-legged Walter Brennan and Fuzzy Knight along with the carpenters are invited in and play along with Stretch's fantasy. The spell is broken with the appearance of Ma Hawkins who brings everyone back to reality by delivering a dreadful telegram.There is one telling part near the end when Stretch searching for his wife appears as an unwanted and unwelcome guest at a political dinner. The big-wigs spout several false concepts and prejudices that exist concerning the American cowboy. Their ignorance is further denoted when Oliver Wendell Henderson attempts to show his knowledge of the west by declaring Montana to be the Lone Star State. Stretch carefully corrects Henderson, then proceeds to shoot them all down with his rebuttal.There were several cooks sirring the broth when it came to writing the sometimes witty script. Amongst the writers were Dorothy Parker, Leo McCarey, Anita Loos, and some say Garson Kanin.

I love this movie for several reasons, the plot, the acting and the beautiful cinematography. There are beach scenes and others that have a dreamlike, gauzy quality that I really love. Gary Cooper is the naive but cute cowboy and Merle as Mary the wealthy socialite who tries to hide it from him. She doesn't mean any harm, she's lonely and isolated and finds herself in an awkard situation that gets worse quickly. Don't miss Walter Brennan as his sidekick (as usual) and the other fun characters throughout this sweet and fun movie.