The Virginian
About The Virginian
The Virginian (Gary Cooper), foreman of the Box H near Medicine Bow, draws on Trampas (Walter Huston) in a saloon and tells him to smile. Schoolteacher Molly Wood (Mary Brian) arrives from Vermont, and the Virginian's friend Steve (Richard Arlen) falls in with Trampas's rustlers. When they steal Box H cattle, the Virginian hangs the gang, Steve included. Molly turns away, then nurses him after Trampas shoots him in the back, and they set a wedding. On that day he kills Trampas with Steve's six-shooter, and the two leave to start their own ranch.
Cast & crew
More about The Virginian
Victor Fleming directed his first sound film, for producers B. P. Schulberg and Louis D. Lighton. Paramount released the 91-minute picture on November 9, 1929. Shooting began in late May 1929, mostly at Sonora and Lone Pine, with the railroad scenes on the Sierra Railway at Cooperstown near Oakdale, and little of it was done in a studio.
Themes
Reviews
Variety called the scene in which the Virginian sends his comrades to death one of the most harrowing sequences put before the lenses. Emanuel Levy later graded the film B+ and linked Cooper's moral conflict to High Noon (1952). Bruce Eder, for Allmovie, treated it as a milestone in Cooper's career.
Look
J. Roy Hunt and Edward Cronjager photographed it, mostly outdoors, with blimped cameras so the sound crew could record dialogue away from the studio.
Music
Karl Hajos wrote the score. Richard Arlen sings "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie." The film is a talkie.
Preservation
By the 1960s the surviving copies were in poor picture and sound. The film was restored in the 1990s. The circulating Wikimedia file is labeled a UCLA restoration.
Notes
- It is Gary Cooper's first sound film and his first leading role in a western. Randolph Scott coached his accent and appears, uncredited, as a rider.
- Writers credited are Kirk LaShelle, Grover Jones, Howard Estabrook, Keene Thompson, and Edward E. Paramore Jr. The source is Owen Wister's 1902 novel and the 1904 play Wister wrote with Kirke La Shelle.
- It is the first sound version. Silent versions came in 1914 and 1923.
- J. Roy Hunt and Edward Cronjager photographed it. William Shea edited. Karl Hajos wrote the music.
- Richard Arlen hums and sings "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie.
- Also cast: Chester Conklin as Uncle Hughey, Eugene Pallette as Honey Wiggin, Victor Potel as Nebrasky, E. H. Calvert as Judge Henry, Helen Ware as Mrs. Taylor.
Scenes
- In the Medicine Bow saloon the Virginian draws and orders Trampas to smile.
- He hangs the rustlers, including Steve.
- On the wedding day he kills Trampas in the street with Steve's six-shooter.
Influenced by
- Owen Wister's 1902 novel The Virginian
- The 1904 play by Owen Wister and Kirke La Shelle
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Virginian (UCLA film restoration).webm)
Quotes
If you wanna call me that—smile.
