I know that few will agree with me, but I think this may be Gary Cooper's finest film.
But let me begin with the plot: Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) is a very bored young lady. Bored because all she does in life is support her widowed father's run for the presidential nomination. She has not private life of her own, although she is egged on to get one by her free-spirited uncle -- Harry Davenport. After a near-accidental-scandal, she heads off to Palm Beach where, on a lark with her maids, she attends a rodeo, where she falls in love with Gary Cooper, one of the cowboys. Because he doesn't care much for society types, she pretends to be a lady's maid. But, they quarrel and he heads by boat to the next rodeo in Texas...with her in hot pursuit. On the boat they get married, but Mary knows she has to go back to face the music and her father...whom Cooper believes is a poor drunkard. Mary delays getting back to the ranch in Montana, so Cooper returns to Palm Beach looking for her, only to interrupt an important political dinner. Realizing Mary's story of being a poor maid, Cooper returns by train to his ranch, only to find that Mary, her father, and her uncle have flown to the ranch where they demonstrate rather quickly that even the rich can be very down to earth. All live happily ever after.
So why do I think this may be Gary Cooper's finest film? Let's see -- he accomplishes drama, comedy, pantomime, and romance...all in one package. And he's great at all of it. The pantomime segment is a classic, particularly after he gets a whole bunch of cowboys to participate.
Except for her extremely high forehead, which always distracts me, Merele Oberon is beautiful here and turns in a fine performance as the little rich girl who realizes her true happiness will be a very different life, though her fibs seem to have screwed that all up.
The supporting cast here is superb. The highlight is the performance of one of the screen's great character actors -- Harry Davenport as Mary's uncle. You even get to see him dance and dressed as a cowboy! Patsy Kelly and Mabel Todd are fine as the maids. Walter Brennan is on hand as a cowpoke and friend, and is -- as always -- a treat. Finally a film in which I enjoyed the performance of Fuzzy Knight, here as another cowpoke/pal. Henry Kolker is fine here as Mary's father, and the presidential hopeful. In fact, for once, he redeems himself in his role as a stuck-up father.
It's difficult to find anything to criticize here. So savor this delightful comedy-romance with fine sentimental overtones. Highly recommended.
But let me begin with the plot: Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) is a very bored young lady. Bored because all she does in life is support her widowed father's run for the presidential nomination. She has not private life of her own, although she is egged on to get one by her free-spirited uncle -- Harry Davenport. After a near-accidental-scandal, she heads off to Palm Beach where, on a lark with her maids, she attends a rodeo, where she falls in love with Gary Cooper, one of the cowboys. Because he doesn't care much for society types, she pretends to be a lady's maid. But, they quarrel and he heads by boat to the next rodeo in Texas...with her in hot pursuit. On the boat they get married, but Mary knows she has to go back to face the music and her father...whom Cooper believes is a poor drunkard. Mary delays getting back to the ranch in Montana, so Cooper returns to Palm Beach looking for her, only to interrupt an important political dinner. Realizing Mary's story of being a poor maid, Cooper returns by train to his ranch, only to find that Mary, her father, and her uncle have flown to the ranch where they demonstrate rather quickly that even the rich can be very down to earth. All live happily ever after.
So why do I think this may be Gary Cooper's finest film? Let's see -- he accomplishes drama, comedy, pantomime, and romance...all in one package. And he's great at all of it. The pantomime segment is a classic, particularly after he gets a whole bunch of cowboys to participate.
Except for her extremely high forehead, which always distracts me, Merele Oberon is beautiful here and turns in a fine performance as the little rich girl who realizes her true happiness will be a very different life, though her fibs seem to have screwed that all up.
The supporting cast here is superb. The highlight is the performance of one of the screen's great character actors -- Harry Davenport as Mary's uncle. You even get to see him dance and dressed as a cowboy! Patsy Kelly and Mabel Todd are fine as the maids. Walter Brennan is on hand as a cowpoke and friend, and is -- as always -- a treat. Finally a film in which I enjoyed the performance of Fuzzy Knight, here as another cowpoke/pal. Henry Kolker is fine here as Mary's father, and the presidential hopeful. In fact, for once, he redeems himself in his role as a stuck-up father.
It's difficult to find anything to criticize here. So savor this delightful comedy-romance with fine sentimental overtones. Highly recommended.