The Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)
Encyclopedia
The Cowboy and the Lady is a 1938 American
western romantic comedy film
directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper
and Merle Oberon
. The film was written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien
, based on a story by Frank R. Adams
and veteran film director Leo McCarey
. It won an Academy Award for Sound Recording (Thomas Moulton), and was nominated for Original Score (Alfred Newman
) and Original Song ("The Cowboy and the Lady" by Lionel Newman
and Arthur Quenzer).
), daughter of presidential hopeful Horace Smith (Henry Kolker
), has lived a cloistered life free of any scandal. Although she is devoted to her father and supports his political aspirations, she longs for a life of her own. Believing she needs some excitement in her life, Mary's free-spirited Uncle Hannibal (Harry Davenport
) takes her dancing at a nightclub, which the police raid for gambling. When Horace learns that press reporters have discovered Mary's name on the police report, he sends his daughter off to the family's Palm Beach, Florida
mansion.
For Mary, Palm Beach during the off season is a place of loneliness and boredom. She asks her two housemaids (Patsy Kelly
and Mabel Todd) if she can go along with them on a blind date with some cowboys from a visiting rodeo. The two maids reluctantly agree. Feeling sorry for the inexperienced Mary, they coach her on their three-step "system" for getting a man interested: flatter him, get him talking about himself, and play on his sympathy with a hard-luck story.
The three women go to the rodeo, and afterwards meet up with their dates at the Rodeo Cafeteria and pair off. Mary is immediately attracted to the tall, lanky, and unpretentious cowboy Stretch Willoughby (Gary Cooper
) and arranges to be with him. After dinner, they continue their evening back at Mary's beachfront estate. Aware that the plain-spoken Stretch is suspicious of high society rich folk, Mary pretends to be a lady's maid whose "boss" is out of town. Mary attempts to get the shy cowboy interested by following the first two steps of the "system" but fails to attract his interest. Determined, she proceeds to the third step, inventing a hard-luck story about her drunken father and four younger sisters whom she alone must support. When she adds a tear or two to embellish her story, Stretch is won over, and the evening ends with the two kissing in the moonlight.
The next morning, an enamoured Stretch Willoughby appears at the mansion prepared to ask for Mary's hand in marriage. Unprepared for this turn of events, Mary casually dismisses his awkward proposal. Angered at the rejection, Stretch tosses Mary into the swimming pool and storms off. Completely fascinated by this man unlike any she had ever hoped to meet, Mary follows Stretch when he boards a ship for Galveston. Determined to apologize, Mary finally succeeds in getting the stubborn cowboy to listen to her. But her explanation for her behavior falls short of actually confessing her true identity. The days on board the ship bring the two closer together, and on the last night before docking at Galveston, they are married by the ship's captain (Frederick Vogeding).
When the newly married couple arrives at Galveston, they set up temporary home in a tent at a rodeo camp. Mary does her best to adapt to the dusty and primitive conditions, but she is having a difficult time. Stretch senses Mary's unease, but believes it stems from her worrying over her "family"—the ficticious drunken father and four younger sisters she's supporting. He suggests she return to Palm Beach alone to settle her family obligations. Although she is ashamed of her continued deception, Mary fears Stretch will reject her if he learns the truth about her and her wealthy family. Stretch believes he's married a "work horse" who works hard to support her family, not a "show horse" like her ficticious boss. Confused and miserable, Mary agrees to go back home for a few days and later meet up with Stretch at his ranch in Montana.
When Mary arrives back at her Palm Beach mansion, she learns that her father is on his way with all his committee members, plus an important congressman who holds the presidential nomination in his power. Her sympathetic Uncle Hannibal arrives early, and Mary tearfully confides her secret marriage to him. Soonafter, Mary's father arrives, full of plans for the following weeks. He assumes his daughter will serve as dutiful hostess and support his plans. Feeling trapped again, Mary finally confesses to her father that she is married to a cowboy and plans to join her new husband in Montana immediately. Mary's courage, however, is short-lived. When she sees how her news has crushed her father, she agrees to stay and perform her duties until her father secures the presidential nomination.
At his Montana ranch, Stretch is busy making preparations for Mary's arrival, helping to build a new house for his bride. But Mary never arrives. Stretch decides to head back to Palm Beach and find out what's wrong with his missing wife. When Stretch arrives at the Palm Beach mansion, he insists on talking to Mary's "employers". He bursts into the dining room, only to see his wife at the head of a dinner party table, surrounded by her father and all his distinguished guests, who proceed to have a few laughs at the cowboy's expense. When asked for his opinion about Mary's father running for president, Stretch delivers his scathing opinion about the whole group before leaving in anger. Seeing his daughter's distress finally gives Horace Smith pause to think about what his behavior has been as a father. He is there to comfort Mary as they listen to the whistle of the train that is taking her husband out of her life.
Back in Montana, a subdued Stretch arrives home only to find his father-in-law Horace Smith sitting on his front porch in the sun, wanting to chat about farming. Horace also tells Stretch that he has quit the presidential race because he now knows that Mary's happiness is more important. He goes on to say that all her life Mary has made sacrifices, thinking only of her father, never herself. Upon entering the ranchhouse, the bewildered Stretch finds a party underway, Uncle Hannibal raiding the kitchen, and Mary herself baking a cake with Ma Hawkins. The story ends with the cowboy and the lady kissing in the kitchen of their new Montana home.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
western romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
. The film was written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien
Sonya Levien
Sonya Levien was a Russian screenwriter. She wrote for 72 films between 1921 and 1962. She won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 1955 for the film Interrupted Melody....
, based on a story by Frank R. Adams
Frank R. Adams
Frank Ramsey Adams was an American author, screenwriter, composer, and newspaper reporter. He was born on July 7, 1883 in Morrison, Illinois. Educated at the University of Chicago, Adams worked as a reporter for several Chicago newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, City Press, Chicago Daily...
and veteran film director Leo McCarey
Leo McCarey
Thomas Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. During his lifetime he was involved in nearly 200 movies, especially comedies...
. It won an Academy Award for Sound Recording (Thomas Moulton), and was nominated for Original Score (Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
) and Original Song ("The Cowboy and the Lady" by Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
and Arthur Quenzer).
Plot
Mary Smith (Merle OberonMerle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
), daughter of presidential hopeful Horace Smith (Henry Kolker
Henry Kolker
Henry Kolker was an American stage and film actor and director...
), has lived a cloistered life free of any scandal. Although she is devoted to her father and supports his political aspirations, she longs for a life of her own. Believing she needs some excitement in her life, Mary's free-spirited Uncle Hannibal (Harry Davenport
Harry Davenport
Harold George Bryant "Harry" Davenport was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in a number of roles in many famous films from the early 1900s to the late 1940s. His specialty was playing grandfathers, judges, doctors, and ministers. He is perhaps best known for playing Dr...
) takes her dancing at a nightclub, which the police raid for gambling. When Horace learns that press reporters have discovered Mary's name on the police report, he sends his daughter off to the family's Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
mansion.
For Mary, Palm Beach during the off season is a place of loneliness and boredom. She asks her two housemaids (Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
and Mabel Todd) if she can go along with them on a blind date with some cowboys from a visiting rodeo. The two maids reluctantly agree. Feeling sorry for the inexperienced Mary, they coach her on their three-step "system" for getting a man interested: flatter him, get him talking about himself, and play on his sympathy with a hard-luck story.
The three women go to the rodeo, and afterwards meet up with their dates at the Rodeo Cafeteria and pair off. Mary is immediately attracted to the tall, lanky, and unpretentious cowboy Stretch Willoughby (Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
) and arranges to be with him. After dinner, they continue their evening back at Mary's beachfront estate. Aware that the plain-spoken Stretch is suspicious of high society rich folk, Mary pretends to be a lady's maid whose "boss" is out of town. Mary attempts to get the shy cowboy interested by following the first two steps of the "system" but fails to attract his interest. Determined, she proceeds to the third step, inventing a hard-luck story about her drunken father and four younger sisters whom she alone must support. When she adds a tear or two to embellish her story, Stretch is won over, and the evening ends with the two kissing in the moonlight.
The next morning, an enamoured Stretch Willoughby appears at the mansion prepared to ask for Mary's hand in marriage. Unprepared for this turn of events, Mary casually dismisses his awkward proposal. Angered at the rejection, Stretch tosses Mary into the swimming pool and storms off. Completely fascinated by this man unlike any she had ever hoped to meet, Mary follows Stretch when he boards a ship for Galveston. Determined to apologize, Mary finally succeeds in getting the stubborn cowboy to listen to her. But her explanation for her behavior falls short of actually confessing her true identity. The days on board the ship bring the two closer together, and on the last night before docking at Galveston, they are married by the ship's captain (Frederick Vogeding).
When the newly married couple arrives at Galveston, they set up temporary home in a tent at a rodeo camp. Mary does her best to adapt to the dusty and primitive conditions, but she is having a difficult time. Stretch senses Mary's unease, but believes it stems from her worrying over her "family"—the ficticious drunken father and four younger sisters she's supporting. He suggests she return to Palm Beach alone to settle her family obligations. Although she is ashamed of her continued deception, Mary fears Stretch will reject her if he learns the truth about her and her wealthy family. Stretch believes he's married a "work horse" who works hard to support her family, not a "show horse" like her ficticious boss. Confused and miserable, Mary agrees to go back home for a few days and later meet up with Stretch at his ranch in Montana.
When Mary arrives back at her Palm Beach mansion, she learns that her father is on his way with all his committee members, plus an important congressman who holds the presidential nomination in his power. Her sympathetic Uncle Hannibal arrives early, and Mary tearfully confides her secret marriage to him. Soonafter, Mary's father arrives, full of plans for the following weeks. He assumes his daughter will serve as dutiful hostess and support his plans. Feeling trapped again, Mary finally confesses to her father that she is married to a cowboy and plans to join her new husband in Montana immediately. Mary's courage, however, is short-lived. When she sees how her news has crushed her father, she agrees to stay and perform her duties until her father secures the presidential nomination.
At his Montana ranch, Stretch is busy making preparations for Mary's arrival, helping to build a new house for his bride. But Mary never arrives. Stretch decides to head back to Palm Beach and find out what's wrong with his missing wife. When Stretch arrives at the Palm Beach mansion, he insists on talking to Mary's "employers". He bursts into the dining room, only to see his wife at the head of a dinner party table, surrounded by her father and all his distinguished guests, who proceed to have a few laughs at the cowboy's expense. When asked for his opinion about Mary's father running for president, Stretch delivers his scathing opinion about the whole group before leaving in anger. Seeing his daughter's distress finally gives Horace Smith pause to think about what his behavior has been as a father. He is there to comfort Mary as they listen to the whistle of the train that is taking her husband out of her life.
Back in Montana, a subdued Stretch arrives home only to find his father-in-law Horace Smith sitting on his front porch in the sun, wanting to chat about farming. Horace also tells Stretch that he has quit the presidential race because he now knows that Mary's happiness is more important. He goes on to say that all her life Mary has made sacrifices, thinking only of her father, never herself. Upon entering the ranchhouse, the bewildered Stretch finds a party underway, Uncle Hannibal raiding the kitchen, and Mary herself baking a cake with Ma Hawkins. The story ends with the cowboy and the lady kissing in the kitchen of their new Montana home.
Cast
- Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as Stretch Willoughby - Merle OberonMerle OberonMerle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
as Mary Smith - Patsy KellyPatsy KellyPatsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
as Katie Callahan - Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Sugar - Fuzzy KnightFuzzy KnightJohn Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 180 films between 1929 and 1967, usually as a cowboy hero's sidekick.-Biography:...
as Buzz - Mabel Todd as Elly
- Henry KolkerHenry KolkerHenry Kolker was an American stage and film actor and director...
as Horace Smith - Harry Davenport as Uncle Hannibal Smith
- Emma DunnEmma DunnEmma Dunn was an English-born American film actress. She appeared in 108 films between 1914 and 1948....
as Ma Hawkins - Walter Walker as Ames
- Berton ChurchillBerton ChurchillBerton Churchill was a Canadian actor.Born in Toronto, Ontario. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and later headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage...
as Oliver Wendell Henderson - Charles RichmanCharles RichmanCharles Richman is the acting commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. He also served as acting commissioner in the cabinet of former Gov. Richard Codey....
as Dillon - Frederick Vogeding as Ship's Captain