The Cowboy and the Lady (1938)

Very disappointing...

Just what I expected

Awesome Movie

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A lonely socialite (Merle Oberon) is sent by her presidential hopeful father (Henry Kolker) to Palm Springs to avoid scandal after she's discovered in an illegal gambling joint. The spunky deb convinces her maids (Patsy Kelly and Mabel Todd) to set her up on a blind date with a cowboy (who turns out to be Gary Cooper) from a local rodeo and falls in love with him. But there's all sorts of bumps in this road to love, and it will take some fixin' for it to prevail.This totally charming comedy is a nice chance to see the usually ladylike Oberon do some pratfalls and she does so nicely without loosing her class. What could be silly is handled with a romantic script that makes the pairing believable. This has one of the great supporting casts, although it is predictable that the less than glamorous comic supporting actresses will end up with the scraggly character actors (Fuzzy Knight and Walter Brennan) while beauty Oberon gets hunky Cooper.Emma Dunn is adorable as Cooper's surrogate mother, "Ma Hawkins". There's a nice recurring gag between the two that is affectionate and endearing. Harry Davenport is hysterically funny as Oberon's lovable uncle, her biggest supporter who tries desperately to wake his one-sided brother (Kolker) up to Oberon's needs over his own, yet isn't afraid to perform a lively jitterbug. This is one of the rare cases of opposites attracting on screen that really works, even though Oberon's sophistication betrays her supposed job as a ladies' maid. Still, she's very funny in dealing with such poor man's items as a collapsing cot and sticky fly paper.While most of the film is charming and light-hearted, it does turn into Capra-like corn as Cooper confronts the snobby associates of Oberon's father with a list of what the country really needs. This scene is totally faithful to the plot of the film and gives the story some substance in addition to amusement.

Considering the film has Merle Oberon and Gary Cooper, it couldn't help but be watchable...and it certainly was. The problem for me, though, is that with these actors and a concept that was decent enough, the film's script sure didn't do much with this. Instead, it has some nice moments as well as some lulls.Perhaps it was just too much pawning off the idea of Merle Oberon with her exotic ways and accent as a rich lady in love with Cooper. While the idea of a society lady falling for a cowboy, Oberon just seems too distant and cold to make it all seem possible. I really think someone a little more "human" could have made this odd pairing work well. Oberon was a fine actress but I just don't think she was right for this film.Perhaps it was that once the two fell in love, the film just stagnated until near the end. They married and yet the film still had a long way to go and the middle just seemed like filler at times--particularly Cooper's pantomime sequence inside their new house.Whatever the reason, the film just seemed like an agreeable time-passer and nothing more. Inoffensive and just a tad bland. For a SLIGHTLY better variation of this same plot, try seeing the John Wayne and Jean Arthur film LADY TAKES A CHANCE--it has better chemistry and is just a better film in most respects.

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.