#1 Cheap The Gary Cooper Collection (Design for Living / The Lives of a Bengal Lancer / Peter Ibbetson / The General Died at Dawn / Beau Geste) Reviews
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This is a review for Universal's "The Gary Cooper Collection" which
consists of five films Cooper made for Paramount Pictures from 1933 to 1939.
All five of these movies have something to recommend them and I would like to discuss each one with a sentence or two:
DESIGN FOR LIVING (1933) dby Ernst Lubistch stars Frederic March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins and Edward Everett Horton. Based on a play by Noel Coward with a screenplay
by Ben Hecht. A truly fine sophisticated comedy toned down for the screen but still very funny with wonderful lines and performances by all involved. Cooper is still
quite young looking and turns in a fine performance.
THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935) dby Henry Hathaway. Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone,
Richard Cromwell, Guy Standing, C.Aubrey Smith. One of the best and the earliest classic thirties adventure films with Cooper really starting to hit his stride.
It really looked like there would always be an empire run by England in the
many films of this stripe, and this is one of the best.
PETER IBBITSON (1935) dby Henry Hathaway. Gary Cooper, Ann Harding, John Halliday,
Ida Lupino. Action specialist Hathaway directed this one of a kind surreal
romantic fantasy starring one of the top action actors. PETER IBBITSON became
a major influence on the European surreal fantasy film movement a decade later.
No matter, this film is a singular delight, one of the most surprising thirties
movies that I have seen. And Gary Cooper was just superb in PETER IBBITSON.
This film by itself is worth the price of this collection.
THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN (1936) dby Lewis Milestone. Gary Cooper, Madeleine
Caroll, Akim Tamiroff, Dudley Digges, Porter Hall. The weakest of the five films in The Gary Cooper Collection, THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN still has plenty to recommend it.
Fine performances by all involved, interesting camera work although the story bogs down in places. Still, a pretty good film with an interesting but somewhat over the top ending.
BEAU GESTE (1939) dby William Wellman. Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish. Gallantry abounds as three adopted brothers
join the Foreign Legion to flee the law and to save the family reputation in another one of the great thirties adventure films with an element of mystery thrown in.
Director William Wellman in his element, or one of them.
Cooper's monumental personal magnetism is on display in it's earlier form here, the best things were yet to come for him but with this collection the viewer can see
his knack for showing the audience what his character is thinking without much talk
or emoting except with what seems to be his own natural expressions and body language.
I have no complaints about the picture or sound quality of this set and Universal
seems to have ironed out some of the freezing issues prevelant in the earlier pressings of this collection. This low priced 2 disc box set is well worth the price, it has virtually no extras and comes in the English, Arabic and French languages. I rate THE GARY COOPER COLLECTION 4 1/2 stars.
The Gary Cooper Collection (Design for Living / The Lives of a Bengal Lancer / Peter Ibbetson / The General Died at Dawn / Beau Geste) Overview
INCLUDES: DESIGN FOR LIVING THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCERPETER IBBETSONTHE GENERAL DIED AT DAWNBEAU GESTE
Five stars for five splendid flicks... - RKA - NEW YORK
Gary Cooper obviously performed in so many wonderful films, one collection is not enough. So the studios have has released at least three in addition to individual titles. I could not resist the price for this wonderful collection. For , don't expect any bonus features. It's a pleasure to rewatch these films, despite knowing the dialog and outcome... Could it be the 'minor' things, like direction, editing, music, costume, lighting, etc. etc. And you do not have to be a Cooper fan to love these movies. Treat yourself and a friend and watch a few.
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