The Virginian (1929) ***
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Directed by Victor Fleming
It is impossible to understand the significance of this film without a fair bit of background information. The Virginian (1929) is based upon a popular play adaptation of Owen Wister’s novel of the same name which was published in 1902. The novel came to influence the popular notions of the west which would dominate the narrative throughout the heyday of the Western. The Virginian was a clever, fun loving, smooth talking man of moral fibre and inherently captured the nobility of the cowboy. There had been many novels before it with a western setting and countless stories of outlaws, but Wister put the cowboy at the center. The book was an immediate success and in 1904 Wister and Kirke La Shelle wrote a stage adaptation that narrows the story emphasizing the relationship between the Virginian and Steve. Opening on Broadway, the lead was played by Dustin Farnum who of course became an early western movie star in De Mille’s The Squaw Man (1914) and again as the Virginian in the first film adaptation. The Virginian would be made again in 1923 under Thomas Forman before Victor Fleming’s first talkie version in 1929. In fact, this was Fleming’s first talkie ever which alone would keep this film remembered by film buffs. Adding to the western tradition, The Virginian was also the first talkie and first western by the young Gary Cooper who would become a staple of the genre.
The Virginian (Cooper) finds himself at odds with a cattle rustler named Trampas (Walter Huston) but his greatest concern comes from his friend Steve (Richard Arlen) joining up with Trampas under the promise of getting wealthy enough to start his own ranch one day. The two friends are also involved in attempting to win the heart of the new school teacher (Mary Brian). The story feels a bit slow which comes from the source material but can become tedious. Cooper does a fine job in the role of the Virginian though it is really Walter Huston (father of director John Huston) that shines as the villain. One interesting note is that Cooper’s voice coach for the southern accent was a fresh-to-Hollywood Randolph Scott.
