In Archie Mayo's nicely mounted but far from accurate biopic of the noted explorer, Gary Cooper is well cast as the handsome Marco Polo, who is depicted as first and foremost a ladies man. As scripted by Robert Sherwood, the saga takes a light satirical approach, instead of an epic one, to its subject and his adventures.
Adventures of Marco Polo, The (1938): Archie Mayo’s Biopic, Starring Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, Basil Rathbon
December 24, 2008 by
Ball of Fire (1941): Howard Hawks’ Oscar-Nominated Screwball Comedy, Written by Billy Wilder, Starring Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Oscar Homolka
December 8, 2008 by
In Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder’s smart script, Gary Cooper plays Bertram Potts, a professor who’s engaged in writing a treatise on slang for an encyclopedia.
Farewell to Arms, A (1932): Frank Borzage’s Oscar Winning Version of Hemingway Novel, Starring Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes
February 16, 2008 by
Farewell to Arms, the first Ernest Hemingway book to reach the big screen, ignores the war, and instead builds up the romance between Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943): Heminway’s Tale, Starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman in her First Oscar-Nominated Performance
February 5, 2008 by
Sam Wood's film presents Hemingway's notion of masculine adventurism, conveying Jordan's single-minded commitment to the task of blowing up a strategic bridge in a mountain pass. Yet, artistically, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is so diffuse, tedious in pace, and replete with close-ups (of Cooper and Bergman's tearful farewell), that most of what we remember is the tale's romance, rather than politics.
