The Cowboy and the Lady

"The Cowboy and the Lady" starring Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon was written after Sam Goldwyn thought up the title - so it's the reverse of the usual process. It's a 1938 film about a wealthy, sheltered young woman (Oberon) whose father is about to announce his candidacy for President. One night, she slips out for a night of fun with her uncle (Harry Davenport). When her name is discovered on a list of people who were in attendance at a club during a raid, she is sent out of town so her father can say she wasn't in town at the time. Since her name is Mary Smith, it could easily be another person.

While on her vacation, Mary meets a tall, gorgeous hunk of man - a cowboy named Stretch Willoughby (Gary Cooper). As any red-blooded woman would do, she falls for him. It's young Gary Cooper. He's a hottie. To put them in the same class, she says she's a maid. Before she knows it, she's married to him.

The stars are very good in the film, as is Harry Davenport as the uncle with a twinkle in his eye. Cooper and Oberon are darling together - he's so tall and broad-shouldered and she's beautiful and petite, and they have a nice chemistry. When she first asks him about himself, Stretch answers with Cooper's famous "Yep" several times. Parts of the film are a little slow but it's a nice romance. I realize some people think it's a preposterous love story but I can see any woman, rich or poor, flipping out for Gary Cooper and any guy falling for Merle Oberon. They were, after all, two of Hollywood's great beauties.

Very enjoyable.