Gary Cooper is the cowboy and Merle Oberon is the lady in the unimaginatively named comedy "The Cowboy and the Lady." Passably amusing, if contrived and unconvincing, the 1938 film suggests that, while hiding out in Palm Beach from a potential scandal, the wealthy daughter of a prominent politician goes on a blind date with her two maids and meets a rodeo cowboy. Of course, the simple cowboy is smitten, and the duplicitous lady spins a web of lies to disguise her true social position, which the simple cowhand would despise as non-productive.
Cooper is the primary reason to sit through this often silly film; he plays his standard shy, naive, and amiable charmer, and he makes even the most cloying scenes tolerable. His well-delivered populist speech at a climactic moment could have been written for a Frank Capra film. The beautiful Merle Oberon, on the other hand, has no gift for comedy, and her uncomfortable attempts at levity and rusticity fall flat. While the cool and remote Oberon looks the part of the pampered rich girl and plays her well, she is unconvincing in her attraction to the aw-shucks Cooper and his rustic life style. Little chemistry is evident between the two stars, and the Oberon role calls for a Jean Arthur, Claudette Colbert, or Barbara Stanwyck. The veteran supporting cast, however, which includes Walter Brennan, Patsy Kelly, and Henry Davenport, is excellent.
Gary Cooper, at the peak of his looks and charm, holds "The Cowboy and the Lady" together through many eye-rolling moments. Perhaps better casting of the female lead and a more talented director would have resulted in a classic screwball comedy, but the results here are often flat and silly.
Cooper is the primary reason to sit through this often silly film; he plays his standard shy, naive, and amiable charmer, and he makes even the most cloying scenes tolerable. His well-delivered populist speech at a climactic moment could have been written for a Frank Capra film. The beautiful Merle Oberon, on the other hand, has no gift for comedy, and her uncomfortable attempts at levity and rusticity fall flat. While the cool and remote Oberon looks the part of the pampered rich girl and plays her well, she is unconvincing in her attraction to the aw-shucks Cooper and his rustic life style. Little chemistry is evident between the two stars, and the Oberon role calls for a Jean Arthur, Claudette Colbert, or Barbara Stanwyck. The veteran supporting cast, however, which includes Walter Brennan, Patsy Kelly, and Henry Davenport, is excellent.
Gary Cooper, at the peak of his looks and charm, holds "The Cowboy and the Lady" together through many eye-rolling moments. Perhaps better casting of the female lead and a more talented director would have resulted in a classic screwball comedy, but the results here are often flat and silly.