Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

JohnHowardReid For his initial all-talking movie, Victor Fleming directed Gary Cooper in a rousing version of The Virginian (1928). Although Cooper's account of the title role was both charismatic and convincing, acting honors were stolen by Richard Arlen, of all people, as the hapless Steve. Walter Huston as the evil Trampas also overshadowed Cooper. Mary Brian's somewhat colorless heroine proved no match for the male trio, although she did come into her own at the climax. Eugene Pallette and Chester Conklin were on hand for comedy relief, but fortunately this angle was not overplayed. Fleming not only kept the comedy under control, but accentuated the drama by adopting a remarkably free-wheeling style. In fact, Fleming emerges as one of the few major directors who was not frightened by sound, but continued to handle the script in a thoroughly filmic - rather than a stagy - fashion. (Formerly available on a 9/10 VintageFimBuff DVD).

lugonian THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929), directed by Victor Fleming, from the popular 1902 story by Owen Wister, stars Gary Cooper in his talking movie debut. Having made an impression with theater audiences in a small role from the silent World War drama, WINGS (Paramount, 1927), that earned the distinction of becoming the first Academy Award Best Picture winner, Cooper was soon elevated to leading roles in other silent features, some being westerns, before a whole new career opened for him when his spoken voice was heard for the first time. As the title character, Cooper's success in talkies was assured, even without an Academy Award nomination for a western role that was honored earlier to Warner Baxter playing The Cisco Kid in IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1929).The plot development set in Wyoming introduces the nameless cowboy known to all simply as The Virginian (Gary Cooper) mainly because he's from Virginia. Working as a foreman of the Box H Ranch near Medicine Row, his best pal, Steve (Richard Arlen), a free-spirited cowboy, believes there's a better way to earn money than working. It so happens that, unknown to the Virginian, Steve is connected with Trampas (Walter Huston, in traditional villain role of thick mustache and dark hat) and his gang of cattle rustlers. Arriving from the Union Pacific train is Molly Stark Wood (Mary Brian), the new schoolteacher in town. Her beauty finds The Virginian and Steve rivaling for her affection. At first Molly dislikes The Virginian and devotes her attention to Steve, even with these two acting like little boys playing jokes on one another. Eventually the laughs come to an end as Steve, Pedro (Charles Stevens) and Jim (James Mason) are caught by a posse for cattle rustling, forcing the Virginian to take leadership in their hanging execution the next morning. Before Steve dies, he leaves The Virginian his name engraved gun. Because Trampas is responsible, The Virginian sets out to get him, but on the very day of his wedding to Molly, Trampas threatens the Virginian to leave town before sundown, causing the future groom-to-be faced of being branded a coward or forced to go against Molly's wishes and risk losing her by going on the one on one showdown with Trampas. Others in the supporting cast include: Helen Ware (Mrs. Taylor); Eugene Palette (Honey Wiggen); Chester Conklin (Uncle Hughey); Victor Potel (Nebrasky); George Chandler, Ed Brady and Nena Quartero in smaller roles.Regardless of its age and familiarity, THE VIRGINIAN is an oldie but a goody. "When you call me that, SMILE!" and "Get out of town by sundown" are the film's most famous quotes. Notable scenes include the Virginian and Steve's greeting each other to the whistling sound of a quail; Molly's reaction to her schoolroom of children singing "Three Blind Mice" off-key; Virginian and Steve switching infants in separate room prior to their christening; The Virginian's reaction when having to participate in Steve's execution and hearing an actual quail's whistling prior to it; tense moments between the Virginian and Trampas, among others. Unlike early talkies of the time, THE VIRGINIAN is well paced for 90 minutes, and refrains from actresses, mainly Mary Brian, from overacting in the silent film tradition by allowing her to give a more natural performance. Aside from scenes set in bars or hotel rooms, much of it outdoor scenery appears authentic rather than a closed set with phony painted background. THE VIRGINIAN may seem strange to contemporary viewers where underscoring is non-existent, unless one counts the mooing sounds of cattle steer heard during the opening credit titles. Unlike some early talkies, there's no inter-titles depicting what's to take place in the next scene to come.Next to The Marx Brothers comedy, THE COCOANUTS, THE VIRGINIAN seemingly appears to have been the only other Paramount theatrical release from 1929 made available to broadcast television with frequent revivals in the sixties, seventies and onward, indicating its popularity decades after its initial release. When distributed to video cassette in the early 1990s, the clam-shell box labeled the 1929 edition as the original version, overlooking the fact that there were two earlier silent editions that preceded it: 1914 (Dustin Farnum) and 1923 (Kenneth Harlan). Paramount remade the newly Technicolor and underscored edition of THE VIRGINIAN (1946) starring Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy and Barbara Britton in the Cooper, Huston and Brian roles, with more emphasis on Molly than on the titled character. THE VIRGINIAN also became the basis of a television series starring James Drury in the 1960s.Unseen on cable television since its presentation on American Movie Classics (1994-1999), THE VIRGINIAN (1929), along with other frequently shown screen adaptations as the 2000 TV movie, turns up occasionally on Encore Westerns, most commonly after sundown where programs directors smile when they do that. (***)

tavm Trampas:"I'd tell you something if I'd wanted you to know you long-legged son of a-" The Virginian:(pulls his gun) "When you say that to me,smile!" Trampas:(smiles) "When there's a gun next to my belly, I...I always smile! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" This is one of the most legendary lines in Western movie history as exchanged between Gary Cooper and Walter Huston (Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 version also has a variation of this dialogue in the intertitles). The story of a ranch foreman who has to hang his best friend Steve for stealing cattle under Trampas and the schoolmarm Molly who loves him is still a compelling story to tell for the early talkie era though it might seem old-fashioned today. There is, however, an interesting exchange between the schoolmarm (Mary Brian) and an old pioneer woman (Helen Ware) about violence vs. pacifism that still seems relevant today no matter if you're conservative or liberal. Cooper is a natural in his talkie debut as is director Victor Fleming with live outdoor filming. Walter Huston is great as the villainous Trampas. There are some interesting musical interludes at the beginning and interesting dialogue between Cooper and Brian about Romeo and Juliet. There's also the amusingly gravelly voiced Eugene Palette as Honey, one of Cooper's friends. If you're a fan of early talkie westerns, by all means seek this one out!

kaplan79 "The Virginian" is one of the first well-known western "talkies." Released in 1929 and starring Gary Cooper who later became one of the great heroes of the western genre, this movie contains all of the archetypal elements of classic western films. There is a lone hero who answers to his own moral code defined by his environment(the frontier). A "schoolmarm" from out East comes to civilize the West through education, and her values come into conflict with the hero she falls in love with. And there is a villain who abides by no moral code, who must be defeated by the hero to uphold his honor and his values.The classic representations of good and evil through black and white are used extensively and effectively in this film. Cooper always wears white, the villain(Huston) always wears black. However, the most morally ambiguous character, Cooper's friend Steve, always wears a mixture of the colors, and as he continues down a dark path, his colors become darker and less ambivalent.This is a pretty good movie, particularly the hanging scene, the shootout at the end, and basically any interaction between Cooper and Huston. What makes the movie even more entertaining and fascinating to watch is its context. This movie is considered to be one of the very first westerns to represent the classic elements of the western genre, and its influence on later westerns is quite clear. For film students and fans of the western genre alike, this is a fun film to watch and thoroughly enjoyable. (Note: very interesting comparisons can be made to later westerns, particularly "Shane" and another Cooper film, "High Noon")