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To celebrate Gary Cooper's 115th birthday, which is tomorrow, this week on «Film Friday» I have decided to write about the movie that gave him his first important screen role. This is also one of the few silent films I have seen so far.   Directed by Henry King, The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) begins with a woman (Vilma Bánky) burying her husband in the desert. She and her young daughter, Barbara (Carmencita Johnson), then get back in their covered wagon and continue to head West. At the same time, Jefferson Worth (Charles Lane) and his party — which includes Tex (Clyde Cook) and Pat Mooney (Erwin Connelly) — are also travelling West. They all run into a violent sandstorm and try to take cover. Once the storm clears, Mr. Worth and his companions find Barbara clinging to her dead mother in the sand. Mr. Worth adopts the girl and raises her as his own daughter. Fifteen years pass, and Barbara Worth (Vilma Bánky) is now a grown woman beloved by her childhood friend, Abe Lee (G...

Directed by William Wyler, Wuthering Heights (1939) begins when a traveller named Mr. Lockwood (Miles Mander) gets caught in a snowstorm and ends up at Wuthering Heights, an old house on the barren moors of Yorkshire, England, owned by the dour Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier). Lockwood asks for a guide to take him to his place at The Grange, but Heathcliff refuses and reluctantly allows him to stay the night. Later that night, Lockwood is awaken by a noisy window shutter. As he closes it, he hears a woman outside calling, «Heathcliff, let me in! I'm out on the moors. It's Cathy!» and then feels an icy hand touching his. When Lockwood relates the disturbance to Heathcliff, he frantically runs into the blizzard, calling out to Cathy. Ellen Dean (Flora Robson), the housekeeper, tells a perplexed Lockwood that he has seen the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff's great love, and proceeds to tell him their story.   Forty years previously, an orphan boy named Heathcliff is fo...

Directed by King Vidor, Stella Dallas (1937) tells the story of Stella Martin (Barbara Stanwyck), the daughter of a mill worker in a factory town in 1919 Massachusetts, who is determined to better herself. She sets her sights on Stephen Dallas (John Boles), a minor executive at the factory whose family was once wealthy, and catches him at an emotionally vulnerable time. Stephen has broken his engagement to his long-time sweetheart, Helen (Barbara O'Neil), fearing that his current lack of money and social position will hinder her. He planned to marry Helen once he was financially able to support her, but, as he reaches his goal, he learns that she is to wed another man. As a result, Stephen decides to marry Stella instead. After their daughter Laurel (Anne Shirley) is born, Stella becomes bored with her life and begins to exhibit social behaviour that Stephen finds unsuitable. He also strongly disapproves of her continuing friendship with the vulgar Ed Munn (Alan Hale). Meanwhile...