Gary Cooper Classics (Fighting Caravans, A Farewell to Arms, Meet John Doe, Stolen Jools)

Rating:
Summary: Great bargain for Gary Cooper's fans!
Review: I'm a big fan of Gary Cooper & overall I thought these movies were very enjoyable. The first movie is "Fighting Caravans" (1931) & features a very young Gary Cooper as a wild frontiersman who talks a young French woman (played by Lili Damita) into posing as his wife in order to avoid a jail term. They join a large wagon train & head west & along the way they fall in love & consider marrying although Cooper isn't ready to "settle down". There's a big Indian attack on the wagon train towards the end (Gee, what a surprise!) that makes it well worth watching. Next, we have the original 1932 classic "A Farewell to Arms", which might be the best film version of Hemingway's novel, although parts of it are slow. Cooper was probably eager to star in that film because of his real-life friendship with Earnest Hemingway. Next, we have an often overlooked piece of "Capricorn", 1941's "Meet John Doe" stars Cooper as a suicidal bum who finally discovers that life is worth living. Even though it was directed by Frank Capra & also stars Barbara Stanwyck, this is not one of Capra's finer moments. The main problem is that it's over 2 hours & the plot is sluggish. In my opinion the real gem on this dvd is the 1931 short film "Stolen Jewels", which has tons of cameos from famous stars like Joan Crawford, Laurel & Hardy, Edward G. Robinson, Buster Keaton, Irene Dunne, Norma Shearer, & of course Gary Cooper. If you're a big Gary Cooper fan & are searching for a real bargain, then look no further!