This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Transparently masked as a "Western", this fairly standard & predictable Screwball Comedy from 1938 relied too greatly on the "Aw-Shucks!" appeal of actor Gary Cooper.Not only that, but it also banked too heavily on the on-screen chemistry that was supposed to transpire between Cooper's character and that of actress Merle Oberon, as well.For the most part this Chick Flick (which was typical of its era) was fairly good-natured and quite uncomplicated about the motives of its storyline - But the truth was that Gary Cooper (pushing 40 at the time) was clearly too old for his part and his character was just a little too "Golly-Gee!" wholesome and naive to be at all believable.It really killed me how much rich girl Mary Smith loved the be roughly man-handled and repeatedly knocked off her high-horse by the likes of "Stretch" Hawkins (Cooper).All-in-all - The Cowboy And The Lady was OK, as far as a stock, 1930's Romantic/Comedy goes. But, the truth is, there was nothing remarkable about this picture in any way, whatsoever.

The film opens with a dinner scene, where we learn that someone is running for office; cut to the two brothers Hannibal (Harry Davenport, always played the kindly uncle or judge) and Horace Smith (Henry Kolker), lamenting about the antics of Horace's daughter Mary ( Merle Oberon ). There's the setup of the movie, and being filmed in the prime of the Hayes Code, we know there will be comical, but innocent , simple, misunderstandings. Love the symbolism of Mary knocking over the "house of cards" she has built on the coffee table. Great scene where she talks about the rules of dating with the maids (the hilarious Patsy Kellly & Mabel Todd). Enter Gary Cooper as the polite cowboy "Stretch Willoughby". Say no more. Just watch for the ups and downs as sidekick Walter Brennan makes wisecracks to help the plot along, along with some slapstick physical comedy. Also check out the cast of thousands in the writer category, which includes greats Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker. Directed by Henry Potter, who would make THREE movies with Cary Grant! Fun, but probably would have been more hilarious if it had been filmed prior to the production code.

I watched this movie for the first time on what used to be a great channel AMC when I was about 10 years old. At the time, I thought old movies were silly especially black and white ones. I had all the stereotypes down and hated westerns most of all. After seeing this movie I was hooked on old movies, and watched AMC religiously, but never saw this one again until last year when TCM premiered it on their channel.Is it the greatest storyline ever told? Umm,no. I think a lot of people miss an important line to make it seem more plausible. Mary Smith grew up on a farm with her father and uncle until her father decided to get into politics for whatever reason. She even makes a comment to him early on that she wished they could go back to those days before she even met Stretch. Thus making it more realistic that she wouldn't miss the rich life.The pantomime scene is the best scene and stuck with me for years. What a man in love will do.

Though slow moving at times, overall "The Cowboy and the Lady" is an entertaining romantic comedy with a twist, a high society lady whose father is about to throw his hat into the ring as a candidate for President falls head over heels in love with a rodeo cowboy. There are two scenes that really pack a comedic wallop. One is aboard the ship from Florida to Galveston, Texas, when 'Stretch' Willoughby (Gary Cooper) compares horses to people while wooing Mary Smith (Merle Oberon) when suddenly a crew member starts singing an outlandish song, "Give a man a horse he can ride." It becomes more outrageous when Stretch joins in and Mary ends the tune with a bass vocal. The other is when Stretch pretends to be entertaining his beloved wife, Mary, in their new house with only the framework completed. Cooper shows a hidden talent for pantomime that is very good indeed. Before he knows it his partners played by a bow-legged Walter Brennan and Fuzzy Knight along with the carpenters are invited in and play along with Stretch's fantasy. The spell is broken with the appearance of Ma Hawkins who brings everyone back to reality by delivering a dreadful telegram.There is one telling part near the end when Stretch searching for his wife appears as an unwanted and unwelcome guest at a political dinner. The big-wigs spout several false concepts and prejudices that exist concerning the American cowboy. Their ignorance is further denoted when Oliver Wendell Henderson attempts to show his knowledge of the west by declaring Montana to be the Lone Star State. Stretch carefully corrects Henderson, then proceeds to shoot them all down with his rebuttal.There were several cooks sirring the broth when it came to writing the sometimes witty script. Amongst the writers were Dorothy Parker, Leo McCarey, Anita Loos, and some say Garson Kanin.