The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926)

THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 
    D: Henry King                     (1926)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    Ronald Colman, Vilma Banky, Gary Cooper,
    Charles Lane, Paul McAllister, Clyde Cook
A western from the late silent era in which Ronald Colman and Gary Cooper compete for the hand of Vilma Banky, while engineers and homesteaders try to corral the Colorado River to irrigate the desert. Some major plot points are resolved a little too easily in this, but the scale is epic, the cinematography is eye-catching, and the climactic flood, even done with miniatures, is spectacular. It was Cooper's first starring role, and while he doesn't seem to do much, he always seems to look good doing it.