The Winning of Barbara Worthis an American silentWesternfilm directed byHenry Kingand written byFrances Marion. It was based on the book of the same name by Harold Bell Wright and produced bySamuel Goldwyn. The film is best known for its depiction of the formation of the Salton Sea in 1905 in an epic cinematic flood sequence.The film’s most enduring legacy, however, is that it is the breakout role ofWestern film icon Gary Cooper. Cooper is dashing in this silent role as Abe Lee, one of the love interests of Barbara Worth (Vilma Bánky). It is said that Cooper was cast in the role only days before filming, replacingMonte Blue, known for being the romantic lead in many silent-era films. Cooper personified the “strong silent type” on screen and was much adored by both men and women.
The Winning of Barbara Worth
While building an irrigation system for a Southwestern desert community, an engineer vies with a local cowboy for the affections of a rancher’s daughter.
What Is ‘The Winning of Barbara Worth’ About?
Bathed in an eerie desolate yellow, a young Barbara Worth is plucked from the sun-blistered hell of an unforgiving desert by her adopted industrialist father, Jefferson Worth (Charles Willis Lane). The scene is set for this battle of wills between man and the unforgiving heat of a barren wasteland. Jefferson desires to play god and bring water to the desert by diverting the Colorado River, creating a new Eden, a place of prosperity that once held only death. The story is a beautiful tale of humanity’s triumph over nature, the enduring human spirit, and, of course, the love of a good woman.
Fifteen years later, after Jefferson Worth finds his beautiful desert flower of a daughter, Barabara, he is poised to bring his dream to fruition. He hires Willard Holmes (Ronald Colman), a slick engineer from the Eastern cities who deeply loves Barbara. Abe Lee is also in love with Barbara, played by a clean-cut andfresh-faced Gary Cooper in his first cinematic role. Abe is a stalwart man of the people type. Clad in classic cowboy garb, complete with his yet-to-be iconic gigantic cowboy hat, Abe leads the labor force that reinforces the irrigation system holding back the mighty river from destroying the fledgling mushroom town that has flourished out there in the desert under the hot sun.For those who know Gary Cooper, it seems perfectly attuned to his real-life character: a strong, masculine figure representing the tenacious cowboy determined to bend nature to his will. Holmes, the representative of Eastern city-slicker decadence, a harbinger of the corruption of the corporate world, says it best to Barbara when he coos over her, telling her that he only works for a company that wants to make a quick buck out there in no man’s land. He isn’t an evil man, but he is easy to hate when pitted against the rugged and down-home sensibilities of Abe Lee. While lacking in Holmes' considerable city charm, his quaint cowboy ways shine brightly.
The Heartbreaking Reason Jimmy Stewart Replaced Gary Cooper in ‘How the West Was Won’
Why didn’t the ‘High Noon’ actor star in this Western classic?
A sharp line is drawn between the two men in a scene where both Abe and Willard traverse the desert determined to get the water flowing. Willard languishes in the heat and declares that the desert would be a graveyard and that Abe could see “if only his brains weren’t fried.” Abe is unperturbed, and although the film is silent, you can almost hear him speaking the intercard when he says, “Maybe we ain’t got the brains, maybe you ain’t got the guts'. This line says it all, perfectly encapsulating the actor’s attitude, which would endure throughout his entire illustrious career. While Lee doesn’t win Barbara Worth, he accepts defeat gracefully and like a true cowboy. He loves Barbara, and she does love him, but only how a sister might love her brother, and that’s just fine and dandy with him because a cowboy’s first and only love is the range.This Stoic example of rugged masculinity became synonymous with Cooper and propelled him into stardom.
Gary Cooper was the living embodiment of the classic American cowboy. Clean-cut, honest, brave, and trustworthy, he seemed to ooze cowboy from every pore. He cut his teeth in minor Western film roles beforeThe Winning of Barbara Worth, under the tutelage oflegendary silent Western superstarTom Mixin the filmThe Lucky Horseshoe,according to Cooper’s biographerLarry SwindellinThe Last Hero. He had a penchant for horsemanship, learning the trade in a rehabilitation camp he attended after injuring his hip in a car accident at 15. The ordeal left him with a permanently stiff walk, which became a trademark for the actor. He was a very believable cowboy and imbued a naturalness and authenticity that made him extremely popular with both men and women. Men were drawn to his ruggedness, while women would swoon over the handsome male specimen, making him a hit at the box offices. Of his acting style, Cooper would say inJeffrey Meyers' bookGary Cooper: American Hero, “Naturalness is hard [for me] to talk about, but I guess it boils down to this: you find out what people expect of your type of character and then you give them what they want. That way, an actor never seems unnatural or affected, no matter what role he plays.”
InThe Winning of Barbara Worth, Gary Cooper did precisely that,drawing on his experiences among the cowboys of Montana, as described by Swindell, giving him instant authenticity within the role. The film was a critical and commercial success, and the offers started flooding in for Cooper. According to Meyers,Samuel Goldwyn, the film’s producer, rushed in to offer him a long-term contract, but Cooper was no fool and knew his worth. He signed a five-year deal with Paramount Pictures for $175 a week; the rest is history, as they say. In his 36-year-long acting career, Cooper would star in at least 84 feature films as the true-blue beating heart of the American West. He would become the “quintessential American Hero,” as dubbed by Meyers, a folk hero for the common person, born and bred on the dusty mesas of a real American, much like Abe Lee was born and bred in that hellish desert. Perhaps Frank Capra, director ofMr. Deeds Goes to Townwhen casting Cooper in the role of Longfellow Deeds, said it best in Swindell’s book; “As soon as I thought of Gary Cooper, it wasn’t possible to conceive anyone else in the role. He could not have been any closer to my idea of Longfellow Deeds, and as soon as he could think in terms of Cooper,Bob Riskinfound it easier to develop the Deeds character in terms of dialogue. So it just had to be Cooper.Every line in his face spelled honesty. Our Mr. Deeds had to symbolize incorruptibility; in my mind, Gary Cooper was that symbol”.
Gary Cooper passed on July 04, 2025, at the age of 60, after a battle with prostate cancer. His courage in his remaining years was just as steadfast as displayed on the silver screen. Gary Cooper left this world making an indisputable mark on the Western genre and integrated himself into American culture as its quintessential cowboy hero. He rubs shoulders with other titans of the genre like Tom Mix,Gene Autry, and evenJohn Wayne, his longtime friend.His realness and innate goodness were the tools of his trade, and he used them in every film he was in. Gary Cooper was a tour de force as mighty as the river that formed the Salton Sea inThe Winning of Barbara Worth.
The Winning of Barbara Worthis available to stream on Kanopy in the U.S.
