The first thing I thought when I saw this film was "wow--what a great print"--and it's true, the DVD of this film is amazingly well-preserved and the tinting really worked well (it's unusual to see amber tinting but it worked with the desert scenes). The only negative about the DVD is that it has no extras--none at all.

The film begins with a woman and her children stuck in the desert. One has already died and she and the young girl are next. However, another wagon arrives soon after and the girl, Barbara, is saved--but it's too late for the mother.

Years pass and Barbara is now a pretty young lady. She is loved by Gary Cooper and you'd naturally assume they were intended for each other. A bit later in the film, Ronald Colman comes to this desert town to help build a canal to the Colorado River. He, too, is smitten with Barbara. But before he can marry her, a series of events (naturally) occur to make her hate Colman--even though he really is a good guy and she's misunderstood him. Late in the film, Colman proves himself to be some guy by saving Cooper's life, bringing the payroll to town just before the fickle townspeople burn the place down(?) AND he tries with all his strength to keep the valley from flooding when the river crests. This leads to one of the more amazing scenes in silent history--the flooding of the town. When all is said and done, however, Barbara and Colman are together and everyone lives happily ever after.

While the plot is every bit formulaic (with the necessary mistaken impression that jeopardizes their love AND the way he saves the day and her heart),the film itself is so impressive technically that you gotta like it and respect all the work that went to make this incredible film. So, for the plot, I'd give it a 5 and the special effects a 10--leaving a score of 7.5 overall. But, since 7.5 isn't allowed, I'll round it up to 8.

By the way, I have heard or read many people say that either WINGS or IT (both Clara Bow starring films) were the "big breakthrough" films for Gary Cooper, but this is NOT true. First, his roles in both were tiny (particularly in IT but both parts lasted only a couple minutes). Secondly, his role in THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH was made a year earlier and was a much, much more substantial part.

Also, I'd like to add one more comment in case there is any misunderstanding. In a brief scene near the end, there is a throw pillow on the couch with a giant swastika on it. This was NOT a Nazi reference, as the symbol is at least a couple thousand years old (originating in Asia) and the American-Indians often used it--as did many cultures.

During the silent screen years Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky were a popular screen team and The Winning Of Barbara Worth was their first film together. Neither Colman or Banky was particularly happy with doing a western and certainly neither are players you would think of for a western. But in the days of the silent screen you could not hear Colman's cultured English tones or Banky's thick Hungarian accent which killed her career in sound films.

The Winning Of Barbara Worth is a modern western set in 1926 Arizona where Banky's father is the local head honcho in a small town. Father Charles Lane has a dream of building a dam and irrigating the desert and turning it into an agricultural paradise. But he puts his trust and the hard earned cash of his people into the hands of the unscrupulous E.J. Ratcliffe who cut many corners and built one inferior dam. His chief engineer Ronald Colman points that out to him and his fired for his trouble.

Undaunted, Colman gets new backing from millionaire Fred Esmelton and goes to work on a new dam. Which does not fit in Ratcliffe's plans and he tries to stop Colman by fair means or foul.

Colman also has eyes for Banky, but she's already got Gary Cooper courting her. And Coop's the jealous type and does not think Colman is on the up and up.

Henry King whose career in films spanned over 40 years and was the top contract director at 20th Century Fox during sound did a great job both with his live players and the cinematography. The overflowing dam and subsequent flood was of DeMille like quality.

Maybe Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky aren't what many would consider western names, but that sure can't be said about Gary Cooper for whom this was his first featured role. Coop had done many bit roles in silents up to this time, but he was a complete unknown at this time and The Winning Of Barbara Worth was his first part with billing. You probably could not have made this film during sound with the voices of Colman and Banky, but when Cooper uttered his first screen words in Wolf Song, this man's voice perfectly suited the characters he had been playing on the screen already. In fact both Colman and Cooper went on to far bigger careers because of sound unlike poor Vilma Banky who barely spoke any English.

In the scenes he's in Gary Cooper steals the film and there was no doubt this man was going to be a major star. The Winning Of Barbara Worth holds up very well as drama and with Gary Cooper a star was born.

SYNOPSIS: Jefferson Worth's dream is to turn the desert wasteland into a garden paradise. To bring this worthy project to fruition, he turns to the Wall Street financier, James Greenfield, and his step-son, engineer Willard Holmes. Unfortunately, Greenfield is a crook.

NOTES: Although he figures way down the cast list, Gary Cooper (in his first credited movie appearance) is in reality playing the second male lead. (In fact, he has actually been bumped up into third position on the current DVD). This role was originally slated for cowboy star, Harold Goodwin. Unfortunately for his own career, Goodwin was delayed at Warner Brothers where he was making The Better 'Ole with Syd Chaplin. A replacement had to be found in a hurry. Henry King remembered a screen test he'd seen of Gary Cooper whom he'd signed on as an extra at $50 a week. So King offered Cooper the role and an additional $15 a week.

COMMENT: Although it only intermittently captures the religious flavor and fervor of Harold Bell Wright's 1911 novel, The Winning of Barbara Worth proves a grand movie experience, with winning performances all around in a fast-moving plot that cascades into an unforgettable climax. The photography is outstanding and King's direction both forceful and fluid. Production values are particularly rich with awesome location footage and thrilling action scenes involving hundreds of extras. Even Clyde Cook's comic relief seemed mildly amusing. And as for the clash of leading men, personally, I thought the charismatic Cooper easily outshone hard-working Colman. (DVD from M-G-M. Quality rating: 10 out of 10).