The Wedding Night Reviews

• A Retro Sleeper

  
  By A1SVXJZ3386U2D on 2006-08-04
  I have always been a big fan of Gary Cooper films. Although I've seen just about all of his major movies, there are a number of his lesser films I haven't had much opportunity to see. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to see "The Wedding Night" tonight. I had taped it recently to watch at a later date. The brief glimpse I caught of it then led me to think it was a silly romance that the 30's seemed to specialize in. I found out that it is an impressive love story with a view from many angles.
  
  The movie starts out rather clumsily, I thought. We see a happy-go-lucky young couple partying their days away. We discover that the man (Cooper) is a writer and we discover his publisher isn't too happy with his latest work (or lack thereof). They head off to his rural residence where he would, hopefully, get back on track for his next novel. We meet his new neighbors from Poland and we discover his wife misses the big city. She heads back (somewhat reluctantly) as he meets the new neighbors's daughter. From here on the movie becomes a very interesting study of love; its' innocence, its' responsibility, its' rediscovery, its' expectations, etc..
  
  I understood later that the opening of the movie that I thought to be clumsy was actually a good introduction to a young couple who lacked the seriousness that every relationship has to have. In perhaps the best scene in the movie, the young wife speaks frankly on that subject. Indeed the level of seriousness that the movie rises to is a transformation that we all share in. I was impressed with how well the movie was able to draw me into it in this way.
  
  The acting is very good to excellent with top honors (in my ballot) going to an actress I, frankly, never heard of before; Helen Vinson. Cooper was good as well as Russian actress Anna Sten in one of her few US films. Sig Ruman always seems to play a good character role and this movie is no exception. All of the cast seems to do well to support the emotions of the movie.
  
  Nowadays, when a very good movie is released with little fanfare, we call it a "sleeper". "The Wedding Night" comes across to me as one of many "retro sleepers" I had a chance to see lately and it ranks as one of the best.
  
  

• Best Cooper Film that never appears on TV

  
  By on 2003-10-21
  I have been a huge Cooper fan since childhood (before VCRs, when we had no choice but to wait for films to show up on TV). As an adult, I have tried to procure every Cooper film available anywhere. I enjoy seeing Cooper in everything (even when the film itself is sort of a dud) and I often see why some of the films get shown so infrequently/why they get bad reviews. This film is one of Cooper's best romantic parts, and I have no idea why it is not shown often or highly reviewed. There is real chemistry between the stars,and some beautifully romantic moments. I want to see some romance in Gary's movies-not just action adventure type stuff. This is definitely one of his steemiest/sexiest roles! Like "Ball of Fire", I can watch it again and again.
  
  

• Magnificent, sensitive Love Story

  
  By A1L3JKXFHGJ9TS on 2006-07-22
  King Vidor was a master, period; and this unjustly underrated film shows why. This kind of atmospheric, sensitive, nostalgic movies aren't made anymore; they belong to the Classic Era.
  
  I wasn't sure what to expect after reeading so much about this wonderful film, positive, negative and so-so opinions. Well, this film confirms, at least to me, that Gary Cooper played some of his best roles during the 1930s, just before his definite screen-persona was established. Here he portrays a sophisticated writer, leading and empty, foolish existence, with an equally sophisticated wife, portrayed by Helen Vinson, who is truly outstanding in her role, who discovers true love when she meets a plain, simple, sweet (immigrant) Polish farm-girl, when he goes back to his hometown in Connecticut.
  
  Since when I was young I had mostly-only seen Cooper's films from the 1940s and 1950s, it was a huge and pleasant discovery when the "1930s' Gary Cooper" began unveiling after watching on VHS/DVD some of his most unique films: "A Farewell to Arms", "Design for Living", "Desire", "Morocco", "Peter Ibbetson"... He was suche a gifted, natural, unaffected, sensitive performer, giving truthful romantic meaning to his portrayals, so devoid of any corny attachements. He was one of the greatest actors ever, unjustly underrated and stereotyped by his later naive-taciturn roles, in which he also was excellent, but there was much more than that to his Screen Persona. He was also great in sophisticated comedies and senstive romantic films like this one.
  
  Anna Sten's performance is equally senstive and it's a pity she did not have more leading roles in American Films.
  
  If you are looking for delicate, sensitive, well-told, romantic, sad love story, this one is for you.
  
  

• Very touching story

  
  By A37T39U4OXC6HC on 2007-03-15
  This is not one of Cooper's most well known films but it is a very good one and deserves more attention. Cooper is an author who has run out of money and ideas so he and his wife retreat to an old family farm in Connecticut. There he meets Anna Sten who is the daughter of Polish immigrants that run a tobacco farm. She breaks his writer's block and he decides to write a story about her hard working family. Meanwhile his wife has decided to go back to New York city as farm life is not for her. Cooper and Sten fall in love but unlike movies of today there is no graphic sex scene as they do not consumate their feelings. Instead their love is shown very cleverly and sensually through glances that last a little too long and sweet gestures like Anna cooking for him and taking care of him. Her father however has plans for her to marry Frederik played by a young Ralph Bellamy. Frederik discovers that Sten and Cooper are in love but decides to marry her anyway because of the land and house he will get as part of her dowry. This movie has an unhappy ending but it is very fitting for the piece and only adds to it's depth and realism.
  
  On top of this being a very good film it's also a chance to see a young and very handsome Gary Cooper. Anna Sten was quite beautiful also but this was her last major picture as for some reason she just did not "catch on" with the movie public. She is very good in this film however and you won't be disappointed if you check it out.
  
  

• COOPER AT HIS BEST. STEN SUPERB.

  
  By A1XF2F1PA4AVJ1 on 2001-08-13
  Ranks up there with Friendly Persuasion; for Gary Cooper, one of his top three. The press, albeit known for their combination of compassion and intelligence, chased Anna Sten out of the industry after this film. Too bad, she's nothing short of outstanding. Great Movie. Someone should tell leonard Maltin to put a sock in it. He's wrong.
  
  
• Tender and Mature
  By A1G5Q9HBN0EGDV on 2007-06-18
  This tender and mature film from director King Vidor is one of the great forgotten films of the 1930's. There is a sensitive and romantic light hanging over every frame, as though Vidor turned the lamplight low, letting its warm, soft glow set the mood for a rich story of tragic love.
  
  Alfred Newman's lovely score and Gregg Toland's photography gave Anna Sten a chance to truly shine opposite Gary Cooper. Her Manya is sweet and endearing, and it is sad that Goldwyn misused her by trying to make her into another Garbo. She is both funny and charming, and with a gift for conveying emotion on the inside while attempting to mask her feelings.
  
  Edwin Knoff's original story of a writer in need of more inspiration and a lot less boozing returning to his country home in Connecticut has real depth. It doesn't opt for easy answers to lives gone astray. Love's redeeming power, and our connection to the earth, themes running through many of Vidor's works, are important elements in Edith Fitzgerald's screenplay.
  
  Gary Cooper is quite wonderful as the writer who can't get published anymore returning to his home, his New York wife in tow. Helen Vinson lends great support as his wife Dory, and makes her sympathetic even when she leaves Tony (Cooper) and returns to the city for a time. It will prove to be a huge mistake, bringing about tragedy.
  
  Tony finds both solice and inspiration in his lovely Polish neighbor, Manya (Anna Sten). Her gentle presence gives birth to "Earth's Return," a novel he reads to her by the fire. Her smile and gentle laughter is soothing to his soul, and soon there is a deep and unspoken love blooming.
  
  Standing in their way, however, is her traditional Polish family, who have arranged a marriage for her, and his returning wife, who really loves Tony but is not sure how to hang on to him. This is a rich and mature film of a man adrift and the love which brings his soul back to life, with tragic consequences. Filled with warmth and humor, there is a something real about it. A farewell reminiscent of the final scene in Borzage's "Three Comrades" is not soon forgotten.
  
  This is a lovely film from the 1930's which has the maturity of foreign films made decades later. Perhaps only when "The Stranger's Return" and "H.M. Pullman Esq." find a release, will King Vidor's standing as an important figure in American film finally be realized. A tender masterpiece.
  
  
• A RARE GLIMPSE OF ANNA STEN.
  By A3BSS2M2DPPV4T on 2001-11-20
  Gary Cooper plays a novelist who settles down on a Connecticut farm in order to write a novel which he hopes will benefit from a more relaxed a generous envirnment. His last works had urban settings and were all failures; his wife can no longer tolerate the life his is leading and returns to the city.....Anna Sten, once known as "Goldwyn's Folly" (he hailed her as the new Garbo) is appealing here as Manya, the daughter of a stern Polish paterfamilias (Sig Rumann) who marries her off to a stalwart scion of another Polish clan. There is a tragic episode between Sten and Cooper which I won't reveal. The script is a great example of pure Thirties kitsch, and its first half weighs the director (King Vidor) down. But gradually, his intelligence and pastoral feeling take over. The re-creation of the Polish community life, the feasts and ceremonies, the shots of wooden houses in the snow, all have a recognisable poetic flavour. Anna Sten's at first cold but later touching performance is really worth observing! Unfortunately, Cooper is miscast as the novelist; he's merely adequate in his role. The financial failure of OUR DAILY BREAD (1934) deeply embittered Vidor and THE WEDDING NIGHT wore out his creative resources; it would be twelve years before he would make another "personal" film
  
  
• Remarkable Acting - Unremarkable Story
  By A13LU15OCKJXM7 on 2007-07-04
  I wasn't too impressed with the storyline of this one and found it rather dull: A Manhattan writer named Tony (Gary Cooper), who made a splash with his first novel, is suffering from a long dry spell. Running out of cash, he and his wife head off to rural Connecticut where they can reside in his old family home rent-free. The writer gets inspiration for a new novel from his Polish neighbors. He also seems to fall in love at first sight with the Poles' daughter, Manya (Anna Sten). Tony's wife soon heads back to New York City out of boredom, leaving the writer to become more entangled with the Polish girl.
  
  The acting is what makes this film worth watching: Gary Cooper, as usual, has a tremendous screen presence, and Anna Sten is surprisingly good. I say "surprisingly" because she has often been accused of giving a "cold" performance that turned people off. It is hard to see why Hollywood gave up on her so quickly (this was her first and last major film). Not only did she possess a highly alluring beauty, but she was excellent in the role of Manya. [Looking at the other Amazon reviews, it seems that most of you out there agree with me on this last point.]
  
  
• Very Under-Rated
  By A1PPIFR51T81IK on 2007-05-18
  Over the years, I have repeatedly read that Anna Sten was not highly thought of as an actress. Perhaps something happened with that mysetery known as timing. If "The Wedding Night" is an example of her acting, the mid 1930s American audiences missed something. I think she is superb in this role and has a wonderful doomed chemistry with Gary Cooper. The film itself has a terrific look, as do a number of Goldwyn's films from this period. They appear like handsome leather bound novels in motion. Ralph Bellamy turns in his usual superb performance and captures the essence of these Polish immigrants as a pragmatic people. It's easy to dismiss them as cold and humorless but, to be fair, they most likely, as other immigrants of that time, came from countries where they knew only hardship and had to fight to survive. This clash of cultures leaves the viewer frustrated along with the characters, as the screenplay intends, and "The Wedding Night" elicits a very rewarding viewing experience.
  
  
• touching, bittersweet romantic drama
  By ABH4G7TVI6G2T on 2008-03-19
  Gary Cooper delivers one of his most gentle, understated performances in THE WEDDING NIGHT (directed in 1935 by King Vidor, and based on a story by Edwin H. Knopf). He's perfectly paired with Anna Sten, the lovely Russian actress who never quite fulfilled her potential in Hollywood.
  
  Struggling New York writer Tony Barrett (Gary Cooper) moves back to his family home in Connecticut. There, he becomes friends with a group of Polish emigrees, in particular Manya (Anna Sten). Quite soon, the friendship of Tony and Manya blossoms into a forbidden romance, until the re-appearance of Tony's wife (Helen Vinson) and the wedding plans set by Manya's tradition-bound family threaten to tear them apart...
  
  For fans of Gary Cooper, THE WEDDING NIGHT will provide another side of the versatile actor, who managed to effortlessly shift between drama, comedy and western roles in his early career. Anna Sten is heartbreaking as Manya, a character which might well have become too sweet or sentimental in the hands of a lesser actress.
  
  Russian-born Anna Sten was brought to Hollywood by producer Samuel Goldwyn, who attempted to groom her as a leading lady to rival the likes of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. She made her American debut in 1934's "Nana"; THE WEDDING NIGHT is arguably the best film Sten appeared in during her relatively-brief Hollywood career. Precious few of her movies have surfaced on DVD (We Live Again and Exile Express are the only ones that I know of apart from THE WEDDING NIGHT).
  
  It's wonderful having this superb movie on DVD. It's been released as part of the MGM Movie Legends series along with three more Gary Cooper favourites (The Adventures of Marco Polo, Ball of Fire, and Casanova Brown).
  
  

• Casanova Brown
• Ball of Fire
• Midnight (Universal Cinema Classics)
• Easy Living (Universal Cinema Classics)
• No Man of Her Own (Universal Cinema Classics)