Interesting to watch this scene from the 1929 film adaptation of Owen Wister’s novel. Gary Cooper plays the Virginian and Walter Huston plays Trampas in a manner more in keeping with Wister’s original vision.
Unfortunately in this scene Huston comes across as a pantomime villain – lacking depth with his swaggering delivery. A legacy from the silent era when body movement was over emphasized to convey emotion. By contrast Gary Cooper manages to convey emotion with less effort. A skill in itself and more in synch with the new era of sound.
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