Anna's Tribute to Gary Cooper

When I first got into old movies, I didn’t go straight for Gary Cooper. At first, I was a little indifferent, then I liked him, then I loved him, and over the course of the last year, as I was working on this tribute, I fell in love with him. How he combines the stoicism of the “strong and silent type” with such gentleness and warmth, his great naturalness, his earthy sensuality, and the subtle sense of humor that underlies it all. And there is never ever a false move or an insincere moment. Where others need grand gestures, he can say so much with just a blink, a pause, a look. And that’s the thing with Coop—you gotta look. But if you do, there is so much to discover.