The Wedding Night

One of the lesser-known satisfactions in Gary Cooper's career is this 1935 King Vidor film, an offbeat blend of romance, comedy, and tragedy. It begins in screwball territory: Cooper plays a novelist whose partying ways have stalled his career and made his new manuscript unpublishable. He and wife Helen Vinson like the high life (any resemblance to Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald is probably intentional), and she doesn't stick around while he tries to write a new book in a quiet Connecticut country house. The isolation puts him into proximity with a heartfelt young immigrant girl (Anna Sten), whose Polish community provides a subject for his new book.

If you think Cooper was a merely the High Noon guy, a lanky Western hero, this is one of the movies (among many) that dispel the idea: his utter naturalness is a gold standard for a certain kind of movie-star acting. Directing him on the set the first day, Vidor worried about the star's mumbling and forgetfulness with dialogue. "Imagine my amazement," Vidor later wrote, "when I watched our first day's work on the screen and observed and heard a performance that overflowed with charm and personality." Anna Sten was another issue: the Russian actress had been brought to the U.S. with great fanfare by producer Samuel Goldwyn, because he wanted to have his own foreign Garbo/Dietrich under contract. Her cool presence failed to generate audience interest, and Goldwyn gave up on her after The Wedding Night. She's a problem, but Cooper keeps it going, and the movie itself is unexpectedly warm. –Robert Horton

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent performances!
A surprising performance by all. This Movie ages well unlike a lot of other films of this era.

5 Stars Tender and Mature
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.

3 Stars Remarkable Acting - Unremarkable Story
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.]

4 Stars ANNA STEN - A REVELATION
I concur with what has already been said about this tender 'sleeper', and can only add that Anna Sten has a few moments that remain breathtakingly fresh more than 75 yrs later. Cooper is of course his wonderful self. Helen Vinson is much too one-note, in a thankless role. It is Sten who really knocks your socks off - and Vidor's direction, too, is splendid.

5 Stars the wedding night
an author with writers block finds more than he bargained for when he has to go to the country to escape his out of control city life-style. he finds that he has other problems when he falls for a local girl. one of them is how to tell his wife about her.. it isn't easy. and thereby hangs the tale.

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