115 Gary Cooper Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Newly married U.S. Marshall Will Kane is preparing for retirement with his wife Amy when he gets the news that notorious criminal Frank Miller and his gang are coming to exact revenge on him. Unfortunately, he finds the townspeople, he protected from Miller turn cowards and must face Miller alone. 

A farmer from Tennessee who is a pacifist is drafted into the World War I. Despite his pacifist inclinations, he becomes one of the most celebrated war heroes.

The Pride of the Yankees is a biographical film which revolves around the life and career of Lou Gehrig, famed baseball player, whose premature and tragic death had touched the entire nation. The film puts emphasis on his relationship with his parents, especially his mother, and also shows his friendships with players, journalists, as well as his romantic relationship with a woman.

This romantic comedy drama film tells the story of a small-town poet who inherits a large fortune, after which he is forced to deal with the corruption of city life.  He finds himself constantly hounded by people who wish to take advantage of him.

Friendly Persuasion is a Western war drama film which revolves around the Quaker family in 1862. Since their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war, they have always held a pacifist attitude. However, with the arrival of the Southern troops during the American Civil War, they find themselves in real trouble, and their pacifism is tested. 

A tramp turns into a national hero and becomes a pawn of big business, thanks to a reporter's fraudulent story.

Beau, John and Digby are three adventurous and inseparable brothers who were adopted and raised by the wealthy Lady Brandon. All three of them join the French Foreign Legion, but things get complicated when John is separated from the other two. Beau and Digby are both put under the command of Sergeant Markoff, a sadistic and ruthless officer.

During the Spanish Civil War, an American who is allied with the Republicans is assigned a very important task of blowing up a bridge. He awaits the right time for the task, and soon a young girl named Maria is asked to join him, to assist him in his mission.

The Westerner is a western drama film which takes us to a town named Vinegaroon, in Texas 1882, where Judge Roy Bean has appointed himself as the hanging judge. He conducts trials from his saloon, and makes a corrupt living by seizing property unlawfully, as well as by collecting fines. Those who oppose him are sentenced for hanging. However, things change with the arrival of a drifter named Cole Harden.

Shortly after the American Civil War, two adventurers are hired by Emperor Maximillian to escort a countess named Marie Duvarre to Vera Cruz. Despite their differences, the two agree to work together, since they are being offered a good sum of money. However, things take a turn when on the way, they find a wealth of gold hidden in the stagecoach.

Link Jones, a former outlaw, gets stranded with two other passengers, after their train is attacked by bandits. To save the lives of his co-passengers, he agrees to rejoin his old gang for their last attack on a bank.

The Fountainhead is a romantic drama film which tells the story of a young individualistic architect Howard Roark, who is expelled from college because his design does not fit with the architectural thinking. Meanwhile, he is able to land a job with a like-minded man named Henry Cameron, but he again finds himself in the same spot after Cameron drinks himself to death.

An academic makes up his mind to learn about the evolving American slang to finish working on a comprehensive encyclopedia and chances upon a nightclub performer. She agrees to teach him slang vocabulary in exchange for a place to stay.

Love in the Afternoon is a romantic crime comedy film which tells the story of a naive girl who meet and falls for the charms of an ageing playboy, who is also attracted to her. At the same time, her father, who is a detective has been hired to catch the playboy red-handed with the wife of his client.

A ranch foreman hires his old friend for a job, but the two eventually become competing suitors. After the foreman succeeds, his friend joins a local gang of cattle thieves, after which the foreman is forced to have his friend lynched. But later saddled with guilt, he swears to kill the leader of the gang as well. 

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is an adventure romantic drama film which tells the story of Ben-Hur, a wealthy young Jewish prince, who is a friend fo the powerful Roman tribune, Messala. Ben-Hur’s life gets ugly when an accident and a false accusation leads him to getting arrested falsely. Instead of helping him, Messala, who has now become arrogant and corrupt, makes sure that Be-Hur is jailed and separated from the rest of his family.  

The Story of Dr. Wassell is a war film inspired by the war-time activities of Dr. Corydon M Wassell during the Second World War. The film portrays how Dr. Wassell coordinates the wounded servicemen and leads them to safety, after the American forces withdraw from Java, before the Japanese invasion. 

Winner of the first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1927, Wings is about two best friends whose mutual attraction towards the same woman puts their friendship at risk. At the same time, a girl from their hometown wastes away as she longs for one of the men.  

During the First World War, Frederick Henry, an ambulance driver working for the Italian forces, and Catherine Barkley, a Red Cross nurse, fall in love with one another. Despite all the chaos and fighting, they are determined to stay together, and not let their romance die.

Mary Smith, the bored daughter of presidential hopeful Horace Smith, is living a scandal-free life. She falls in love with cowboy Stretch Willoughby who hates high society. Mary pretends to be a maid hiding her true identity and the two get married. Life gets complicated as both of her lives catch up with one another. 

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of Michael Brandon, an American multi-millionaire who marries Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. Upon learning that she is his eighth wife, Nicole decides that she doesn’t want to end up like the other women. Therefore, she tries to come up with a strategy to ‘tame’ her husband.

Singer Amy Jolly gets acquainted with womanizer Tom Brown, and they both find themselves drawn to one another. Since they are both bruised by their past, they decide to get into a relationship with no-strings attached.

Clio Dulaine is the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic New Orleans family who returns home to take revenge on those who wronged her mother. On her journey, she meets Texan gambler Clint Maroon, who is on a revenge path himself against railroaders who ruined his father. 

Tom and George are two friends who share an apartment. Meanwhile, they are also in love with the same woman Gilda. Gilda is unable to make a choice between the two, and therefore, they eventually decide to live together in a platonic friendly relationship.

Peter Ibbetson is hired by the Duke of Towers to design a building for him. Soon, he discovers that the Duchess of Towers, is his former sweetheart Mary. They find themselves drawn to one another again, but their lives turn upside down, when Peter is sentenced to life in prison, after he kills someone accidentally.                      

After her parents’ death while trying to cross the California desert, Barbara is rescued and raised by a rancher. Fifteen years later, an engineer comes to their settlement with the task of diverting the Colorado River and begins to vie with a local cowboy for Barbara’s affection. But his task is not easy as his employer refuses to release the required fund, resulting in catastrophic flood. 

Madeleine is a jewel thief who has stolen a valuable necklace in Paris. She meets an American engineer who is on a vacation and she decides to use him to get the pearls out of France and get them into Spain. However, things don’t go as expected.

Naval Aviator, Jonathan L. ‘Scotty’ Scott, has served 28 years in the American navy and has advocated the power of aircraft carriers. When Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, Lieutenant Commander Scott, first with USS Enterprise, and later with the USS Franklin proves the worth of aircraft carriers in a war. 

Nan Cooley is falsely implicated in the murder of bootlegger, Blackie, by the actual murderer, her father Pop Cooley. To free Nan, her boyfriend, The Kid, is forced to join the mob. When Nan is released, she catches the eye of mob chief Big Fella Maskal leading to a deadly confrontation between him and The Kid. 

After he learns that the ship he is working on is carrying slaves, Taylor, a sailor and abolitionist, plans the release of the slaves from his vessel. 

In a turbulent China, an American mercenary O'Hara is assigned to aid the arms supply of the authorities of a province destroyed by a brutal warlord General Yang. However, while on his way to Shanghai to purchase arms, he meets and falls for Judy Perrie whose father is associated with Yang.

Set against the backdrop of the Moro Rebellion in 1906, the film focuses on the bravery and dedication of a small American contingent stationed at the Philippine island of Mindanao, where the local population is being regularly killed and abducted by Moro guerrillas. The main task of the contingent is to train the native Philippine Constabulary so that they can defend themselves.  

Old Ironsides is a silent historical drama film which takes us to the 19th century, and shows the events surrounding the feud between the US Navy and the Barbary pirates. The story is set around a young boy who sets off on a ship and on the journey, he falls for a woman named Esther. Things turn upside down when the ship is attacked by pirates.

Seven Days Leave is a drama film which tells the story of a soldier who is wounded while fighting during the First World War. While recovering in London, he is informed by a nurse that a Scottish widow has started believing him to be her son. In order to provide her with comfort, he decides to go along, and pretends to be her son.  

Brant Royle returns to his hometown in Kingsmont, North Carolina, to build a new tobacco company and go up against tobacco magnate, Major Singleton, who had driven Brant and his father out of town. While Brant manages to win initially, his marriage to Singleton’s daughter Margaret contributes to his downfall. 

You’re in the Navy Now is a 1951 comedy film, which tells us the story of a newly commissioned Navy officer during the World War II, who wants duty at sea, but is instead assigned to an experimental project. 

Booker, an Indian hater, steals some of the best horses from the Indians, along with some of his men. Therefore, Nophie, one of the leaders of the tribals, decides to complain to Booker’s seniors, but doesn’t get any fair  response from the white people. Shortly after, an Army captain comes looking for the horses that booker was supposed to have bought from them. Lured by false promises of a better life, the Indians decide to bring horses for the army and even enlist, hoping for a better future.

Jean and Ted grew up together in an affluent society, but they are both children of divorced parents, which is why they have a cynical attitude towards relationships and marriage. Jean and Ted however develops feelings for one another, but things take a turn after another woman Kitty tricks Ted into marrying her, although she loves another man.

Bankrupt novelist, Tony Barrett, and his wife, Dora, are forced to move into Tony’s run-down farm in Connecticut. There Tony’s neighbor buys a piece of his land and Dora returns to New York. Tony stays behind and becomes romantically involved with his neighbor’s daughter Manya. Tragedy strikes the night Manya weds her fiancé, Fredrick. 

Foolish insurance agent Milford Farnsworth unwittingly sells life insurance worth US $100000 to notorious outlaw Jesse James. Farnsworth is then sent to the West to protect James, to protect the investment. But Jesse plans on killing Farnsworth and he must survive while falling in love with the beautiful Cora Lee Collins. 

When businessman, Jason Root, is murdered, the only two people present at the scene are George Radcliffe and Donald Heath. Heath is found guilty on George’s testimony but when a letter with a blackmail threat from one Jeremy Gray turns up accusing George of the crime, his wife Martha takes it upon herself to find the truth. 

Blayde Hollister seeks revenge on Marlow brothers who killed his family in Georgia. In his pursuit he is helped by retiring Marshal Wild Bill Hickok. Hollister switches identity with the new Dallas marshal Martin Wetherby and one after another kills his enemies. A love triangle between Hollister, Wetherby and his fiance Tonia also begins.

Casanova Brown is about to marry Madge when he finds out his former wife Isabel has had their baby girl and wants to put her up for adoption. Brown steals the baby and marries motel maid Monica to prove that he has a stable home. Unfortunately, both Madge and Isabel turn up to confront him. 

I Take This Woman is a romantic drama film which tells the story of Kay Dowling, the spoilt daughter of a wealthy New Yorker. Due to her troublesome behavior, her father sends her off to one of his ranches in Ursula. While spending her days on the ranch with her good-humored aunt Bessie, she begins to fall for one of the cowhands. She gets married to him impulsively, but soon after, she regrets her decision as she longs for her comfort in the mansion.

Good Sam is a drama film, based on a book of the same name by Dete Meserve. The film tells the story about an unknown person who leaves cash on seemingly random doorsteps, and an investigative news reporter who tries to find out this person’s identity. 

After their oil rig is blown up, Jeff Dawson and "Dutch" Peterson return to the town, looking for work.  There they meet "Paco" Conway, their old friend who has struck rich and is now married to Jeff’s ex, Marina. Although initially unwilling, circumstances force Jeff to accept a job under Paco; but he must now learn to ignore Marina’s romantic overtones. 

Jim Carson is a lawman who is on a mission to find Millie, his sister and her young kid who were kidnapped by a wicked attorney named Lew Walters, along with his group of hoodlums. He manages to take down Walters’ cronies one after the other, but things get complicated after he learns that Walters has assumed the identity of a powerful judge.

Con-artist, Jerry Day, is married to Toni who wishes for a stable life with a family. When Jerry brings home his daughter, Pennie, from his late first wife’s rich family, he decides to change his ways for better. But finding it difficult to provide for his family, he gets lured into joining in a jewel theft. How will this affect his daughter? 

Hollywood Boulevard is a drama film which tells the story of a former actor John Blakeford, who agrees to write his memoirs for Jordan Winston, a magazine publisher. However, Patricia, his daughter, asks him to desist for the sake of Carlotta, his ex wife. Jordan finds himself in a complicated situation, unsure of how to tell Winston that he wants to break his contract. 

Told in eight episodes, the film covers different facets of American culture and spirit. It all begins with a professor being asked by a fellow passenger during a train journey if he loves America, to which he responds by counter-asking, “Which America”. The simple question leads to the unfolding of diverse layers of American ethos.   

Famed Venetian explorer Marco Polo and his assistant Binguccio, travel to Peking to seek out the palace of Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan. Upon reaching, Marco becomes a favorite of the Khan and also falls in love with the Princess Kukachin. However, he has to contend with the emperor’s devious adviser, Ahmed, who wants to overthrow the Khan. 

Make me a Star is a romantic comedy film, which revolves around Merton Gill, who longs to become a cowboy actor, and therefore, he leaves his hometown to try his luck in Hollywood. However, when his acting abilities are not appreciated, an actress starts to think that he might be a good comedian instead. 

The Devil and the Deep is a drama film, which tells the story of a British submarine officer who goes crazy after learning that his wife is having an affair. Therefore, he thinks of a way to kill her and her lover. 

Sally, a young woman masquerades as the daughter of a missionary in order to get on a ship bound for America. But things get ugly when she is assaulted by a man named Gatson. However, Captain Sam comes to her rescue, and knocks Gatson overboard. Soon, Captain Sam develops feelings for the girl, but it is put to the test when he discovers her questionable past.

Clint Belmet is planning to head out west on a wagon train, but unfortunately, he needs to evade a criminal charge. For this, he convinces a brassy French girl to become his wife. Soon, a real romance begins to develop among them.                   

This musical film involves several stars such as Maurice Chevalier, Clara Bow, Skeets Gallagher, William Powell, and multiple stars, who appear in musical numbers.

An Air Force crewman, Rick, lies to Neil Wayne, a film star, that he is headed to the war zone, in order to impress her. She eventually develops a liking for him, but chaos ensues, when she finds out that he was lying. 

Young British woman, Diana Boyce Smith, is engaged to Lt. Claude Hope, serving as a British naval officer during World War I. When Diana’s estate in Kent, is bought by American Richard Bogard, she and Richard fall in love. However, the war and Diana’s commitment to Claude will change their lives forever. 

This 1931 short film revolves around the stolen pearls of Norma Shearer. After the theft, a detective is sent to interrogate the party guests, most of which are famous Hollywood stars.