The Virginian is a 1929 western movie starring Gary Cooper as the Virginian and Walter Huston as the villainous Trampas. The early sound film was directed by Victor Fleming. The film is based on the Wild West novel The Virginian which was written by the American author Owen Wister and published in 1902. The film is well known for Cooper's line "if you wanna call me that — smile" in response to a cuss by the antagonist. A man known only as the Virginian is ranch foreman at Box H Ranch near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. At a saloon in Medicine Bow, he and the cattle rustler Trampas vie... for the attentions of a barmaid; when Trampas insults him, the Virginian pulls a gun and tells him to smile. Soon afterwards, Molly Wood , a new schoolteacher from Vermont, arrives in town. The Virginian and a drifter named Steve vie for her attentions, but she ultimately chooses the latter. However, as Steve was his childhood friend, the Virginian gives him a job at the ranch. Unhappy with the Virginian's violent nature, Molly tries to change him but is unsuccessful.
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| Release date: | November 9, 1929 |
| Directed by: | Victor Fleming |
| Runtime: | 91 Minutes |
| Producer: | Louis D. Lighton |
| Editor: | William Shea |
| Cinematography: | J. Roy Hunt |
| Screenplay by: | Owen Wister |
| Genre: | Western |