The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926)

While building an irrigation system for a Southwestern desert community, an engineer vies with a local cowboy for the affections of a rancher's daughter.

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Rupert Hughes (titles), Frances Marion (adaptation)

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, Gary Cooper

Cast

Credited cast:
Ronald Colman	...	Willard Holmes
Vilma Bánky	...	Barbara Worth
Gary Cooper	...	Abe Lee
Charles Lane	...	Jefferson Worth
Paul McAllister	...	The Seer
E.J. Ratcliffe	...	James Greenfield
Clyde Cook	...	Tex
Erwin Connelly	...	Pat Mooney
Ed Brady	...	McDonald
Sammy Blum	...	Horace Blanton
Fred Esmelton	...	George Cartwright
Bill Patton	...	Little Rosebud (as William Patton)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Odel Conley	...	Minor Role

Storyline

Jefferson Worth finds an orphaned child in the desert and raises her as his daughter, Barbara. When grown, Barbara is beloved by Abe Lee, the foreman of her father's ranch and company. When a rich land developer arrives with plans to irrigate the desert, Worth joins forces with him. The developer's foster son, Willard, falls for Barbara and a rivalry develops between him and Abe. The river is dammed, but the developer swindles the ranchers and refuses to reinforce the weakening dam, as he no longer needs it. An angry mob turns on Worth, Willard and Abe come near confrontation over Barbara, and all the time, that dam is getting weaker....

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Plot Keywords:

desert | land developer | irrigation | engineer | wasteland | 

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Taglines:

What was the most eloquent word uttered in the language of the desert?

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 October 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Entfesselte Elemente

Filming Locations:

Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At its premiere revival presentation at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on 11 May 1971, Vilma Bánky was a no show, but the only two other surviving members of the cast, Clyde Cook and Glen Walters were present in the audience, along with other film notables. The organ accompaniment on the DVD is that of Gaylord Carter actually recorded that evening during the presentation.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title card: Sunk into the Earth like a great molten bowl, lay the desert - unconquered Empress of the Wilderness - beautiful - mysterious - merciless. A tawny siren, whispering promises of a Paradise beyond - crushing out the lives of men in its poisonous embrace.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood: Out West (1980)

User Reviews

More Memorable for It's Style Than It's Story

A familiar title, as it was Gary Cooper's debut, I've always thought it was some sort of drama about settlers in which a fort or township called 'Barbara Worth' (as in 'Santa Barbara') gets saved at the end.

However Barbara Worth turns out to be the name of the heroine, and the plot proves more of a soap opera than an action movie, as Ronald Colman and Gary Cooper vie for her affection.

Who cares? Despite their combined star power, Colman has little to do, and Cooper even less. Vilma Banky is charming in the title role, but the personal drama proves remarkably uninteresting. What makes the film live is the superb photography by George Barnes and Gregg Toland - shown off to perfection in the beautiful tinted print available - and the flood created when the Colorado bursts its banks, engineered by special effects veteran Ned Mann, (best-known for his work in Britain for Korda during the 30's), who presumably also created the Dust Devil we see at the start.