''The Winning of Barbara Worth'' is a 1926 American silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Henry King, and starring

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Cinema of the United States, ...

Vilma Bánky Vilma Bánky (born Vilma Koncsics;Hungarian civil registration document from Nagydorog, available through LDS records; film number 1793002 Items 4–5 9 January 1901 – 18 March 1991) was a Hungarian-American silent film actress. Although her ...

and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

(who replaced

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

). Based on Harold Bell Wright's novel ''The Winning of Barbara Worth'', the film is remembered for the climactic flood sequence, depicting the 1905 formation of the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gul ...

Plot

As a child, Barbara is orphaned when her settler parents perish trying to cross a California desert. She is rescued and raised by Jefferson Worth, who dreams of irrigating the desert. Fifteen years later, Willard Holmes, the chief engineer of a company intent on diverting the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

to do just that, arrives and is smitten with Barbara. However, he has a rival for her affections: local cowboy Abe Lee, who realizes, toward the end of the picture, that Barbara's love for him will never be anything more than the love a sister feels for a brother. Willard Holmes's greedy employer, meanwhile, refuses to spend the money to reinforce his gigantic water project. This results in a catastrophic flood, the visual and dramatic highlight of the film. Barbara is impressed by Willard's heroism, and he promises to return to marry her after he has conquered the Colorado River and turned the desert into a bountiful paradise.

Cast

as Willard Holmes *

as Barbara Worth *

as Abe Lee *

Charles Willis Lane Charles Willis Lane (January 25, 1869–October 17, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, active from 1914 to 1929. Like many film performers born before 1900 Lane had extensive prior Broadway stage or regional theatrical experience stretchi ...

as Jefferson Worth * Paul McAllister as The Seer *

E. J. Ratcliffe Edward J. Ratcliffe (10 March 1863 – 28 September 1948) was an English actor of stage and screen. He had an established stage career behind him when he came to films in 1915. He then spent nearly twenty years before the cameras before making hi ...

as James Greenfield * Clyde Cook as Tex * Erwin Connelly as Pat Mooney * Ed Brady as McDonald *

Sammy Blum Sammy Blum (May 25, 1889 – June 1, 1945) was an American character actor whose career spanned both the silent and talking film eras. Born in New York City, over the almost 30 years he was in the film industry, he would appear in almost 50 fil ...

as Horace Blanton * Fred Esmelton as George Cartwright * Bill Patton as Little Rosebud

Production

The movie was filmed in California's

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

and in the

Black Rock Desert __NOTOC__ The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a si ...

of Nevada.

References

External links

* * * *
"The Story of the Making of The Winning of Barbara Worth"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winning Of Barbara Worth 1926 films 1926 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Henry King Films shot in Nevada Samuel Goldwyn Productions films Films with screenplays by Frances Marion 1926 romantic drama films Flood films Silent American Western (genre) films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films

Plot

Cast

Production

Further reading

References

External links