Comments on: The Day Gary Cooper Liberated Poland

By: james P. Blackstone

james P. Blackstone — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:58:01 +0000

Back in the 80's an old friend was an exchange teacher at Lodz University in Poland. She met some family members of one of her teaching colleagues. When one of the grandfathers found she was from Texas, he grinned broadly and kept saying something that my friend couldn't understand. Someone told her he was saying "coopoys" which was as close as he could get to "cowboys."

They watched our movies and knew that cowboys were the good guys. Maybe it inspired them a few years later when they took on the Russians. I hope so.

By: Peter Montbriand

Peter Montbriand — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:23:51 +0000

You couldn't be more right. Stalin must sure have hated Poland to be so bloody treacherous. How could one man hate Poland simply cause he was beaten in the early 20s? Not to mention the west's fear of Russia was so great, that we failed to fight for Poland during the uprising and altogether totally let them down during Yalta and the aftermath of the war. Truly not the wests shining moments.
I worked with a couple from Poland for a few years. She was the daughter of one of the last communist foreign ministers, he was a Solidarity bigshot and as a result PNG during the last years of communism. Quite a pair. A book could be written……

By: maatkare

maatkare — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:13:55 +0000

"Winchester '73" y'all. Don't forget that one!

By: Hucbald

Hucbald — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:28:58 +0000

Yeah, and the types of women who you meet when wearing a Reagan Revolution tee are going to end up being light-years cooler than the ones attracted by a Che shirt. That Polish girl was amazing. Not gorgeous, but cute (Raven hair, milk-white skin, steel-gray eyes), and she had an absolutely awesome sense of humor. Oh, and a super-sexy accent (And I was in Sweden, the land of super-sexy accents!). Her English was better than many US high school grads, which really flipped me out.

By: osocrates

osocrates — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:14:55 +0000

I agree it's a great movie, but it seems many people are not aware of its Communist sympathies. See below: http://www.bluecollarprof.com/

By: Humberto

Humberto — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:36:48 +0000

For relentless valor nothing (on either side) during WWII compares to the Polish Home Army's fight during the Warsaw Rising. http://www.1944.pl/?lang=en

By: Davie

Davie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:18:13 +0000

I'm teaching my son about great classic movies and the actors in them, I showed him Rio Bravo which he liked so I moved on to The man who shot Liberty Valance, then the Alamo. Now my NetFlixs queue is full of John Wayne movies. Now I think I'll introduce him to Gary Cooper

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:00:58 +0000

Where can I get one of those posters?

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:00:15 +0000

I think (please don't laugh when I say that) that the symbolisim of the poster is that of one man, standing up against tyranny. And in Poland in 1989, it is one man, one vote standing up against the biggest tyranny of them all. After all, Cooper's carring a ballot in his hand. We're going to need that poster in '10 and '12

By: maatkare

maatkare — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:27:49 +0000

It depends. Newsboy caps, Kangols & those little fedoras some guys are wearing are very much still legitimate (casual) accessories, and a lot of women still sport hats pretty regularly. The beret has never really gone away. But the hat as a regular part of formal business wear is pretty extinct. I'm not sure what it would take to bring it back. Fedoras are awesome but very few men can pull them off without looking like they're in costume. Drudge just looks like a tool in his. (one of the many reasons "Mad Men" stands out, in addition to the smoking & drinking is the hats on everyone) Personally, I feel that cowboy hats should only be worn by actual, working cowboys. It takes a real man (or woman) to rock a cowboy hat.