Gary Cooper is now the pride of the Southampton Playhouse. The iconic actor, whose career spanned roles in “The Pride of the Yankees,” “Ball of Fire,” and “High Noon,” will now posthumously receive the honor of having an annual film festival in his name.
IndieWire can announce that the recently reopened Southampton Playhouse will have its inaugural Gary Cooper Festival from May 9 to May 11. The first annual Gary Cooper Festival takes place on the actor’s birthday week, celebrating Cooper’s history in Southampton. The late two-time Academy Award-winning actor rests at Southampton Cemetery since his death in 1961.
“Cooper’s filmography provides a template not only for first-rate screen acting, but the enduring power of the movies themselves,” Southampton Playhouse Artistic Director (and former IndieWire editor) Eric Kohn said. “Cinema is a portal to learn more about the world around us, and Gary Cooper’s rich filmography will provide us with an annual opportunity to benefit from the rich themes at the root of his work.”
Cooper’s daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, will be in attendance at the festival and will host a book signing for her autobiographical “Gary Cooper Off Camera: A Daughter Remembers.” Richard Sandomir, author of “The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic,” will also be on hand for a post-screening book signing and talk after “Pride of the Yankees” showings.
The Southampton Playhouse is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the community of Southampton and beyond with cinema, live events, and more. The theater boasts four screens including an IMAX theater and capacity for 35mm projection. The Playhouse first opened in 1932.
Check out the full program for the 2025 Gary Cooper Film Festival, with language provided by the Southampton Playhouse, below.
“The Pride of the Yankees” (1942)
“Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” So said baseball legend Lou Gehrig in his farewell speech from Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. Three years later, that speech would provide the tearjerking culmination of “The Pride of the Yankees,” with Cooper giving one of his most treasured performances as the famed player just one year after his death from the disease that would soon bear his name. More than a tribute to Gehrig’s heartbreaking story, though, “Pride of the Yankees” is a celebration of the energy and excitement at the center of the ultimate great American pastime. Featuring Babe Ruth and several other real-life Yankee legends as themselves, director Sam Wood’s heartfelt story doubles as a document of baseball culture in all of its intricacies, from rookie season hazing rituals to Gehrig’s rousing home-run sensations. Teresa Wright’s poignant performance as Gehrig’s lifelong love, Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig, adds additional depth to a movie rich with affection for its subject and the legacy of his impact that lasts to this day.
Saturday’s screening will be followed by a conversation with New York Times journalist Richard Sandomir, author of “The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic.”
Sunday, May 11th at 3:00 PM
Sunday, May 11th at 6:30 PM
“Ball of Fire” (1941)
Barbara Stanwyck delivers a domineering performance in Howard Hawks’ delectable romcom, but Cooper provides the innocent sounding board for her screwball antics. A loose (very loose!) adaptation of “Snow White,” the movie follows Stanwyck’s memorably-named Sugarpuss O’Shea, a cabaret singer who seeks refuge with the mob on her tail. She finds it with a group of geeky professors working on a sprawling encyclopedia project, with Cooper’s Professor Bertram researching American slang. While Sugarpuss brings some spice to the professors’ existence, Bertram’s brainy, good-natured ways ultimately rub off on the troublemaking performer and lead her to rethink her old life. Cooper’s performance as a sweet, lovable bookworm is among his most endearing turns.
Friday, May 9th at 7:00 PM
Sunday, May 11th at 12:00 PM
“High Noon” (1952)
Fred Zinnemann’s taut Western is allegorical storytelling at its finest. Cooper’s Oscar-winning performance, which doubled as an indictment of the Hollywood blacklist, stands alongside more contemporary action stars as a truly electrifying big-screen achievement. Marshal Will Kane is on the verge of retirement when he learns that the murderous outlaw he put in prison will return to town on the noon train. Shrugging off his wife’s insistence that they get out of town, the marshal insists he must confront his foe, but struggles to wind up a posse willing to help out. The result is a riveting one-man-army showdown that doubles as a powerful statement on the need for collective action against adversarial forces. Set to Tex Ritter’s infectious country ballad (“You have forsaken me, oh my darling…), “High Noon” transforms Western tropes into a treatise on the nature of American identity itself. As a result, it helped usher in a new chapter for the genre that revitalized its appeal. Cooper maintained a close friendship with Zinnemann throughout their lives, and this vital work is a clear reflection of that bond. Both screenings will feature a talk by Cooper’s daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, along with a signing of her book “Gary Cooper Off Camera: A Daughter Remembers.”
Saturday, May 10th at 12:00 PM
Saturday, May 10th at 3:00 PM
