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City of Angels (film)

2025-11-01T01:35:02Z

2601:18C:8000:AAE0:C970:4806:D8DF:19AA:

{{Short description|1998 film by Brad Silberling}}
{{distinguish|The Crow: City of Angels{{!}}''The Crow: City of Angels''|City of Angels (musical)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = City of Angels
| image = City Of Angels.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Brad Silberling]]
| producer = [[Charles Roven]] [[Dawn Steel]]
| screenplay = [[Dana Stevens (screenwriter)|Dana Stevens]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[Wings of Desire]]''|[[Wim Wenders]]|{{quad}}[[Peter Handke]]|{{quad}}[[Richard Reitinger]]}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Nicolas Cage]]
* [[Meg Ryan]]
* [[Dennis Franz]]
* [[Andre Braugher]]}}
| music = [[Gabriel Yared]]
| cinematography = [[John Seale]]
| editing = [[Lynzee Klingman]]
| studio = [[Regency Enterprises]] [[Atlas Entertainment]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]]
| released = {{Film date|1998|04|10|United States}}
| runtime = 114 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/CVF153283 |title=City of Angels |access-date=August 9, 2017 |website=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809213800/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/city-angels-1970-4 |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref>
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $55 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/movies/high-costs-of-joe-black-challenge-industry-rule.html |title=High Costs of 'Joe Black' Challenge Industry Rule |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |access-date=August 9, 2017 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 20, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810052444/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/movies/high-costs-of-joe-black-challenge-industry-rule.html |archive-date=August 10, 2017 }}</ref>
| gross = $198.7 million<ref name="BOM City of Angels" />
}}
'''''City of Angels''''' is a 1998 American [[romantic fantasy]] [[drama]] film directed by [[Brad Silberling]], and starring [[Nicolas Cage]] and [[Meg Ryan]]. Set in Los Angeles, California, the film is a loose [[remake]] of [[Wim Wenders]]'s 1987 film ''[[Wings of Desire]]'' (''Der Himmel über Berlin'').

As with the original, ''City of Angels'' tells the story of an angel (Cage) who falls in love with a mortal woman (Ryan), and wishes to become human to be with her. With the guidance of a man ([[Dennis Franz]]) who has already made the transition from immortality, the angel [[fallen angel|falls]] and begins the human experience.

When producer [[Dawn Steel]] saw potential to pursue more story ideas in Wenders's original concept, she and her husband [[Charles Roven]] acquired the rights for an English-language adaptation. After years of delay, they found support from [[Warner Bros.]] and recruited Silberling and screenwriter [[Dana Stevens (screenwriter)|Dana Stevens]] to execute the project. Themes were borrowed from Wenders's work, though the ending was altered, to a more tragic effect. ''City of Angels'' was filmed around California and dedicated to Steel, who died before the premiere.

The remake was released to financial success, but mixed reviews, with some critics judging it to be a mawkish adaptation. It was also noted for [[City of Angels (soundtrack)|its soundtrack]], and nominated for several awards, particularly for its performances and soundtrack.

==Plot==

In [[Los Angeles]], California, Seth is one of many [[angel]]s who watch over humans, protecting them in unseen ways. His main responsibility is to appear to those who are [[near-death experience|close to death]] and [[psychopomp|guide]] them to the next life.

During this task, Seth and one of his fellow angels, [[Cassiel]], ask people what their favorite thing in life was. Despite these daily encounters, they have trouble understanding human beings and their ways, as angels lack human senses.

While waiting to escort a man undergoing heart surgery to the other world, Seth is impressed by the vigorous efforts of the surgeon, Maggie Rice, to save the ill-fated man's life and her sincere anguish at her failure to do so.

Seth soon becomes focused on Maggie and makes himself visible to her. They develop a connection, which soon turns to mutual attraction, although she is already involved with one of her colleagues, Jordan Ferris.

Seth then meets Nathaniel Messinger, one of Maggie's patients, who senses Seth's presence. He tells him that he, too, had once been an angel. But, as [[free will]] is granted equally to mortals and angels, Nathaniel decided to become human by "[[fallen angel|falling]]". Seth begins to consider being with Maggie, and she learns through Nathaniel that he is an angel.

[[File:A view of Lake Tahoe from Crystal bay.JPG|225px|thumb|[[Lake Tahoe]] is featured in the film.]]
Seth becomes human by jumping from the top of a skyscraper. Immediately upon awakening, he starts to experience many human feelings and sensations that he had never been able to understand, beginning with physical pain. As a human, Seth heads to the hospital to see Maggie but is told she has gone to her uncle's mountain cabin at Lake Tahoe.

Penniless and naïve, he cannot pay for the journey and gets mugged. He eventually hitches a ride to [[Lake Tahoe]] and appears, soaked and cold, at Maggie's doorstep. She realizes he has become mortal for her love, and they have sex.

The next morning, as Seth is showering, Maggie rides her bicycle to a local store. On her way back, happy and fulfilled, she rides her bicycle with her eyes closed and her arms wide open. Her happiness is cut short when she fails to notice a [[logging truck]] crossing her path and is gravely wounded in the collision.

Seth senses that Maggie is in trouble and runs to her aid. He arrives in time for her to tell him she sees the angel who has come to accompany her. Although Seth can no longer see angels, he senses one nearby and frantically begs Maggie not to look at them. She tells him she is not afraid anymore and that when they ask her what her favorite thing in life was, she will say it was Seth, and she then dies.

Grieving and alone, Seth is visited by Cassiel. He asks if he is being punished for becoming human, which Cassiel assures him is not the case. Sometime later, Seth expresses his joy in being human and the fact that he has accepted his new life by running into the ocean, feeling the waves at dawn, in sight of the angels.

==Cast==
[[File:Nicolas Cage - KirkWeaver.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Nicolas Cage]] stars as Seth.]]
* [[Nicolas Cage]] as Seth
* [[Meg Ryan]] as Dr. Maggie Rice
* [[Andre Braugher]] as [[Cassiel]]
* [[Colm Feore]] as Jordan Ferris
* [[Dennis Franz]] as Nathaniel Messinger
* [[Robin Bartlett]] as Anne
* [[Joanna Merlin]] as Teresa Messinger
* Sarah Dampf as Susan

==Themes==
[[File:A Fallen Angel LACMA M.84.21.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Seth's story invokes the mythology of [[fallen angel]]s.]]
''City of Angels'' invokes the idea of the [[fallen angel]] in Seth's transformation into a human. However, author Scott Culpepper argues this is not related to evil or exile from heaven, and is instead based on [[free will]].{{sfn|Culpepper|2016|p=28}} The fact that Maggie is killed very shortly after Seth's transformation poses the question of whether Seth left "heaven for ashes", but the conclusion is that "the very temporality of relationships, experiences and feelings are what make them meaningful".{{sfn|Culpepper|2016|p=28}} Seth's realization is followed by the concluding scene in which he dives into the ocean, and the otherwise "stoic" Cassiel smiles for him. Sociologists [[Albert Bergesen]] and [[Andrew Greeley]] write that this communicates "not only the glory of being alive ... but the seeming approval by heaven of that choice".{{sfn|Bergesen|Greeley|2017|p=115}}

Writer [[Brian Godawa]] interprets the film as having a "humanistic worldview" in which physical experiences humans can enjoy have more value to angels than the spiritual. However, Godawa feels this contradicts [[1 Peter 1]]:12, where "things which angels desire to look into" are spiritual truths in the gospel of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]].{{sfn|Godawa|2011|p=242}} Encyclopedist Andrew Tate writes Maggie is a surgeon with no spiritual faith and, through Seth, she "learns to trust the invisible", while Seth learns the wonders of life through her.{{sfn|Tate|2011|p=24}}

[[File:Paradise Lost 10.jpg|150px|thumb|Professor Christopher R. Miller contrasted ''City of Angels''{{'}} characters to the angels of ''[[Paradise Lost]]''.]]
Professor Christopher R. Miller observes Seth's book recommendation for Maggie is [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''[[A Moveable Feast]]'', but Miller suggests [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' would have been more interesting. Miller contrasted Milton's epic, in which "angels were matter and spirit" and "sybaritic show-offs", with the depiction of the supernatural beings in the film.<ref name="Miller">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/24/bookend/bookend.html |title=Winging It |last=Miller |first=Christopher R. |access-date=August 15, 2017 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 24, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816111541/http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/24/bookend/bookend.html |archive-date=August 16, 2017 }}</ref>

Tate believes the fact that angels reside in libraries indicates that they represent "an age of reason, order and learning", though these principles led to decline in faith, contemplating Nathaniel's line "They don't believe in us anymore".{{sfn|Tate|2011|p=23}} Miller questions the "no one believes" line, pointing to 1998 [[New Age]] book sales, the play ''[[Angels in America]]'' and the television series ''[[Touched by an Angel]]''.<ref name="Miller"/>

On the choice of Los Angeles as a setting, Gabriel Solomons contrasts the depiction of the city as a door to heaven to other films depicting it as a "psychological dead end" or actual hell (as in ''[[Constantine (film)|Constantine]]'').{{sfn|Solomons|2011|p=6}} However, Professor Jeff Malpas says that, whereas ''Wings of Desire'' was informed by Berlin, Los Angeles, sometimes known in real life as the "City of Angels", "provides nothing more than a convenient location".{{sfn|Malpas|2008|p=150}}

==Production==
===Development===
Director [[Brad Silberling]] praised [[Wim Wenders]]' 1987 Franco-German film ''[[Wings of Desire]]'', calling it "truly the most incredible cinematic experience of observation of human detail".<ref name="Kenny">{{cite AV media |last1=Kenny |first1=J.M. |last2=Silberling |first2=Brad |date=2009 |title=The Angels Among Us |medium=Blu-ray |work=[[Wings of Desire]] |publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref> Silberling, while acknowledging Wenders' film was meant as a tribute to [[West Berlin]], remarked that it became "a larger human discussion".<ref name="Kenny"/> In 1989, at the initiative of producer [[Dawn Steel]],<ref name="Albers"/> her company reached out to Wenders to purchase the rights for an adaptation.<ref>{{cite AV media |last1=Kenny |first1=J.M. |last2=Wenders |first2=Wim |date=2009 |title=The Angels Among Us |medium=Blu-ray |work=[[Wings of Desire]] |publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref> However, production was delayed, as Steel took the project to [[The Walt Disney Company]] and [[Turner Entertainment]] before finally settling at [[Warner Bros.]]<ref name="Mermelstein">{{cite news |last=Mermelstein |first=David |date=April 5, 1998 |title=The remake as a risky take on a classic |volume=147 |page=17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |issue=51118 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/movies/film-the-remake-as-a-risky-take-on-a-classic.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814063655/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/movies/film-the-remake-as-a-risky-take-on-a-classic.html |archive-date=August 14, 2017}}</ref> Silberling secured the position of director after his success with the 1995 film adaptation of ''[[Casper (film)|Casper]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/16/features.review |title=The family that grieves together... |last=Ojumu |first=Akin |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 16, 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402210008/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/16/features.review |archive-date=April 2, 2017 }}</ref>

While Steel's husband [[Charles Roven]] said she "felt that there was another movie in the idea for ''Wings of Desire''", screenplay drafts by various authors dissatisfied her.<ref name="Mermelstein"/> She subsequently selected [[Dana Stevens (screenwriter)|Dana Stevens]] as screenwriter.<ref name="Wilmington">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/04/10/caught-in-the-middle/ |title=Caught in the Middle |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |access-date=August 9, 2017 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 10, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809202514/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804100018_1_angels-solveig-dommartin-wings |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> Stevens professed admiration for Wenders' original and believed she could "capture its essence", while reconsidering its [[nonlinear narrative]]. She also defended the California setting, saying "Los Angeles is metaphorically more representative of America than any other city ... It has every personality, and I like the idea of angels being among all these different ethnic cultures".<ref name="Mermelstein"/>

[[File:US-CA-SanFrancisco-PublicLibrary-Atrium-2012-06-27T120042.jpg|250px|thumb|[[San Francisco Public Library]] was a filming location.{{sfn|Marcus|2015|p=206}}]]
Star [[Nicolas Cage]] said that moving the setting from Berlin in the time of the [[Berlin Wall|Wall]] to Los Angeles demanded story changes, with heavier focus on romance.<ref name="Mooney"/> Silberling and Cage noted the project followed other angel-themed films, such as ''[[Michael (1996 film)|Michael]]'' and ''[[The Preacher's Wife]]'', both released in 1996. They were unimpressed with these earlier films, and drew angel wings in the ''City of Angels'' screenplay to identify parts they felt needed improvement.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-last=Cagle |editor-first=Jess |title=City of Angels |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 20–27, 1998 |issue=419–420 |page=64 }}</ref>

Though Silberling did not use the black-and-white the angels see in the original ''Wings of Desire'' and ''[[Faraway, So Close!]]'', the remake does borrow the idea of angels inhabiting libraries.{{sfn|Tate|2011|p=23}} Wenders and his crew also developed the costume design of overcoats for angels, with Wenders telling Silberling they experimented with costumes during production before deciding on this look.<ref name="Kenny"/> The ending of the story was altered, so Maggie is killed, a less happy conclusion than the original. Silberling equated this to a scene in ''Wings of Desire'' where the angel protagonist goes to the side of a motorcyclist near death.<ref name="Albers">{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/kulturspiegel/d-7927749.html |title=Hat Hollywood ein Herz für Engel? |last=Albers |first=Markus |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=June 29, 1998 |language=de |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029183759/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/kulturspiegel/d-7927749.html |archive-date=October 29, 2017 }}</ref>

Silberling claimed there was minimal supervision from Warner Bros. throughout writing and filming, due to priority given to the [[Batman in film|''Batman'' film franchise]].<ref name="Albers"/> ''City of Angels'' was the last film produced by Steel and Roven before her death, and it is dedicated to her.<ref name="Ehrman">{{cite web |last=Ehrman |first=Mark |title=Stars Are Out for 'Angels,' Dawn Steel |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-10-ls-37786-story.html |access-date=July 10, 2017 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 10, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816230931/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/10/news/ls-37786 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 }}</ref>

===Casting===
Originally, Silberling envisioned employing novice actors in the lead roles, but acknowledged performers with the level of recognition of Cage and [[Meg Ryan]] would attract support for the production.<ref name="Albers"/> After having completed [[action film|action-oriented]] roles in ''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]],'' ''[[Con Air]]'' and ''[[Face/Off]]'', Cage was eager to star in a more profound film when he received Stevens' screenplay. He agreed to accept the role, noting the spiritual issues in the story and the impact it had on him, but not elaborating on his own beliefs.<ref name="Mermelstein"/> Ryan also agreed to accept the role of Maggie, remarking "I don't know if angels are floating around, but the idea that there's a guiding force is something I embrace".<ref name="Mermelstein"/>

[[Andre Braugher]], an actor on the television series ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'', was able to work on the project while ''Homicide'' was on break before the beginning of its [[Homicide: Life on the Street (season 6)|sixth season]].{{sfn|Kalat|2011}} His new co-star [[Dennis Franz]] was also starring on a police procedural series, ''[[NYPD Blue]]''.{{sfn|Kalat|2011}}

===Filming===
[[File:BofA.jpg|150px|thumb|The [[Bank of America Plaza (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Bank of America]] was used for the falling scene.]]
Cage said that with this role, he had to switch from his regular methods of constant movements to trying to be "effective" while often still.<ref name="Mooney">{{cite news |first=Joshua |last=Mooney |title=City of Angels |newspaper=The Hour |date=April 10, 1998 |location=[[Norwalk, Connecticut]] |page=C1}}</ref> He remarked on having to adopt the mindset of a child, and act impressed by commonplace experiences such as feeling rain or sunlight.{{sfn|Malone|2010|p=162}} A rig for the camera was built for the scene where the angelic Seth sees Maggie look in the mirror, and the crew shot the mirror without the actors for one take so Cage's reflection could be edited out from the take with both.<ref name="Nelson"/>

Other special effects involved a "going to the light" [[afterlife]] depiction, in which Seth walks with a little girl, played by Sarah Dampf, who has died. After cinematographer [[John Seale]] shot the scene in a hallway, [[Sony Pictures Imageworks]]' [[John Nelson (visual effects artist)|John Nelson]] increased the brightness to end in white, adding splinters of light.<ref name="Nelson">{{cite AV media|last=Nelson |first=John |title=The Making of the Visual Effects for City of Angels |publisher=Sony Pictures Imageworks |date=1998 |medium=DVD }}</ref>

Some of the film was shot at [[Lake Tahoe]]'s surrounding areas and [[Kern County]].{{sfn|Medved|Akiyama|2007|p=334}} The "falling" scene was partially shot at the [[Bank of America Plaza (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Bank of America]], while Cage was placed on a moving rig over a [[Chroma key|bluescreen]].<ref name="Nelson"/> Ryan's death scene was filmed on Old Mill Road in [[Crestline, California]].{{sfn|Medved|Akiyama|2007|p=334}} The library scenes were shot at [[San Francisco Public Library]].{{sfn|Marcus|2015|p=206}} For angel scenes shot at [[Malibu Beach]], though the characters are not physical beings, it was decided that the angels would have briefly visible footprints to avoid the perception that the sand was too hard to leave imprints. Thus, Nelson erased the footprints soon after they are first seen.<ref name="Nelson"/>
[[File:Malibu Beach - panoramio (2).jpg|250px|thumb|Scenes were shot at [[Malibu Beach]].]]

===Music===
{{Main|City of Angels (soundtrack)}}
The [[film score|score]] was composed by [[Gabriel Yared]], often using three notes to convey ascent. Pop [[synthesizer]]s, pianos and strings were used for the three-note compositions where the angels observe Los Angeles, where the child in the prologue dies and where Seth experiences Maggie's despair, respectively.{{sfn|Laing|2007|pp=35-36}} Yared also employed violins and celli, sometimes using one to accompany a line of [[voice-over]] dialogue and another for follow-up dialogue.{{sfn|Laing|2007|p=42}} Choirs and distant voices reminiscent of [[Jürgen Knieper]]'s ''Wings of Desire'' score can be heard.<ref name="Albers"/>

The soundtrack debuted at number 23 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart on the issue dated April 18, 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Billboard 200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=August 1, 1998 |volume=110 |issue=16 |page=84 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ4EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22city+of+angels%22+billboard+200&pg=PA82 |access-date=January 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029183759/https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA82&dq=%22city+of+angels%22+billboard+apr+1998&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YnToUq__GIWvkAePr4H4Cg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22city%20of%20angels%22%20billboard%20200&f=false |archive-date=October 29, 2017 }}</ref> Its two singles, the [[Goo Goo Dolls]]' "[[Iris (song)|Iris]]" and [[Alanis Morissette]]'s "[[Uninvited (song)|Uninvited]]", were released to U.S. radio in March and were still receiving substantial radio airplay by August.<ref name="YahooMusic">{{cite web |url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12039296 |last=Rosen |first=Craig |title='City' A Set-Up For New Alanis, Goo Goo Dolls Albums |work=[[Yahoo! Music]] |date=August 27, 1998 |access-date=November 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614124544/http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12039296 |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

While composing "Iris" for the film, songwriter [[John Rzeznik]] described feeling inspired to write the lyrics from the point of view of a character, rather than in his own voice.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Siegler |first=Dylan |title='Dizzy' Track Listing |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=September 5, 1998 |page=123 | publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. }}</ref> Music author [[John Braheny]] wrote that Rzeznik's composition in "Iris" follows a [[musical form|form]] where a melody, represented by A, is given [[Repetition (music)|AAA repetition]], with an added repeating chorus lyric.{{sfn|Braheny|2006|p=87}}

==Release==
In [[test screening]]s, Silberling said the film had favorable reactions, though with some confused viewers.<ref name="Albers"/> ''City of Angels'' had its debut at Los Angeles' [[Mann Theatres]] on April 8, 1998. The screening was held to benefit the Dawn Steel Putting Girls in the Picture Fund, in honor of Steel, who died in December 1997. Silberling, Roven and the stars were in attendance.<ref name="Ehrman"/> The film's wider release in the United States took place during the weekend,<ref name="Tribune"/> distributed by [[Warner Bros.]]<ref name="Holden"/>

[[Warner Home Video]] published a special edition [[DVD]] in December 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Top DVD Sales |date=January 23, 1999 |page=84 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> In 2014, Warner Home Video released a [[Blu-ray]] in [[Blu-ray#A|Region A]], with [[audio commentary]] from Silberling, Roven and Stevens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/62458/city-of-angels/ |title=City of Angels (Blu-ray) |last=Spurlin |first=Thomas |date=February 4, 2014 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |work=[[DVD Talk]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808233914/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/62458/city-of-angels/ |archive-date=August 8, 2017 }}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film opened first in the box office, making $16.1 million in its opening weekend.<ref name="Tribune">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/04/13/city-of-angels-flies-at-box-office/ |title='City Of Angels' Flies at Box Office |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 13, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703015737/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-04-13/news/9804130111_1_studio-estimates-friday-to-sunday-period-box-office |archive-date=July 3, 2017 }}</ref> It displaced ''[[Lost in Space (film)|Lost in Space]]'', which was first in the box office for one week, after overtaking ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', first for 15 weeks. ''Titanic'' ranked third behind ''City of Angels'' and ''Lost in Space''.<ref>{{cite news |title=City of Angels' Takes Wing in Heavenly Opening Weekend |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 13, 1998 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-13-ca-38767-story.html |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404124317/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/13/entertainment/ca-38767 |archive-date=April 4, 2014 }}</ref> ''City of Angels'' reached the $100 million mark by October 26, 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Woods |first=Mark |title='Angels' wings past $100 million |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=October 26, 1998 |volume=372 |issue=11 |page=15}}</ref>

It finished its run after grossing $78,685,114 in North America and $120 million in other territories, for a total of nearly $200 million.<ref name="BOM City of Angels">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cityofangels.htm |title=City of Angels |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=April 7, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920184424/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cityofangels.htm |archive-date=September 20, 2009 }}</ref> Writer [[Craig Detweiler]] concluded the remake drew more viewers than the original.{{sfn|Detweiler|2017}}

===Aggregated critical reception===
[[Meg Ryan]] received positive reviews for her performance.
The film has a 58% score on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus states: "''City of Angels'' may not tug the heartstrings as effortlessly as it aims to, but the end results will still leave more than a few viewers in tears."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/city_of_angels/ |title=City of Angels (1998) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=January 17, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830121014/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/city_of_angels |archive-date=August 30, 2017 }}</ref> The film has a rating a 54 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]] based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/city-of-angels |title=City of Angels Reviews |website=Metacritic |access-date=January 17, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322141800/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/city-of-angels |archive-date=March 22, 2017 }}</ref>

===Professional critical reception===

[[Roger Ebert]] gave ''City of Angels'' three stars, saying Meg Ryan was at her best here, but the film was "more of a formula story" than the original ''Wings of Desire'', and that many of its qualities were lifted from there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-angels-1998 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=City of Angels |work=Rogerebert.com |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602121204/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-angels-1998 |archive-date=June 2, 2017 }}</ref> In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', [[Emanuel Levy]] positively reviewed Cage as "endlessly resourceful" and Ryan as "terrifically engaging".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/city-of-angels-2-1200453464/ |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |title=Review: 'City of Angels' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=April 6, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628083544/http://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/city-of-angels-2-1200453464/ |archive-date=June 28, 2017 }}</ref> In ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', Jennifer Wolcott compared it to ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'' (1990) and ''[[Contact (1997 American film)|Contact]]'' (1997) as a U.S. film that could explore religion and love, highlighting Maggie's realization that her life will continue after the death of her blood cells, and that love is more than "a chemical reaction".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wolcott |first=Jennifer |title='City of Angels' explores faith |magazine=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=April 17, 1998 |volume=90 |issue=99 |page=B1 }}</ref> ''[[Sun-Sentinel]]'' reviewer Roger Hurlburt praised the acting, direction and "profound" feelings, and advised readers, "don't forget the [[Kleenex]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804080276_1_angel-seth-maggie |last=Hurlburt |first=Roger |title=What Happens When An Angel Falls in Love |work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=August 15, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816110141/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804080276_1_angel-seth-maggie |archive-date=August 16, 2017 }}</ref> Wenders was satisfied with the adaptation of his work, remarking, "It's done with respect, with a sense of discovery all its own".<ref name="Mermelstein"/>

''[[The New York Times]]''{{'s}} [[Stephen Holden]] wrote the standard romantic clichés were "sumptuously" displayed, Cage resembled a [[serial killer]] more than an angel, and he preferred Ryan.<ref name="Holden">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D02E2D9143DF933A25757C0A96E958260 |last=Holden |first=Stephen |title=Film Review; Heaven, He's From Heaven, But His Heart Beats So . . . |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808233752/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D02E2D9143DF933A25757C0A96E958260 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 }}</ref> [[David Denby]] wrote in ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' that unlike Berlin, Los Angeles offers "the sunlit paradise" where people do not need convincing as to how nice life can be.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/2538/ |last=Denby |first=David |title=To Live and Fly in L.A. |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=20 April 1998 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909092336/http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/2538/ |archive-date=September 9, 2017 }}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a C, with Owen Gleiberman describing it as "a hymn to sappiness".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://ew.com/article/1998/04/16/city-angels/ |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |title=City of Angels |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=April 16, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809040315/http://ew.com/article/1998/04/16/city-angels/ |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> [[CNN]]'s Paul Clinton dismissed the remake as a "schmaltzy" and "vapid" version of ''Wings of Desire''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/10/review.city.of.angels/ |last=Clinton |first=Paul |title=Review: 'City of Angels' has no spirit |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525123703/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/10/review.city.of.angels/ |archive-date=May 25, 2010 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s Michael O'Sullivan dismissed it as "a mawkish debasement of its source material", asking "When will Hollywood learn to leave well enough alone?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/cityofangelsosullivan.htm |last=O'Sullivan |first=Michael |title='City of Angels': Clipped 'Wings' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510163749/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/cityofangelsosullivan.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2017 }}</ref> Michael Wilmington gave it two and a half stars in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', enjoying the appearance of the film but concluding it feels "forced and mechanically weepy".<ref name="Wilmington"/> Writing for ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'', William Thomas credited Silberling for "a fresh eye", but felt the film fell short in "philosophical claptrap".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.empireonline.com/movies/city-angels/review/ |last=Thomas |first=William |title=City Of Angels Review |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=January 1, 2000 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711070454/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/city-angels/review/ |archive-date=July 11, 2017 }}</ref> [[Andrew Johnston (critic)|Andrew Johnston]] writing in [[Time Out New York]] concluded: "In the final reel, what began as a philosophical study of death and longing becomes a blatant tearjerker, but even then the accumulated momentum sweeps you along. Mainstream films are seldom more lyrical."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnston|first=Andrew|date=April 16, 1998|title=City of Angels|journal=Time Out New York}}</ref>

In 2012, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included it in its Top ten On-Screen Depictions of Heaven list, for its portrayal of the "go toward the light" afterlife experience.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/09/top-10-on-screen-depictions-of-heaven/slide/city-of-angels/ |last=Skarda |first=Erin |title=Top 10 On-Screen Depictions of Heaven |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801153427/http://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/09/top-10-on-screen-depictions-of-heaven/slide/city-of-angels/ |archive-date=August 1, 2014 }}</ref> In his ''2015 Movie Guide'', [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it two and a half stars, judging it "still intriguing" though losing much of the atmosphere of the original.{{sfn|Maltin|2014}} That year, ''[[Indiewire]]'', in reviewing remakes, called ''City of Angels'' "a sickly bastardization" of its source material, though remarking Wenders himself was unable to duplicate its success with his 1993 sequel, ''[[Faraway, So Close!]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/10-movie-remakes-involving-auteur-directors-265323/ |title=10 Movie Remakes Involving Auteur Directors |last=Staff |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[IndieWire]] |date=April 7, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809000420/http://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/10-movie-remakes-involving-auteur-directors-265323/ |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> In 2017, [[MSN]] included it in its 20 All-Time Worst Movie Remakes list, acknowledging it as a financial hit but "a schmaltzy tearjerker" compared to the poetry of the original.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-my/entertainment/gallery/the-20-all-time-worst-movie-remakes/ss-BBCmCjJ#image=7 |title=The 20 all-time worst movie remakes |publisher=[[MSN]] |date=September 6, 2017 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808234923/https://www.msn.com/en-my/entertainment/gallery/the-20-all-time-worst-movie-remakes/ss-BBCmCjJ#image=7 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 }}</ref>

===Accolades===
''[[City of Angels (soundtrack)|City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture]]'' received nominations at the [[41st Annual Grammy Awards|41st Grammy Awards]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/1999/music/news/grammy-nominations-list-page-1-1117489943/ |title=Grammy Nominations List – Page 1 |last=Staff |date=January 5, 1999 |access-date=August 21, 2017 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821205017/http://variety.com/1999/music/news/grammy-nominations-list-page-1-1117489943/ |archive-date=August 21, 2017 }}</ref> and the film received nominations and awards at ceremonies honoring cinema:

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"|Date of ceremony
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
!scope="row" | [[ASCAP Award]]
| rowspan="1" | 1999
| Top Box Office Films
| ''City of Angels''
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gazettereview.com/2016/12/happened-nicolas-cage-news-updates/ |title=What Happened to Nicolas Cage – News & Updates |last=Carter |first=Brooke |date=December 29, 2016 |access-date=July 8, 2017 |work=Gazette Review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103125156/http://gazettereview.com/2016/12/happened-nicolas-cage-news-updates/ |archive-date=January 3, 2017 }}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[Blockbuster Entertainment Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Favorite Actor – Drama/Romance
| {{sortname|Nicolas|Cage}}
| {{won}}
| {{sfn|Riggs|2000|p=76}}
|-
| Favorite Actress – Drama/Romance
| {{sortname|Meg|Ryan}}
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="1" | {{sfn|Riggs|2004|p=278}}
|-
!scope="row" | [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globes]]
| rowspan="1" | [[56th Golden Globe Awards|January 24, 1999]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]
| "[[Uninvited (song)|Uninvited]]" by [[Alanis Morissette]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/film/city-angels |title=City of Angels |access-date=July 2, 2017 |publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703015848/http://www.goldenglobes.com/film/city-angels |archive-date=July 3, 2017 }}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[MTV Movie Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | [[1999 MTV Movie Awards|June 5, 1999]]
| [[MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo|Best On-Screen Duo]]
| {{sortname|Nicolas|Cage|nolink=1}} and Meg Ryan
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/38043/there-s-something-about-mtv-movie-awards |title='There's Something About' MTV Movie Awards |last=Ryan |first=Joel |date=April 20, 1999 |access-date=July 7, 2017 |work=[[E! News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708035501/http://www.eonline.com/news/38043/there-s-something-about-mtv-movie-awards |archive-date=July 8, 2017 }}</ref>
|-
| [[MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie|Best Movie Song]]
| "[[Iris (song)|Iris]]" by [[Goo Goo Dolls]]
| {{nom}}
|-
!scope="row" | [[Satellite Awards]]
| rowspan="1" | [[3rd Golden Satellite Awards|January 17, 1999]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| {{sortname|Gabriel|Yared}}
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="1" | {{sfn|Laing|2004|p=164}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3| [[Saturn Award]]s
| rowspan="3" | [[25th Saturn Awards|June 9, 1999]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film|Best Fantasy Film]]
| ''City of Angels''
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="3" | {{sfn|Riggs|2004|p=278}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-10-ca-15714-story.html |title=Arts And Entertainment Reports From The Times, News Services and the Nation's Press |last=Snow |first=Shauna |date=March 10, 1999 |access-date=August 21, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614202759/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/10/entertainment/ca-15714 |archive-date=June 14, 2016 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{sortname|Meg|Ryan|nolink=1}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| {{sortname|Dennis|Franz}}
| {{nom}}
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of films about angels]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Bergesen |first1=Albert |last2=Greeley |first2=Andrew |chapter=Angel Angst and the Direction of Desire |title=God in the Movies |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |date=2017 |isbn=978-1351517218 }}
* {{cite book |last=Braheny |first=John |title=The Craft & Business of Songwriting |publisher=Writer's Digest Books |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |edition=Third |date=2006 |isbn=1582974667 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/craftbusinessofs00brah }}
* {{cite book |last=Culpepper |first=Scott |chapter=No More Mr. Nice Angel |title=The Supernatural Revamped: From Timeworn Legends to Twenty-First-Century Chic |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |date=2016 |isbn=978-1611478655 }}
* {{cite book |last=Detweiler |first=Craig |chapter=10. Wings of Desire |title=God in the Movies: A Guide for Exploring Four Decades of Film |publisher=Brazos Press |date=2017 |isbn=978-1493410590 }}
* {{cite book |last=Godawa |first=Brian |title=Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment |publisher=InterVarsity Press |date=2011 |isbn=978-0830869534 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kalat |first=David P. |chapter=Andre Braugher |title=Homicide: Life on the Streets- the Unofficial Companion |publisher=St. Martin's Press |date=2011 |isbn=978-1429938792 }}
* {{cite book |last=King |first=Mike |chapter=Ghosts, Angels and the Afterlife |title=Luminous: The Spiritual Life on Film |publisher=McFarland |date=2014 |isbn=978-1476613239 }}
* {{cite book |last=Laing |first=Heather |title=Gabriel Yared's The English Patient: A Film Score Guide |publisher=Scarecrow Press |date=2004 |isbn=0810849658 }}
* {{cite book |last=Laing |first=Heather |title=Gabriel Yared's The English Patient: A Film Score Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/gabrielyaredseng00lain |url-access=registration |publisher=Scarecrow Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-1461658818 }}
* {{cite book |last=Malone |first=Aubrey |title=Sacred Profanity: Spirituality at the Movies |publisher=Praeger |location=Santa Barbara, California, Denver and Oxford |date=2010 |isbn=978-0313379222 }}
* {{cite book |last=Malpas |first=Jeff |chapter=Wim Wenders: The Role of Memory |title=Cinematic Thinking: Philosophical Approaches to the New Cinema |location=Stanford, California |publisher=Stanford University Press |date=2008 |isbn=978-0804758000 }}
* {{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide |publisher=Penguin |date=2014 |isbn=978-0698183612 }}
* {{cite book |last=Marcus |first=Laura |chapter=The Library in Film: Order and Mystery |title=The Meaning of the Library: A Cultural History |location=Princeton and Oxford |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=2015 |isbn=978-1400865741 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Medved |first1=Harry |last2=Akiyama |first2=Bruce |title=Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer's Guide to Exploring Southern California's Great Outdoors |publisher=St. Martin's Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-1429907170 }}
* {{cite book |last=Riggs |first=Thomas |title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television |volume=31 |publisher=Cengage Gale |date=2000 |isbn=0787646369 }}
* {{cite book |last=Riggs |first=Thomas |title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television |publisher=Cengage Gale |date=2004 |isbn=0787671010 }}
* {{cite book |last=Solomons |first=Gabriel |title=World Film Locations: Los Angeles |publisher=Intellect Books |date=2011 |isbn=978-1841504858 }}
* {{cite book |last=Tate |first=Andrew |chapter=Angels |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Film |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2011 |isbn=978-0313330728 }}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote|City of Angels}}
* {{IMDb title|0120632|City of Angels}}

{{Wings of Desire}}
{{Brad Silberling}}
{{Wim Wenders}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:City Of Angels}}
[[Category:1990s romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:American remakes of German films]]
[[Category:American romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:Atlas Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Existentialist films]]
[[Category:Films about angels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Peter Handke]]
[[Category:Films scored by Gabriel Yared]]
[[Category:Films directed by Brad Silberling]]
[[Category:Films produced by Charles Roven]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Dana Stevens]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Regency Enterprises films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Wim Wenders]]
[[Category:Films produced by Dawn Steel]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:Angels in popular culture]]
[[Category:English-language romantic fantasy films]]
[[Category:Teen Choice Award winning films]]

Promised Land (1987 film)

2025-11-01T01:32:27Z

2601:18C:8000:AAE0:C970:4806:D8DF:19AA:

{{Short description|1987 American drama film by Michael Hoffman}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Promised Land
| image = Promised land poster (1987).jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Michael Hoffman (director)|Michael Hoffman]]
| producer = [[Rick Stevenson]]
| writer = Michael Hoffman
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Kiefer Sutherland]]
* [[Meg Ryan]]
* [[Jason Gedrick]]
* [[Tracy Pollan]]
}}
| music = [[James Newton Howard]]
| cinematography = [[Alexander Gruszynski]] [[Ueli Steiger]]
| editing = David Spiers
| distributor = [[Vestron Pictures]]
| released = September 1987 ([[Deauville Film Festival|Deauville]]) {{Film date|1988|1|22|United States}}
| runtime = 102 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $3 million<ref>{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59076-PROMISED-LAND |title=Promised Land (1987) | website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] }}</ref>
| gross = $316,199 (US)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=promisedland.htm |title=Promised Land (1988) |website=Box Office Mojo |accessdate=7 August 2011}}</ref>
}}
'''''Promised Land''''' is a 1987 American [[drama]] film written and directed by [[Michael Hoffman (director)|Michael Hoffman]] and starring [[Kiefer Sutherland]] and [[Meg Ryan]]. The film is set in [[Utah]]. It was the first film to be commissioned by the [[Sundance Film Festival]], and uses the drama over economic class and manhood to critique the [[Reagan Administration]].

==Plot==
The film opens by following two American high school acquaintances, a few years after graduation. They are now suffering from deep anger and anguish, because they are not as successful as they hoped to be.

David Hancock is the high school basketball star who gets into college on an athletic scholarship only to lose the scholarship to a better player. Unable to succeed in college based on his academic merit, he returns to his hometown, becomes a police officer and is slowly moving into a [[middle-class]] mediocrity with his cheerleader girlfriend, Mary Daley, who is in college and plans to major in the arts. Hancock is still stewing over the fact that he is no longer the sports star and that his girlfriend is not only reluctant to marry him but may end up being more successful than he.

Danny Rivers is the academic "nerd" who was supposedly destined to be so successful that he earned the nickname "Senator". It was felt by some that one day he would become a decent and just politician. He has returned home with his unrestrained, unpredictable, overbearing bride, Bev Sykes.

After a quick [[Christmas Eve]] reunion with his parents, Danny learns that his father is dying. He is unable to accept that while he left town with great expectations, he has returned a poor drifter. His desire to run from his problems again, however, prompts Bev to mock his manhood in front of some of his high school friends at a bar and the two decide to hold up a convenience store perhaps as a means for Danny to prove his manhood or because that is just what "[[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] [[white trash]]" would do.

Just then, Hancock, unaware that Danny has returned to town, drives into the store's parking lot arguing with his girlfriend about the future of their relationship. Interrupting the robbery, he fatally shoots Danny and wounds Bev. Hancock then suffers something of an emotional breakdown. Danny and Hancock are shown to really have little in common except that Danny once had a crush on Mary and perhaps a repressed crush on Hancock.

As other police officers and paramedics arrive on scene, Hancock drives with his girlfriend to an open field where he had previously shared, with his police partner, some of his frustrations. He screams to Mary how he feels he has been lied to while growing up.

Later Hancock has to personally inform Danny's father that he has killed his son.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jason Gedrick]] as David Hancock
* [[Kiefer Sutherland]] as Danny Rivers
* [[Meg Ryan]] as Bev Sykes
* [[Tracy Pollan]] as Mary Daley
* Googy Gress as Baines
* [[Deborah Richter]] as Pammie
* Oscar Rowland as Mr. Rivers
* [[Sandra Seacat]] as Mrs. Rivers
* [[Jay Underwood]] as Circle K Clerk
* [[Herta Ware]] as Mrs. Higgins
}}

==Production==
''Promised Land'' was filmed in [[Reno, Nevada]] and various locations in Utah, with the assistance of the [[Sundance Institute]], and [[Robert Redford]] is credited as one of two executive producers. The Utah cities of [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake]], [[Midvale, Utah|Midvale]] and [[Lehi, Utah|Lehi]] are cited in the closing credits. Parts of the film were also shot in [[Wendover, Utah|Wendover]] and [[Provo, Utah]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref>

==Reception==
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' gave a critical review, writing the film is "drained of dramatic tension" and "fails to deliver".<ref name="Variety">{{cite news |title=Promised Land |url=https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/promised-land-2-1200427491/ |access-date=3 October 2023 |work=Variety}}</ref> In the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', Michael Wilmington wrote, "There’s something a little tentative and unsatisfying about the last few scenes but, forgetting them, ''Promised Land'' is almost a great American movie--in the anguished, poetically off-kilter tradition of [[Elia Kazan|Kazan]]'s ''[[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]]'', [[Terrence Malick|Malick]]'s ''[[Days of Heaven]]'' and ''[[Badlands (film)|Badlands]]'', [[Nicholas Ray|Ray]]'s ''[[They Live by Night]]''."<ref name="Wilmington">{{cite news |last1=Wilmington |first1=Michael |title=FILM REVIEW : 'Promised Land': Losers, Winners |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-22-ca-25042-story.html |access-date=3 October 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1988-01-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003073740/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-22-ca-25042-story.html |archive-date=2023-10-03}}</ref> He concluded the film "is a film of lost chances, a story of people who try to go home again: why some of them can’t, and why some of them have stayed in spite of themselves. It’s a gently scary film, and its images echo long afterwards--the serpent on Bev’s back, the trapped dustiness of Danny’s old house, all the angels passing by . . . and the lonely pink car lost in love’s desert, rushing toward crushed dreams, whirling slowly in its mad and sandy spins of death."<ref name="Wilmington" />

The performance of Meg Ryan received acclaim, with Wilmington writing, "Ripping against the elegiac mood, she galvanizes the movie--whipping psychopathically between wounded tenderness and shrieking rage, raucous gaiety and mean, starved fury."<ref name="Wilmington" /><ref name="Variety" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0095916|title=Promised Land}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|promised_land_1987}}

{{Michael Hoffman}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1987 films]]
[[Category:1987 drama films]]
[[Category:1987 independent films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:Vestron Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Hoffman]]
[[Category:Films scored by James Newton Howard]]
[[Category:Police films]]
[[Category:Films set in Utah]]
[[Category:Films shot in Nevada]]
[[Category:Films shot in Utah]]
[[Category:1980s police films]]
[[Category:1980s police procedural films]]
[[Category:American police films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]

Gladys Cooper

2025-10-31T15:39:13Z

2601:18C:8000:AAE0:C970:4806:D8DF:19AA:

{{Short description|British actress (1888–1971)}}
{{for|the British naïve painter|Gladys Cooper (artist)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name = Gladys Cooper
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}}
| image = Gladys-Cooper Ggbain.jpg
| imagesize = frameless
| caption = Cooper in 1913
| birth_name = Gladys Constance Cooper
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1888|12|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Hither Green]], [[London]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|11|17|1888|12|18|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Henley-on-Thames]], [[Oxfordshire]], England
| years_active = 1905–1971
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Capt. Herbert John Buckmaster|1908|1921|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Neville Pearson|Sir Neville Pearson, 2nd Baronet]]|1927|1936|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Philip Merivale]]|1937|1946|end=died}}
}}
| children = 3, incl. [[John R. Buckmaster]]
| occupation = Actress
}}

'''Dame Gladys Constance Cooper''' (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television.

Beginning as a teenager in [[Edwardian musical comedy]] and [[pantomime]], she starred in dramatic roles and silent films before the [[First World War]]. She managed the [[Playhouse Theatre]] from 1917 to 1934, where she starred in many roles. From the early 1920s Cooper won praise in plays by [[W. Somerset Maugham]] and others.

In the 1930s she starred steadily in productions both in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] and on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. Moving to Hollywood in 1940, Cooper found success in a variety of character roles. She received three [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations for Best Supporting Actress, for performances in ''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'' (1943), ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964) and, most famously, ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942). Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she worked both on stage and on screen, continuing to star on stage until her last year.

==Early life and career==
[[File:Gladys Cooper00.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Cooper (l.) and [[Marie Studholme]], ''c.'' 1894}}]]
Cooper was born at 23 Ennersdale Road, [[Hither Green]], [[Lewisham]], London, the eldest of the three daughters of Charles William Frederick Cooper (1844–1939) and Mabel (Barnett) Cooper (1861–1944). Her two younger sisters were Doris Mabel (1891–1987) and Grace Muriel (1893–1982). Writer [[Henry St. John Cooper]] was a half-brother.<ref name=cadogan>{{cite book| title=Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers|chapter=Mabel St. John|last=Cadogan|first=Mary|author-link=Mary Cadogan|year=1982|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-349-06129-7| editor-last=Vinson|editor-first=James|pages=607–612}}</ref> Cooper spent most of her childhood in [[Chiswick]], where her family moved when she was an infant.

She made her stage debut in 1905 touring with [[Seymour Hicks]] in his musical ''[[Bluebell in Fairyland]]'' and was becoming a popular photographic model. In 1906, she appeared as Lady Swan in London in ''[[The Belle of Mayfair]]'' and then in the [[pantomime]] ''[[Babes in the Wood]]'' as Mavis. The following year she became a chorus girl at the [[Gaiety Theatre, London|Gaiety Theatre]], creating the small role of Eva in ''[[The Girls of Gottenberg]]''. That Christmas, she was again in ''Babes in the Wood'', this time playing Molly. In 1908, she appeared in the musical ''[[Havana (Edwardian musical)|Havana]]'' followed, the next year, by ''[[Our Miss Gibbs]]'', in which she played Lady Connie; she was then on tour again with Hicks, in ''Papa's Wife'', before playing Sadie von Tromp in the operetta ''[[The Dollar Princess]]'' at [[Daly's Theatre]] in 1909. In 1911, she appeared in a production of ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' and in ''[[Man and Superman]]''. Among several other plays, the next year she was Muriel Pym in ''Milestones'' at the [[Royalty Theatre]]. A highlight of 1913 was Dora in ''[[Diplomacy (play)|Diplomacy]]'' at [[Wyndham's Theatre]]. That year she also played the title role in ''The Pursuit of Pamela'' at the Royalty.<ref name=appearances>[http://gladyscooper.com/Appearances/Appearances.html "Appearances"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222032653/http://gladyscooper.com/Appearances/Appearances.html |date=22 December 2017 }}. GladysCooper.com, accessed 12 February 2011</ref>

[[File:Gladys Cooper.jpg|left|thumb|{{center|Cooper circa 1910s}}]]
In 1913 Cooper appeared in her first film, ''The Eleventh Commandment'', going on to make several more [[silent film]]s during the First World War and shortly afterwards. She continued full-time stage work, however, including appearances as Lady Agatha Lazenby in ''[[The Admirable Crichton]]'' in 1916 and Clara de Foenix in ''[[Trelawny of the Wells]]''. In addition, in 1917, Cooper became co-manager, with [[Frank Curzon]], of the [[Playhouse Theatre]], taking over sole control from 1927 until she left in 1933. During these years, she starred several times in ''My Lady's Dress''. She appeared in [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s ''[[Home and Beauty]]'' in 1919, repeated Dora at [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]] in 1920 and elsewhere thereafter, and both produced and played numerous roles at the Playhouse Theatre.<ref name=appearances/><ref>{{cite web |title=Gladys Cooper |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cooper-gladys-1888-1971 |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>

It was not until 1922, however, then in her mid-thirties, that she found major critical success, in [[Arthur Wing Pinero]]'s ''[[The Second Mrs. Tanqueray]]''. Early in her stage career, she was criticised for being too stiff. [[Aldous Huxley]] dismissed her performance in ''Home and Beauty'', writing "she is too impassive, too statuesque, playing all the time as if she were [[Galatea (mythological statue)|Galatea]], newly unpetrified and still unused to the ways of the living world."<ref>[[Aldous Huxley]], "A Good Farce" in ''Athenaeum'' 26 September 1919: 956</ref> Evidently, her acting improved during this period, as Maugham praised her for "turning herself from an indifferent actress to an extremely competent one" through her common sense and industriousness.<ref>W. Somerset Maugham. "Gladys Cooper" in ''Plays and Players'' 1, 3 (December 1953): 4</ref> For both the 1923 and 1924 Christmas shows at the [[Adelphi Theatre]], Cooper played the title character in ''[[Peter and Wendy|Peter Pan]]'', while also playing several other roles at that theatre during those two years. She appeared in Maugham's ''[[The Letter (play)|The Letter]]'' in London and on tour in 1927 and 1928, in ''Excelsior'' (adapted from "[[School for Coquettes (play)|L'Ecole des Cocottes]]" by [[H.M. Harwood]]) in 1928, and in Maugham's ''[[The Sacred Flame (play)|The Sacred Flame]]'' in 1929, also in London and on tour.<ref>[http://gladyscooper.com/Appearances/Appearance_Details/1929_The%20Sacred%20Flame_The_Playhouse/The_Sacred_Flame_the_playhouse_1929.html "The Sacred Flame"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423080014/http://gladyscooper.com/Appearances/Appearance_Details/1929_The%20Sacred%20Flame_The_Playhouse/The_Sacred_Flame_the_playhouse_1929.html |date=23 April 2011 }}. Gladyscooper.com, accessed 12 February 2011</ref>

Among other roles, Cooper was Clemency Warlock in ''Cynara'' (1930), Wanda Heriot in ''The Pelican'' (1931), Lucy Haydon in ''Dr Pygmalion'' (1932), Carola in ''The Firebird'' (1932), Jane Claydon in ''The Rats of Norway'' (1933), Mariella Linden in ''[[The Shining Hour (play)|The Shining Hour]]'' in 1934 and 1935, in London and New York City and on tour (at the same time making her first "talkie" film, ''[[The Iron Duke (film)|The Iron Duke]]''), also playing Desdemona and Lady Macbeth on Broadway in 1935. She was Dorothy Hilton in ''Call it a Day'', again in both London and New York, from 1935 to 1936. A highlight of 1937 was Laura Lorimer in ''Goodbye to Yesterday'' in London and on tour. In 1938, she played Tiny Fox-Collier in ''[[Spring Meeting (play)|Spring Meeting]]'' in New York, [[Montreal]] and Britain, as well as several Shakespeare roles and Fran Dodsworth in ''[[Dodsworth (play)|Dodsworth]]''. She repeated ''Spring Meeting'' in 1939.<ref name=appearances/>

==Later career==
[[File:Gladys Cooper in Now Voyager trailer.jpg|thumb|Cooper in ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942)]]
Cooper turned to film full-time in 1940, finding success in Hollywood in a variety of character roles and was frequently cast as a disapproving, aristocratic society woman, although she sometimes played lively, approachable types, as she did in ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]'' (1940). She was nominated three times for an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for her performances as [[Bette Davis]]'s domineering mother in ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942), a sceptical nun in ''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'' (1943), and [[Rex Harrison]]'s mother, Mrs. Higgins, in ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964). In 1945, after playing the role of Clarissa Scott in the film ''[[The Valley of Decision]]'', for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] she was given a contract with the studio.<ref>{{cite news| title=Gladys Cooper Signed to MGM Contract| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19450317&id=v9gzAAAAIBAJ&pg=2441,1964616| date=17 March 1945| work=[[Deseret News]]| access-date=27 February 2013}}</ref> Her credits there included both dramatic and comedy films, including ''[[The Green Years (film)|The Green Years]]'' (1946), ''[[The Cockeyed Miracle]]'' (1946) and ''[[The Secret Garden (1949 film)|The Secret Garden]]'' (1949). Other notable film roles were ''[[The Man Who Loved Redheads]]'' (1955), ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' (1958) and ''[[The Happiest Millionaire]]'' (1967) as Aunt Mary Drexel, singing "There Are Those".<ref>Hischak, Thomas S. and Mark A. Robinson. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dimhg9t2TrUC&pg=PA197 ''The Disney Song Encyclopedia''], Scarecrow Press (2009) {{ISBN|0810869381}}</ref>

Her only stage roles in the 1940s were Mrs. Parrilow in ''[[The Morning Star (play)|The Morning Star]]'' in [[Philadelphia]] and New York (1942) and Melanie Aspen in ''The Indifferent Shepherd'' in Britain (1948). She returned to theatre (between films) more often in the 1950s and 1960s, playing in London and on tour in such roles as Edith Fenton in ''The Hat Trick'' (1950); Felicity, Countess of Marshwood, in ''[[Relative Values (play)|Relative Values]]'' (1951 and 1953); Grace Smith in ''[[A Question of Fact]]'' (1953); Lady Yarmouth in ''The Night of the Ball'' (1954); Mrs. St. Maugham in ''[[The Chalk Garden (play)|The Chalk Garden]]'' (1955–56), Dame Mildred in ''The Bright One'' (1958); Mrs. Vincent in ''[[Look on Tempests]]'' (1960); Mrs. Gantry (Bobby) in ''The Bird of Time'' (1961); Mrs. Moore in a stage adaptation of ''[[A Passage to India (play)|A Passage to India]]'' (1962); Mrs Tabret in ''The Sacred Flame'' (1966 and 1967); Prue Salter in ''Let's All Go Down the Strand'' (1967); Emma Littlewood in ''Out of the Question'' (1968); Lydia in ''His, Hers and Theirs'' (1969); and others. She received two nominations for the [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]], for her roles in ''The Chalk Garden'' and ''A Passage to India''.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/gladys-cooper-36243/#awards "Gladys Cooper: Awards"] Internet Broadway Database, accessed 26 November 2016</ref>

[[File:The Rogues cast 1964.JPG|right|thumb|The cast of ''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]'' (1964): [[Charles Boyer]], [[Gig Young]], [[David Niven]], [[Robert Coote]] and Cooper]]
She also had various television roles in the 1950s and '60s.<ref name=appearances/> These included, among others, three episodes of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'': "[[Nothing in the Dark]]" (1962), "[[Passage on the Lady Anne]]" (1963) and "[[Night Call (The Twilight Zone)|Night Call]]" (1964).<ref>Erickson, Hal. [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-twilight-zone-night-call-v198420 "''The Twilight Zone'': Night Call (1964)"], AllMovie.com, accessed 23 October 2017</ref> Cooper starred in the 1964–65 series ''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]'' with [[David Niven]], [[Charles Boyer]], [[Gig Young]], [[Robert Coote]], [[John Williams (actor)|John Williams]] and [[Larry Hagman]]. The series lasted a single season of thirty episodes, most of which featured Cooper as the matriarch of an ethical family of con artists who only prey on criminals.<ref>Fowler, Karin J. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-goH8EEbKD8C&pg=PA34 ''David Niven: A Bio-bibliography''], Issue 63 of Bio-bibliographies in the performing arts, Greenwood Publishing Group (1995) {{ISBN|0313280444}}</ref>

In 1967, at the age of 79, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (DBE).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44326 |supp=y|page=6277|date=2 June 1967}}</ref> Her last major success on the stage was at age 82, in 1970–71 in the role of Mrs. St. Maugham in [[Enid Bagnold]]'s ''The Chalk Garden'', a role she had created on Broadway and in the West End in 1955–56.<ref name=appearances/>

Her final public appearance was on the 5 May 1971 episode of ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'', on which she guested with her son-in-law [[Robert Morley]] in London.{{citation needed| date=August 2021}} On the day following Cooper's death, her ''Now, Voyager'' co-star [[Bette Davis]] appeared on ''[[Dick Cavett|The Dick Cavett Show]]'' and called Cooper "Without a doubt, the most beautiful person as well as actress, and a professional ... never was she late one minute, never didn't she know every line."<ref>{{Cite episode| title=Bette Davis|series=[[The Dick Cavett Show]]|network=ABC|date=18 November 1971|time=16:15}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
[[File:Gladys Cooper and children.jpg|right|thumb|Cooper with her children, John and Joan]]
Cooper was married three times.
* Captain Herbert Buckmaster (1908–1921).<ref>[http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/search/results?sourcecategory=birthsutf002c%20marriages%20utf0026%20deaths&firstname=gladys&lastname=cooper&eventyear=1908&eventyear_offset=0&keyword=london&collection=marriages%2b%2526%2bdivorces England and Wales Marriage records]; retrieved 31 January 2014.</ref> The couple had two children: Joan (1910–2005), who married the actor [[Robert Morley]],<ref>[http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/search/results?firstname=joan%20n&lastname=buckmaster&birthyear=1910&birthyear_offset=0&sourcecategory=births%252c%2bmarriages%2b%2526%2bdeaths England and Wales Birth and Marriage records]; retrieved 31 January 2014.</ref> and [[John R. Buckmaster]] (1915–1983).<ref>[http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/search/results?firstname=john%20rodney&lastname=buckmaster&birthyear=1910&birthyear_offset=5&sourcecategory=births%252c%2bmarriages%2b%2526%2bdeaths England and Wales Birth and Death records]; retrieved 31 January 2014.</ref>
* [[Sir Neville Pearson, 2nd Baronet|Sir Neville Pearson]] (1927–1936).<ref>{{cite book| last1=Cooper| first1=Gladys| title=Gladys Cooper, by Herself| publisher=Hutchinson| year=1931}}</ref> Sir Neville and Lady Pearson had one daughter, Sally Pearson, aka Sally Cooper, who was married to the actor [[Robert Hardy]] from 1961 to 1986.<ref>Blackburn, Virginia. [http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/837279/Robert-Hardy-Sir-Winston-Churchill-Harry-Potter-star-death "Remembering Robert Hardy: Bluff, Big-hearted and a brilliant talent "], ''[[Daily Express]]'', 5 August 2017</ref>
* [[Philip Merivale]] (1937–1946), a fellow actor. The couple lived for many years in [[Santa Monica, California]] as [[permanent residence (United States)|permanent resident aliens]]. He died at age 59 from a heart ailment. Her stepson from this marriage was [[John Merivale]].<ref name=NYT>{{cite news| title=Gladys Cooper, British Actress, Dies| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/18/archives/gladys-cooper-british-actress-diesi.html| date=18 November 1971| work=[[The New York Times]]| access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref>

Cooper published a self-titled autobiography in 1931.<ref>Cooper, Gladys. ''Gladys Cooper'', Hutchinson (1931)</ref> Her portrait with Sally as a child was painted by [[Minnie Walters Anson]] and is in the [[Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum|Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum]], [[Bournemouth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anson, Minnie Walters, 1879–1959 |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artists/anson-minnie-walters-18791959 |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=Art UK}}</ref> She lived mostly in England in her final years and died from pneumonia in 1971 at the age of 82 in [[Henley-on-Thames]], Oxfordshire.<ref name=NYT/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
!style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Note
|-
|1913 ||''The Eleventh Commandment'' || Edith || Short
|-
|1914 ||''Danny Donovan, the Gentleman Cracksman''|| Mrs. Ashworth || Short
|-
|1916 ||''[[The Real Thing at Last]]'' || American Witch || Short
|-
|rowspan=3|1917 ||''[[The Sorrows of Satan (1917 film)|The Sorrows of Satan]]''|| Lady Sybil Elton ||
|-
|''[[Masks and Faces]]'' || Mabel Vane ||
|-
|''My Lady's Dress'' || The Wife ||
|-
|1920 ||''[[Unmarried (1920 film)|Unmarried]]'' || ||
|-
|1921 || ''[[Headin' North (1921 film)|Headin' North]]'' || Madge Mullin ||
|-
|1922 ||''[[The Bohemian Girl (1922 film)|The Bohemian Girl]]'' || Arlene Arnheim ||
|-
|1923 ||''[[Bonnie Prince Charlie (1923 film)|Bonnie Prince Charlie]]''|| Flora MacDonald ||Lost film
|-
|1934 ||''[[The Iron Duke (film)|The Iron Duke]]''||Duchess d'Angoulême||
|-
|rowspan=2|1940 ||''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]''|| Beatrice Lacy || Maxim's sister
|-
|''[[Kitty Foyle (film)|Kitty Foyle]]'' || Mrs. Strafford ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1941 ||''[[That Hamilton Woman]]'' || Frances, Lady Nelson ||
|-
|''[[The Black Cat (1941 film)|The Black Cat]]'' || Myrna Hartley ||
|-
|''[[A Yank in the R.A.F.]]'' || Mrs. Pillby ||(scenes deleted)
|-
|''[[The Gay Falcon]]'' || Maxine Wood ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1942 ||''[[This Above All (film)|This Above All]]'' || Iris Cathaway ||
|-
|''[[Eagle Squadron (film)|Eagle Squadron]]'' || Aunt Emmeline ||
|-
|''[[Now, Voyager]]'' || Mrs. Henry Vale ||Nominated: [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]
|-
|rowspan=4|1943 ||''[[Forever and a Day (1943 film)|Forever and a Day]]'' || Mrs. Barringer ||
|-
|''[[Mr. Lucky (film)|Mr. Lucky]]'' || Captain Veronica Steadman ||
|-
|''[[Princess O'Rourke]]'' || Miss Haskell ||
|-
|''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'' || Sister [[Marie Therese Vauzou]] ||Nominated: [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1944 ||''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' || Lady Jean Ashwood ||
|-
|''[[Mrs. Parkington]]'' ||Alice, Duchess de Brancourt ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1945 ||''[[The Valley of Decision]]'' || Clarissa Scott ||
|-
|''[[Love Letters (1945 film)|Love Letters]]'' || Beatrice Remington ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1946 ||''[[The Green Years (film)|The Green Years]]'' || Grandma Leckie ||
|-
|''[[Beware of Pity]]'' || Mrs. Klara Condor ||
|-
|''[[The Cockeyed Miracle]]'' || Amy Griggs ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1947||''[[Green Dolphin Street (film)|Green Dolphin Street]]'' || Sophie Patourel ||
|-
|''[[The Bishop's Wife]]'' || Mrs. Hamilton ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1948 ||''[[Homecoming (1948 film)|Homecoming]]''|| Mrs. Kirby ||
|-
|''[[The Pirate (1948 film)|The Pirate]]'' || Aunt Inez ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1949 ||''[[The Secret Garden (1949 film)|The Secret Garden]]'' || Mrs. Medlock ||
|-
|''[[Madame Bovary (1949 film)|Madame Bovary]]'' || Madame Dupuis ||
|-
|1951 ||''[[Thunder on the Hill]]''|| Mother Superior ||
|-
|1952 ||''[[At Sword's Point]]'' || Queen Anne ||
|-
|1955 ||''[[The Man Who Loved Redheads]]'' || Caroline, Lady Binfield ||
|-
|1957 ||''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' || Mrs. Margarite Gillespie || Season 2 Episode 22: "The End of Indian Summer"
|-
|1958 ||''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' || Mrs. Railton-Bell ||
|-
|1962 ||''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 81 || Wanda Dunn || 1 episode: "[[Nothing in the Dark]]"
|-
|rowspan=7|1963 ||''[[The List of Adrian Messenger]]'' || Mrs. Karoudjian ||
|-
|''[[Going My Way (TV series)|Going My Way]]'' || Mrs. Arnold Sedgewick || 1 episode
|-
|''The Twilight Zone'' || Millie McKenzie || 1 episode: "[[Passage on the Lady Anne]]"
|-
|''Pygmalion'' || Mrs. Higgins || TV movie
|-
|''[[Burke's Law (1963 TV series)|Burke's Law]]'' || Harriet Richards || 1 episode
|-
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' || Mrs. Palmer || 1 episode: "[[The Borderland]]"
|-
|''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' || Mrs. Raydon || Season 1 Episode 16: "What Really Happened"
|-
|rowspan=4|1964 ||''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' || Mrs. Higgins ||Nominated: [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]
|-
|''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' || Laura || Season 3 Episode 11: "Consider Her Ways"
|-
||''The Twilight Zone'' || Elva Keene || 1 episode: "[[Night Call (The Twilight Zone)|Night Call]]"
|-
|''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]'' || Margaret St. Clair ||25 episodes; nominated: [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] for ''Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Actors and Performers''
|-
|rowspan=2|1965 ||''[[Emergency – Ward 10]]'' || Sister McInnes || 4 episodes
|-
|''[[Ben Casey]]'' || Dr. Hagar Brandt || 1 episode
|-
|1966 ||''[[The Girl from U.N.C.L.E]]'' || Mama Rosh || 1 episode: "The Romany Lie Affair"
|-
|rowspan=3|1967 ||''[[The Happiest Millionaire]]'' || Aunt Mary ||
|-
|''[[Adam Adamant Lives!]]''|| Grand Duchess Vorokhov || 1 episode: "Black Echo"
|-
| ''[[Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' || Dr. Schultz || 1 episode: "Goodness Burns Too Bright"
|-
|1969 ||''[[A Nice Girl Like Me]]'' || Aunt Mary ||
|-
|1970 || ''[[The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens]]'' || Mrs. Ternan || TV movie
|-
|1971 ||''[[The Doctors (1969 TV series)|The Doctors]]'' || Harriet Vey || 8 episodes
|-
|1972 || ''[[The Persuaders!]]'' || Grand Duchess Ozerov || 1 episode: "The Ozerov Inheritance" (final appearance)
|}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[Sewell Stokes|Stokes, Sewell]]. ''Without Veils'', introduction by [[Somerset Maugham]], Peter Davis, London (1953).
* [[Sheridan Morley|Morley, Sheridan]]. ''Gladys Cooper: A Biography'', McGraw-Hill (1979) {{ISBN|978-0070431485}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw179643/Dame-Gladys-Cooper-Joan-Morley-ne-Buckmaster-John-Rodney-Buckmaster?LinkID=mp72350&role=sit&rNo=1 Gladys Cooper with children John and Joan] at the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]]
* [http://www.gladyscooper.com Vintage Postcards of Gladys Cooper] can be seen at [http://www.gladyscooper.com www.gladyscooper.com]
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0178066}}
* [http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays_all?forename=Gladys&surname=COOPER&job=Actor&pid=13401&image_view=Yesamp;x=19amp;y=17 Performances by Gladys Cooper listed in the Theatre Collection archive, University of Bristol]
* {{Find a Grave|6502786}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Gladys}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English silent film actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Actresses awarded damehoods]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in England]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kent]]
[[Category:Wives of baronets]]
[[Category:English expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Chiswick]]
[[Category:People from Hounslow]]
[[Category:People from Lewisham]]