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The Gilded Rooster
Mountain Man...
Jed Cooper was tough as the hills he grew up in, big and strong and sure of himself. All his life he'd been able to get what he wanted. When he wanted furs, he set traps; when he wanted a squaw, he bought or stole her. He had wanted to get away from the fort, and he would have gone--in spite of the besieging circle of Sioux fighters--f the woman hadn't come. But now he wanted her, and for the first time, he wanted something he didn't know how to get...
Jed Cooper was tough as the hills he grew up in, big and strong and sure of himself. All his life he'd been able to get what he wanted. When he wanted furs, he set traps; when he wanted a squaw, he bought or stole her. He had wanted to get away from the fort, and he would have gone--in spite of the besieging circle of Sioux fighters--f the woman hadn't come. But now he wanted her, and for the first time, he wanted something he didn't know how to get...
281 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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June 29, 2018
I searched out "The Gilded Rooster" because it was the basis for the 1955 movie "The Last Frontier." The book is an unusual one, with its lurid 1949 cover; a tale of transitions on the frontier during the Civil War.
Experienced trapper Jed Cooper has hired on, temporarily, to help Major Bonwitt at an isolated fort in Sioux country, but on his own terms. He's never answered to any authority or been inside a room for an extended period of time; he views soldiers who follow orders with disdain; he himself fights aggressively at the least provocation. When Captain Gunne and his dainty eastern wife arrive with a small group of relief soldiers, Cooper and Bonwitt are both stricken by Mrs. Gunne's beauty and need for protection - a need heightened when they realize she is abused constantly by Gunne. With winter coming, the fort not ready, and thousands of Sioux gathering for an uncharacteristic snow battle to regain their territory, blood-thirsty Gunne wants to attack even if it means a massacre, Cooper wants to attack Gunne even if it means hanging, and Bonwitt wants to keep his command. Ultimately it is Cooper and his need to keep his independence that endangers himself and everyone around him. The Sioux want to regain their territory, the soldiers want to gain more, and the time of the fur trapper is nearly over.
It was interesting, unusual, and a bit wordy (but then, the paragraph above wasn't exactly brief). I can see why someone would read the book and think it had potential for a movie - lots of extemporaneous characters, action, and emotional range. I can also see why they wanted Marlon Brando in the Jed Cooper role - they got Victor Mature, though, and Robert Preston in the Captain Gunne role, with Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Gunne and Guy Madison as Bonwitt. Parts were jostled and renamed for the movie, which maintained the basic concepts but altered much of the events in the novel.
The title of the novel refers to Cooper, who strutted around the fort like the lead dog... the gilded rooster.
Experienced trapper Jed Cooper has hired on, temporarily, to help Major Bonwitt at an isolated fort in Sioux country, but on his own terms. He's never answered to any authority or been inside a room for an extended period of time; he views soldiers who follow orders with disdain; he himself fights aggressively at the least provocation. When Captain Gunne and his dainty eastern wife arrive with a small group of relief soldiers, Cooper and Bonwitt are both stricken by Mrs. Gunne's beauty and need for protection - a need heightened when they realize she is abused constantly by Gunne. With winter coming, the fort not ready, and thousands of Sioux gathering for an uncharacteristic snow battle to regain their territory, blood-thirsty Gunne wants to attack even if it means a massacre, Cooper wants to attack Gunne even if it means hanging, and Bonwitt wants to keep his command. Ultimately it is Cooper and his need to keep his independence that endangers himself and everyone around him. The Sioux want to regain their territory, the soldiers want to gain more, and the time of the fur trapper is nearly over.
It was interesting, unusual, and a bit wordy (but then, the paragraph above wasn't exactly brief). I can see why someone would read the book and think it had potential for a movie - lots of extemporaneous characters, action, and emotional range. I can also see why they wanted Marlon Brando in the Jed Cooper role - they got Victor Mature, though, and Robert Preston in the Captain Gunne role, with Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Gunne and Guy Madison as Bonwitt. Parts were jostled and renamed for the movie, which maintained the basic concepts but altered much of the events in the novel.
The title of the novel refers to Cooper, who strutted around the fort like the lead dog... the gilded rooster.
Displaying 1 of 1 review