Raoul Walsh years
After leaving Griffith, Cooper received offers from Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille, but intended to retire and be a housewife and mother. When Walsh was offered a chance to direct a film titled The Honor System in Yuma, Arizona he pleaded with Cooper to take a role in it. Cooper agreed for fear he would cheat on her if they were separated for the long filming period. Cooper made $1,000 a week for her role as Edith. Years later, while being interviewed by Kevin Brownlow, Cooper found Walsh's shooting script for the film on the back of an envelope.
The Honor System opened in 1917 to good reviews (one calling it "Bigger than The Birth of a Nation") and good box office. Two years later it was played for the Prince of Wales when he visited New York.
Walsh continued to ask Cooper's advice when dealing with the business moguls, usually asking her to speak with them as she had done before with Griffith. After filming another film, Walsh once again asked Cooper to 'temporarily return' to pictures until he was established. Cooper signed with Fox Film Corporation and made $1,200 a week. Her contract allowed Walsh to get top billing instead of her—traditionally, it was either the director or the star.
In 1917, Cooper and Walsh began work on a film based on the Blanca de Saulles trial. Cooper bore such a resemblance to De Saulles that Fox wanted to leave her name off the credits to insinuate De Saulles had played herself. Cooper refused. The film was also notable for featuring Peggy Hopkins Joyce as a courtesan, though she didn't realize it until the film premiered. The film was controversial and received what amounted to an X rating for its time, as no children were allowed. The film is now considered a lost film.
After work on The Prussian Cur, Cooper and Walsh adopted a boy named Jack, who was orphaned after the Halifax explosion, and tried to return to a private life, shunning publicity. However, in 1919, as Walsh began to look for new script ideas, Cooper suggested the story Evangeline, in which Walsh asked her to lead. Cooper refused until the studio sent a blonde to play the part. Walsh was annoyed and asked her once again, and she relented. Cooper didn't like the picture as she thought it was too innocent, though it performed well at the box office and was one of her better-known films. Producer William Fox thought it was the best picture of her career. It is also now considered a lost film.
With the success of Evangeline, another film, Should a Husband Forgive? was rushed into theaters. Walsh was excited with the success and wired Cooper that he would make her a big star, though she still wished to retire. Walsh signed with the Mayflower Corporation in 1920. Cooper joined him for the sake of her marriage, fearing more bouts of jealousy if she didn't. Their first film was The Deep Purple.
Their next film was The Oath (1920), of which Cooper took control from casting to costumes. Cooper said she loved everything about the film, however, it received the worst reviews of her career and was one of Walsh's only silents to lose money. Cooper was deeply hurt by the failure. Their next film, Serenade, was fully under Walsh's control and was their most profitable. However, Cooper hated acting opposite Walsh's brother George, who she felt was stiff. Walsh agreed and they were never paired together again.
The duo's final film together was Kindred of the Dust. Cooper felt it was mediocre but it did decent business. During filming, she accidentally gazed into a stage light, causing injury to her eyes that troubled her well into old age. Kindred of the Dust was the last film the couple did together, the last independent film for Walsh, and is one of Cooper's few surviving films.
