Ralph Cooper was called "The Dark Gable" after Clark Gable, of course, because of his handsome, rugged good looks and his charm and wit. Too talented and handsome for Hollywood and wouldn't accept stereotype roles Hollywood gave Blacks - so he went and made and starred in films for Blacks. While choreographing a Shirley Temple movie "Poor Little Rich Girl" he studied and watching the movie-making process and made some of the best Black-cast films of the time. On screen he usually played gangsters and bad men in the same acting styles of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. His movies were smashes in the Black community. Cooper was also an emcee and helped create the famous Apollo Theater. He helped the Legends we know now to stardom. He was a very talented man a tap dancer, choreographer, wonderful actor, bandleader, singer and writer.
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Biography from IMDb.
- January 16, 1908 (118)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Actor and writer, also director and producer
- 4 on MovieCove · 7 credits in all
What are Ralph Cooper's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 1
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 3 of 4 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Curly Thorpe in Dark Manhattan (1937)
- Heroas Duke Davis in The Duke Is Tops (1938)
- Tricksteras Duke Davis in The Duke Is Tops (1938)
- Heroas Bob 'Killer' Meade in Gang War (1940)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ralph Cooper's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Ralph Cooper's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
7 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.
Am I Guilty? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Gang War(1940)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Gang Smashers(1938)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Duke Is Tops(1938)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Bargain with Bullets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Dark Manhattan(1937)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
White Hunter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Career shape
A full career of 7 titles from 1936 to 1940.
How do Ralph Cooper's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 20th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 25th percentile for acclaim.
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 4 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 44/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 64, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Ralph Cooper work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ralph Cooper's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Leo C. Popkin shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Leo C. PopkinShared titles: Gang War (1940), Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Leo C. Popkin
Writers
- Phil DunhamShared titles: Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Phil Dunham
Actors
- Laurence CrinerShared titles: Gang War (1940), Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Laurence Criner
- Monte HawleyShared titles: Gang War (1940), Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Monte Hawley
- Charles HawkinsShared titles: Gang War (1940), Gang Smashers (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Hawkins
- Jess Lee BrooksShared titles: Gang War (1940), Dark Manhattan (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Jess Lee Brooks
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Arthur A. BrooksShared titles: Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938), Dark Manhattan (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Arthur A. Brooks
- Ben EllisonShared titles: The Duke Is Tops (1938), Dark Manhattan (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Ellison
- Harvey BrooksShared titles: The Duke Is Tops (1938), Dark Manhattan (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Harvey Brooks
- Robert E. ClineShared titles: Gang Smashers (1938), The Duke Is Tops (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Robert E. Cline
Producers
- Harry M. PopkinShared titles: Gang War (1940), Gang Smashers (1938), Dark Manhattan (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Harry M. Popkin
