lease ▁in ▁ 1 9 3 5 . ▁Bruce ▁E der , ▁writing ▁for ▁All movie ▁( a ▁site ▁run ▁by ▁the ▁R ovi ▁Corporation ), ▁notes ▁that ▁the ▁film ▁was ▁a ▁significant ▁mil estone ▁in ▁Cooper ' s ▁career . ▁According ▁to ▁the ▁American ▁Film ▁Institute , ▁The ▁Virgin ian ▁is ▁" one ▁of ▁the ▁first ▁of ▁the ▁studio ▁produced , ▁large - scale , ▁all - dialog ue ▁Western s ." ▁However , ▁as ▁the ▁main ▁character ▁has ▁little ▁dialog ue , ▁Cooper ▁was ▁type cast ▁as ▁a ▁man ▁of ▁few ▁words , ▁described ▁by ▁film ▁historian ▁Lee ▁Clark ▁Mitchell ▁as ▁a ▁" y up ▁and ▁no pe " ▁actor . ▁Cooper ▁later ▁called ▁it ▁his ▁favorite ▁film . ▁ ▁The ▁Virgin ian ▁has ▁been ▁well ▁received , ▁with ▁a ▁ 1 0 0 % ▁" f resh " ▁rating ▁on ▁Rotten ▁Tomatoes ▁as ▁of ▁March ▁ 2 0 1 2 , ▁based ▁on ▁five ▁reviews . ▁The ▁review ▁for ▁Vari ety ▁noted ▁that ▁the ▁film ▁mixed ▁various ▁aspects ▁of ▁previous ▁Western s . ▁The ▁review ▁described ▁the ▁scene ▁where ▁The ▁Virgin ian ▁must ▁send ▁his ▁com r ades ▁to ▁certain ▁death ▁" one ▁of ▁the ▁most ▁h arrow ing ▁and ▁v ivid ▁sequences ▁ever ▁before ▁the ▁l enses ". ▁E der ▁pra ised ▁the ▁character izations ▁and ▁use ▁of ▁sound , ▁summar izing ▁that ▁the ▁film ▁was ▁" a ▁most ▁worth while ▁view ing ▁experience ". ▁Film ▁historian ▁Col in ▁Sh ind ler ▁notes ▁that ▁The ▁Virgin ian , ▁along