Painted Desert (1938)

Faucett has obtained the deed to Banning's mine. Thinking the mine is worthless he sells it to Bob McVey. But when he learns the mine contains Tungsten, he sets out to get it back.

Director:

David Howard

Writers:

John Rathmell (screen play), Oliver Drake (screen play),

Stars:

George O'Brien, Laraine Day, Ray Whitley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George O'Brien	...	Bob McVey
Laraine Day	...	Miss Carol Banning (as Laraine Johnson)
Ray Whitley	...	Steve
Stanley Fields	...	Bill
Maude Allen	...	Yukon Kate
Fred Kohler	...	Hugh Fawcett (as Fred Kohler Sr.)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Charles M. Banning
Harry Cording	...	Henchman Burke
Max Wagner	...	Henchman Kincaid
Lee Shumway	...	Bart Currie
William V. Mong	...	Banker Heist

Storyline

Faucett has obtained the deed to Banning's mine. Thinking the mine is worthless he sells it to Bob McVey. But when he learns the mine contains Tungsten, he sets out to get it back.

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Plot Keywords:

mine | deed | tungsten | cattle | cave in | 

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Taglines:

Desperate Men at Death Grips For Spoils that Mean Wealth to the Victors!

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

El desert pintat

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Includes a considerable amount of archive footage lifted out of, and not replaced back into, The Painted Desert (1931).

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Connections

Version of The Painted Desert (1931)

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Soundtracks

"Painted Desert"
(1938) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Ray Whitley
Played during the opening credits and at the end
Played and sung by Ray Whitley, Ken Card, Earl Phelps, Norman Phelps and Willie Phelps on the trail
Whistled by George O'Brien

User Reviews

Wild Shooting in O'Brien Western

This is another of the solid B westerns that George O'Brien starred in for RKO in the 1930s. A good cast, including Laraine Day, so young she can't read her lines convincingly, and Stanley Fields doing his Wallace Beery imitation help to fill out this story about mining in the old west.

The real standout in this picture, though, is Harry Wild's photography. The cinematography is fluid and graceful in its compositions, unusually so for a B western -- the interiors are darker than usual, which makes for better contrast. And as the outdoor sequences are shot against the backdrop of Red Rock Canyon State Park, you have some awfully pretty country to look at.