Boom Town (1940)

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

James Edward Grant (story)
John Lee Mahin (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Where Men Are Rough And Tough . . . And Like Their Women The Same Way !

Plot:

Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Wildcatter | Oil Field | Oil Tycoon | Partnership

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Big John McMasters
Spencer Tracy	...	Jonathan Sand
Claudette Colbert	...	Elizabeth Bartlett McMasters
Hedy Lamarr	...	Karen Vanmeer
Frank Morgan	...	Luther Aldrich
Lionel Atwill	...	Mr. Harry Compton
Chill Wills	...	Deputy Harmony Jones
Marion Martin	...	Whitey
Minna Gombell	...	Spanish Eva 'Evie'
Joe Yule	...	Ed Murphy
Horace Murphy	...	Tom Murphy
Roy Gordon	...	Mr. 'Mac' McCreery
Richard Lane	...	Assistant District Attorney
Casey Johnson	...	Little Jack McMasters
Baby Quintanilla	...	Baby Jack McMasters

Also Known As:

Boom Town! (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6351)

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Rita Hayworth did a screen test for the role of Karen Vanmeer.

Quotes:

Big John McMasters: [to Elizabeth] You sure can talk straight to a fella and ball him up at the same time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tony Hancock Special (1972) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Wedding March

Moves Like a Tornado

This movie doesn't let up, as it journeys from Texas oil fields to Latin America to New York City to Oklahoma. Its characters go from rich to poor in what seems like a blink of the eye. As the main characters, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy are in top form, and still young enough looking in 1940 to play oil wildcatters. The ladies, Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr, play more complex than usual women for this kind of film, as their motivations at all times make sense even if one doesn't care for them.

Boom Town isn't an easy movie to categorize. I guess you'd call it an adventure, though it has a good deal of drama, some of it serious, and the actors bring a rare sincerity to their roles. Gable is livelier and seems happier here than I've ever seen him. Tracy, never a cheerful sort, is as near to a happy camper as he can be.

Jack Conway wasn't usually regarded as a director of the first rank even by his studio, does a fine job of keeping things moving at a swift pace. Yet he knows how to slow things down, too, so that one can catch a real glimpse of a small western city or an oil field. The script, by John Lee Mahin and James Edward Grant, does not for a minute seriously question the motivations or morals of the main characters, and this could be classified as a conservative adventure film or a Republican epic. Whatever. It's well enough done to satisfy even the most persnickety liberal.