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The Painted Desert

  • 1931
  • Passed
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
779
YOUR RATING
William Boyd in The Painted Desert (1931)
DramaWestern

Two men find an abandoned baby and fight over the ownership of the child resulting in lifelong rivalry.Two men find an abandoned baby and fight over the ownership of the child resulting in lifelong rivalry.Two men find an abandoned baby and fight over the ownership of the child resulting in lifelong rivalry.

  • Directors
    • Howard Higgin
    • Tom Buckingham
  • Writers
    • Tom Buckingham
    • Howard Higgin
  • Stars
    • William Boyd
    • Helen Twelvetrees
    • William Farnum
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    779
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Howard Higgin
      • Tom Buckingham
    • Writers
      • Tom Buckingham
      • Howard Higgin
    • Stars
      • William Boyd
      • Helen Twelvetrees
      • William Farnum
    • 25User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos28

    Clark Gable and Helen Twelvetrees in The Painted Desert (1931)
    William Boyd in The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Helen Twelvetrees in The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable and William Boyd in The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable in The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable and William Boyd in The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable in The Painted Desert (1931)
    The Painted Desert (1931)
    The Painted Desert (1931)
    The Painted Desert (1931)
    The Painted Desert (1931)
    Clark Gable and J. Farrell MacDonald in The Painted Desert (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Boyd
    William Boyd
    • Bill Holbrook
    • (as Bill Boyd)
    Helen Twelvetrees
    Helen Twelvetrees
    • Mary Ellen Cameron
    William Farnum
    William Farnum
    • Cash Holbrook
    J. Farrell MacDonald
    J. Farrell MacDonald
    • Jeff Cameron
    Clark Gable
    Clark Gable
    • Rance Brett
    Charles Sellon
    Charles Sellon
    • Tonopah
    Hugh Adams
    • Dynamite
    Wade Boteler
    Wade Boteler
    • Bob Carson
    Will Walling
    Will Walling
    • Kirby
    Edmund Breese
    Edmund Breese
    • Judge Matthews
    Edward Hearn
    Edward Hearn
    • Tex
    • (as Guy Edward Hearn)
    William Le Maire
    • Denver
    • (as William LeMaire)
    Richard Cramer
    Richard Cramer
    • Provney
    Clem Beauchamp
    • Miner
    • (uncredited)
    George Burton
    • Santa Fe
    • (uncredited)
    Cy Clegg
    • Miner
    • (uncredited)
    Edgar Dearing
    Edgar Dearing
    • Buck's Partner
    • (uncredited)
    James Donlan
    James Donlan
    • Steve - Ore Wagon #2 Shotgun Rider
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Howard Higgin
      • Tom Buckingham(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Tom Buckingham
      • Howard Higgin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      William Boyd and Clark Gable, during the making of the film (11 October 1930), narrowly escaped serious injury from falling rock after two tons of explosives went off with considerably more force than planned in Dinosaur Canyon, some 70 miles northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona. While Boyd and Gable were 200 feet from the blast, rocks and boulders rained down between where they were standing. Not so lucky were a number of technicians, some 15 of whom were taken to hospitals in Flagstaff and Tuba City, and director Howard Higgin, who suffered a broken ankle and various cuts. The female lead, Helen Twelvetrees, had already returned to Los Angeles, as most of the principal photography was completed. Dynamite and black powder had been placed in the face of a 400-foot cliff and in an old mine tunnel, the explosion being expected to crumble the cliff. Unexpected presence of hard rock lent the blast violence that had not been anticipated, and showered rock and stone over an area of nearly half a mile.
    • Quotes

      [Cash and Jeff rescue a baby from a deserted wagon]

      Cash Holbrook: What have we got that'll feed his gizzard? He can't chaw jerky!

      Jeff Cameron: Aw, you don't know nothin'. There's oatmeal gruel and a mite of bacon grease'll see him through.

    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
    • Soundtracks
      Oh! Susanna
      (1848) (uncredited)

      Written by Stephen Foster

      In the score during the opening credits

    User reviews25

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Incomplete But Still Good
    Two men traveling west find a baby boy in the desert and quarrel over which one will raise him. One steals away with the boy and becomes a wealthy rancher while the other stays put beside a waterhole and remains an impoverished homesteader.

    Years later the boy has grown up to become a fair-minded man who tries to reconcile the two bitter enemies, partnering with his father's old friend in a mining operation beset by mistrust due to unexplained sabotage.

    The Painted Desert is mostly remembered nowadays for featuring future Hopalong Cassidy star William Boyd and the first talking performance by Clark Gable.

    Though undoubtedly harmed by having nearly all it's action sequences carved up as stock footage for later films, it's still worth watching and has a nice Hollywood sheen not seen in later B-westerns.
    helpful•9
    3
    • FightingWesterner
    • Oct 26, 2009

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 7, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Obojena pustinja
    • Filming locations
      • Painted Desert, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • Pathé Exchange
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White

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