''The Girl of the Golden West'' is a 1930 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film produced and distributed by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

, a subsidiary of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

, directed by John Francis Dillon and starring actress

Ann Harding Ann Harding (born Dorothy Walton Gatley; August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was ...

and James Rennie. Harding's then-husband,

Harry Bannister Harry Bannister (September 29, 1889 – February 26, 1961) was an American stage, film and television actor, and theater producer and director. Biography Born in Holland, Michigan, Bannister began acting in movies and on Broadway in the 1920s ...

, plays the villain Jack Rance.

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...

wrote, directed, and produced the original play in 1905 which starred

Blanche Bates Blanche Bates (August 25, 1873 – December 25, 1941) was an American actress. Early years Bates was born in Portland, Oregon, while her parents (both of whom were actors) were on a road tour. As an infant, she traveled with them on a t ...

. Two previous

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

versions of the play were made,

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinem ...

in 1915 and another starring

Sylvia Breamer Sylvia Poppy Bremer (9 June 1897 – 7 June 1943), known professionally as Sylvia Breamer, was an Australian actress who appeared in American silent motion pictures beginning in 1917. Childhood and early career in Australia Sylvia Poppy Bremer ...

in 1923. More famously, Belasco's play was filmed yet again in 1938 as a musical with

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

duo

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...

and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

., original production at the

Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York Ci ...

, November 14, 1905, to June 19, 1906, (224 performances) Cinematographer

Sol Polito Sol Polito, A.S.C. (born Salvatore Polito, November 12, 1892 – May 23, 1960) was a Sicilian-American cinematographer. He is best known for his work with directors Michael Curtiz and Mervyn LeRoy at Warner Bros. studios in the 1930s and 1940s. ...

also worked on the 1923 silent version.

Plot

Minnie (Harding) runs the Polka saloon during the days of the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and lives on the money brought in by the drinking and gambling at her establishment. She is highly respected by the miners who live in the area and they protect her and see to it that no harm comes her way. Minnie falls in love with Dick Johnson (Rennie), who mysteriously rides into town one day. Minnie does not know that he is a notorious road agent who is being sought after by the agents of the

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

express. Instead, Minnie believes that Johnson is a miner. Jack Rance (Banister) is a sheriff in love with Minnie, but who is rejected by her. Johnson plans to rob the Polka saloon, which serves as a depository for the miner's gold dust; however, he drops his plans to rob the saloon as he becomes attracted to Minnie and falls in love with her. Rance finds out that Johnson is staying with Minnie and heads out to the saloon to arrest him. Minnie denies that Johnson is with her and while he attempts to escape from the saloon, he is spotted and wounded. He manages to escape, however, and Minnie shelters him again once the sheriff has left. The sheriff comes back once again and Minnie again denies that Johnson is there. Johnson, who is still bleeding, is hiding on the rafters near the ceiling and when drops of blood fall to the floor the sheriff realizes that Minnie has been lying. Minnie then challenges the sheriff to a poker game for Johnson's freedom, as well as her own, and wins, much to the chagrin of the sheriff. Vigilantes approach the saloon and demand that Johnson surrender himself to be hanged. He is given a few moments to say goodbye to Minnie after which he attempts to shoot himself. The vigilantes finally relent after Minnie's pleading and allow Johnson and Minnie to escape. The film ends as we see them on their journey to begin a new life together.

Cast

as Minnie * James Rennie as Dick Johnson *

as Jack Rance * Ben Hendricks Jr. as Handsome Charlie *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Sonora Slim * George Cooper as Trinidad Joe *

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended ...

as Nick *

Richard Carlyle Richard Carlyle (March 20, 1914 – November 15, 2009) was a film, television and Broadway actor. Early years Carlyle was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. His education included attendance at Sherwood Dramatic Art School and the Art I ...

as Jim Larkins *

Arthur Stone The Artognou stone, sometimes erroneously referred to as the Arthur stone, is an archaeological artefact uncovered in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was discovered in 1998 in securely dated sixth-century contexts among the ruins at Tintagel ...

as Joe Castro *

Arthur Housman Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and on ...

as Sidney Dick * Norman McNeil as Happy Holiday * Fred Warren as Jack Wallace *

Joseph W. Girard Joseph W. Girard (April 2, 1871 – August 21, 1949) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1911 and 1944. He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Before he became an ...

as Ashby

Preservation

No film elements are known to survive. The soundtrack, which was recorded on

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

disks, may survive in private hands.

References

External links

* * * *
Flyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of the Golden West, The 1930 films 1930 Western (genre) films Films directed by John Francis Dillon American films based on plays First National Pictures films 1930s English-language films Films about the California Gold Rush Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) films Remakes of American films Sound film remakes of silent films Films produced by Robert North 1930 drama films 1930s American films

Plot

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links