''Wild Girl'' is a 1932 American pre-Code

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

drama western film directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...

and starring Charles Farrell, Joan Bennett, Ralph Bellamy, and Eugene Pallette. The film was based on a play by Paul Armstrong Jr., which in turn was based on the 1889 short story, ''Salomy Jane's Kiss'', and 1910 novel, ''Salomy Jane's Kiss'', by Bret Harte. The story had been previously filmed as ''

Salomy Jane Salomy Jane may refer to: *" Salomy Jane's Kiss", an 1889 western short story by Bret Harte, included in ''Stories of Light and Shadow'' (1898) * ''Salomy Jane'' (play), a 1907 stage adaptation by Paul Armstrong *"Salomy Jane", a 1910 western nove ...

'' (1914) and ''

'' (1923).

Plot

Walsh's only Western between '' The Big Trail'' (1930) and ''

Dark Command ''Dark Command'' is a 1940 Western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W. R. Burnett, ''Dark Command'' is the on ...

'' (1940) is an affectionate parody of the silent westerns Walsh himself made as a young director at Mutual that evolves into a lyrical romance filmed with tenderness and sincerity. Joan Bennett is "the eponymous irrepressible tomboy, who bewitches card sharps and escaped murderers in equal measure in the Redwood forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains".

Cast

* Charles Farrell as Billy * Joan Bennett as Salomy Jane * Ralph Bellamy as Jack Marbury * Eugene Pallette as Yuba Bill * Irving Pichel as Rufe Waters * Minna Gombell as Millie * Willard Robertson as Red Pete *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pro ...

as Lize * Morgan Wallace as Phineas Baldwin

Production

Pre-production began in July, 1932, with members of the Fox company visiting locations in Sequoia National Park. Most of the cast was announced by early August. Shooting began in Sequoia on August 7, and lasted two weeks that same month. The primary farm set, built at picnic ground, became a brief tourist attraction while it stood. Upon the crew's return to Los Angeles on August 31, director Raoul Walsh told the press that he was very excited about Joan Bennett's performance: "Joan Bennett's came alive in this film... And I think I am a lucky guy to have directed her in it." An additional Western set was built at the Fox Studios.Frontier Days Being Relived. ''Arizona Republic'' Vol. 43 No. 88, section 4, page 27. 14 August 1932. Accessed 12 June 2021.

Reception

"Beautifully photographed and robustly directed adventure set in the West, centering around a backwoods girl, delightfully played by Joan Bennett, and her dealings with several men: a good-hearted gambler, a hypocritical, lecherous politician, a two-faced rancher, and a young stranger..." — Peter Bogdanovich

References

External links