''Wild Harvest'' is a 1947 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

and starring

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

, Dorothy Lamour and Robert Preston. It was produced and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

Joe Madigan's crew harvests wheat for farmers. Jim Davis, a good mechanic who irresponsibly drinks and gambles too much, is fired by his friend, but atones with a heroic act during a fire. Alperson's rival crew is getting jobs by under-bidding Joe's. A farmer's flirtatious niece, Fay Rankin, finds a field for Joe's workers and then unsuccessfully tries to seduce him. She wants to come along and sets her sights on Jim instead, marrying him. Fay's interference becomes a problem. Joe ends up owing money and Alperson tries to buy his combines. Fay makes another play for Joe, who calls her "cheap" and "poisonous." Jim catches her slapping Joe, which leads to a fight between the men. Joe's loyal crew member King catches thievery of wheat by Jim and reports it. Joe, almost broke, is saved again by a penitent Jim, who sells Fay's car, enraging her. Fay finally reveals to Jim that she never loved him at all and that their marriage was a "joke." Joe and Jim team up on a new 3,000-acre job, making them prosperous at last.

Cast

as Joe Madigan * Dorothy Lamour as Fay Rankin * Robert Preston as Jim Davis *

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

as Kink * Richard Erdman as Mark Lewis *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 190 ...

as Higgins * Will Wright as Mike Alperson * Griff Barnett as Rankin * Anthony Caruso as Pete *

Walter Sande Walter Sande (July 9, 1906 – November 22, 1971) was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles. Films Born in Denver, Colorado, he was one of those stern, heavyset character actors in Hollywood no p ...

as Long *

Frank Sully Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the ''Bost ...

as Nick * Caren Marsh as Natalie

Production

The film was based on an original screen story called ''The Big Haircut'' by Houston Branch, which focused on wheat harvesters who travel across the country doing their job. "The big haircut" was their slang term for the work they do; the topic was thought to be especially topical because of a worldwide bread shortage at the time. It was bought by Paramount in May 1946 specifically as a vehicle for

A. I. Bezzerides Albert Isaac "Buzz" Bezzerides ( August 9, 1908 – January 1, 2007) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing films noir and action motion pictures, especially several of Warners' "social conscience" films of the 1940s. ...

was hired to work on the script.

signed to direct and

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...

was originally announced as Ladd's co star. Before a final script and cast had been confirmed, second unit filming commenced in July 1946 at the Russell Giffen ranch, 47 miles north of Fresno in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. Tay Garnett and the film crew shot footage of a real wheat harvest involving 27 combines and Alan Ladd. Female lead Dorothy Lamour was not cast until August. William Demarest also joined in the cast. Eventually Donlevy was replaced by

, who was borrowed from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Demarest dropped out and Robert Preston was cast as the third lead. The cast included a 28-year-old Caren Marsh—a bit-part actor who had appeared in a Paramount training film warning military personnel against the dangers of women. So many navy and army men wrote in asking for Marsh's picture that Paramount signed her to a long-term contract; ''Wild Harvest'' was her first appearance. Filming was meant to start on 2 September 1946 but was postponed a day so Alan Ladd could enjoy his birthday. Filming did not finish until November 1946, ten days behind schedule, causing production of Ladd's next film, ''

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'', to be postponed. The film was retitled ''Wild Harvest'' in December. The wheat field fire was filmed in part by using miniatures and special effects. These were overseen by Byron Haskin, his last assignment in that capacity for Paramount before he became a director.

References

External links

* *
Review of film
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Tay Garnett 1947 films 1947 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Tay Garnett Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Paramount Pictures films 1940s American films English-language drama films