The Painted Desert
Encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Painted DesertPainted DesertPainted Desert may refer to:In places:* Painted Desert, Arizona, an area of badlands in the southwestern United States* Painted Desert , a mountainous area in south-central Australia...
The Painted Desert (1931
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) is a film released by RKO Radio Pictures which marks the debut of Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
in a talkie
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
. Gable's performance as Rance Brett, an unshaven former criminal who does not feel sorry about the crimes he has committed, made him an important supporting actor overnight as the result of an avalanche of unexpected fan mail and opened the door for him to become "The King of Hollywood" during the 1930s. Another actor with an extraordinarily powerful voice, Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, also started out playing a bearded villain in a William Boyd Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film twelve years later and drew a similarly huge quantity of fan mail.
The low-budget Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
stars William Boyd
William Boyd (actor)
William Lawrence Boyd was an American film actor best known for portraying Hopalong Cassidy.-Biography:...
in his pre-Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of popular short stories and twenty-eight novels based on the character....
days as well as early sound star Helen Twelvetrees
Helen Twelvetrees
Helen Twelvetrees was an American stage and screen performer, considered a top female star in the early days of sound films.- Early life and career :...
.
Cast (in credits order)
- William BoydWilliam Boyd (actor)William Lawrence Boyd was an American film actor best known for portraying Hopalong Cassidy.-Biography:...
as Bill Holbrook - Helen TwelvetreesHelen TwelvetreesHelen Twelvetrees was an American stage and screen performer, considered a top female star in the early days of sound films.- Early life and career :...
as Mary Ellen Cameron - William FarnumWilliam FarnumWilliam Farnum was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character...
as Bill 'Cash' Holbrook - J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
as Jeff Cameron - Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Rance Brett - Charles SellonCharles SellonCharles Sellon was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 108 films and stage acts between 1901 and 1935. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in La Crescenta, California. His grave is located in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Tonopah - Hugh Adams as 'Dynamite'
- Wade BotelerWade BotelerWade Boteler was an American film actor. He appeared in over 430 films between 1919 and 1943.He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...
as Bob Carson - Ore Wagon #1 Driver - Will WallingWill WallingWilliam "Will" Walling was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 60 films between 1921 and 1932....
as Kirby - Edmund BreeseEdmund BreeseEdmund Breese was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Long on the stage with a varied Broadway career before entering movies he appeared with James O'Neill in The Count of Monte Cristo , The Lion and the Mouse with Richard Bennett, The Third Degree with Helen Ware, The...
as Judge Matthews - Edward HearnEdward HearnEdward Hearn was an American actor. He appeared in 361 films between 1915 and 1955.He was born in Dayton, Washington and died in Los Angeles County, California.-Selected filmography:* Daredevil Jack...
as Tex - William Le Maire as Denver
- Richard CramerRichard CramerRichard Cramer , was an American actor in films from the late 1920s. Burly, menacing and gravel-voiced, Cramer specialized in villainous roles in many low-budget westerns, but is today best remembered for his several appearances with Laurel and Hardy. He also appeared with W. C...
as Provney - Ore Wagon #1 Shotgun Rider