Boom Town (film)
| Boom Town | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Jack Conway |
| Produced by | Sam Zimbalist |
| Written by | John Lee Mahin |
| Based on |
A Lady Comes to Burkburnett in Cosmopolitan magazine (August 1939) by James Edward Grant |
| Starring |
Clark Gable Spencer Tracy Claudette Colbert Hedy Lamarr |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography |
Harold Rosson Elwood Bredell (uncredited) |
| Edited by |
Blanche Sewell Paul Landres (uncredited) |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Loew's Incorporated |
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Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million |
| Box office | $5 million |
Boom Town is a 1940 American adventure film starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, and Hedy Lamarr, and directed by Jack Conway. The supporting cast features Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, and Chill Wills. A story written by James Edward Grant in Cosmopolitan magazine entitled "A Lady Comes to Burkburnett" provided the inspiration for the film. The film was produced and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
"Big John" McMasters (Clark Gable) and "Square John" Sand (Spencer Tracy) are two down-on-their-luck oil wildcatters who join forces. Without enough money, they steal drilling equipment from a skeptical Luther Aldrich (Frank Morgan). Their well proves a bust and they have to hastily depart when Aldrich shows up with the sheriff to take back his property. The two oilmen team up and make enough money to partially pay Aldrich. To get him to back them for a second try, they cut him in for a percentage of the well. This time, they strike it rich.
When Elizabeth 'Betsy' Bartlett (Claudette Colbert) shows up, McMasters sweeps her off her feet (without knowing that Sand considers her his girl) and marries her. Sand accepts the situation, wanting Betsy to be happy. However, on their first anniversary, she catches her husband dancing with a barroom floozy. As a result, Sand quarrels with McMasters and they flip a coin for the entire oilfield. Betsy leaves too, but returns when she learns that her husband has lost almost everything to Sand and needs her.
Each man goes through booms and busts. Building on his renewed success as a wildcatter, McMasters moves to New York to expand into refineries and distribution, competing against former customer Harry Compton (Lionel Atwill). Seeking inside information about his rivals, he hires away Compton's adviser Karen Vanmeer (Hedy Lamarr), who uses her social contacts and womanly charms to gather industry information.
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Wikipedia