Two prospectors find a baby in a wagon after an Indian attack. They eventually go their separate ways - Jeff Cameron (J. Farrell MacDonald) stays where he is - Helen Twelvetrees played his daughter. Cash Holbrook takes baby Bill and becomes a wealthy cattle man.
There is a bitter feud between them - Holbrook needs to water his cattle and Cameron won't allow them near his lake. Bill (Bill Boyd) finds tungsten ore on Cameron's land and tries to get the two men to reconcile.
Someone is trying to sabotage the mine - most of the towns folk suspect Cash Holbrook.
Clark Gable has a dynamic credited debut as villain, Rance Brett. He just about acts everyone off the screen. The way he just spits out his words and snarls - actions that were to be his trademark. 1931 was Gable's meteoric year. "The Painted Desert" was his first film for the year - by the end he was starring with Joan Crawford in the fantastic "Possessed".
Rugged, good looking William Boyd played Bill Holbrook. He had been a top star in the twenties, often starring in adventures but this was one of his first westerns. Even though in 1930 he was a top star - he would have an even bigger career as Hopalong Cassidy.
Helen Twelvetrees was a rising star at Pathe.
There is a bitter feud between them - Holbrook needs to water his cattle and Cameron won't allow them near his lake. Bill (Bill Boyd) finds tungsten ore on Cameron's land and tries to get the two men to reconcile.
Someone is trying to sabotage the mine - most of the towns folk suspect Cash Holbrook.
Clark Gable has a dynamic credited debut as villain, Rance Brett. He just about acts everyone off the screen. The way he just spits out his words and snarls - actions that were to be his trademark. 1931 was Gable's meteoric year. "The Painted Desert" was his first film for the year - by the end he was starring with Joan Crawford in the fantastic "Possessed".
Rugged, good looking William Boyd played Bill Holbrook. He had been a top star in the twenties, often starring in adventures but this was one of his first westerns. Even though in 1930 he was a top star - he would have an even bigger career as Hopalong Cassidy.
Helen Twelvetrees was a rising star at Pathe.