The Girl of the Golden West | |
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Directed by | Robert Z. Leonard |
Written by | Isabel Dawn Boyce DeGaw |
Based on | The Girl of the Golden West 1905 play by David Belasco |
Produced by | Robert Z. Leonard William Anthony McGuire |
Starring | Jeanette MacDonald Nelson Eddy Walter Pidgeon |
Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
Edited by | W. Donn Hayes |
Music by | Herbert Stothart |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 121 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,680,000[1][2] |
Box office | $1,597,000 (Domestic earnings)[1] $1,285,000 (Foreign earnings)[1] |
The Girl of the Golden West is a 1938 American musical Western film adapted from the 1905 play of the same name by David Belasco, better known for providing the plot of the opera La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. A frontier woman falls in love with an outlaw.[3]
In a remote mining camp in California, a group of miners seeks their fortune during the Gold Rush. The miners frequent a saloon run by Minnie, who is known as the "Girl of the Golden West." Minnie is beloved by the miners.
Minnie's life takes a turn when a notorious bandit and outlaw named Dick Johnson arrives in town under the alias "Ramerrez." He is on the run from the law, and when he takes refuge in Minnie's saloon, he and Minnie quickly fall in love. Minnie, unaware of his true identity, shelters and protects him.
Sheriff Jack Rance, who is infatuated with Minnie, becomes suspicious of the newcomer and starts investigating Ramerrez's background. Rance discovers Ramerrez's true identity and plans to capture him. Minnie is torn between her love for Ramerrez and her loyalty to the miners and her sense of justice. Minnie must make a difficult choice that will determine the fate of the man she loves.
According to MGM records the film earned $2,882,000 resulting in a profit of $243,000.[2]