After Lady of the Tropics and I take this Woman, Mayer lost his impatience to put Hedy in more films. Hedy herself lost her belief in Mayer's promise to make her big, and she decided to find good roles for herself. She happened to read the script of Boom Town and wanted to star in it so much that she came to talk to Mayer about getting her a role. Gable, Tracy and Colbert were all confirmed to be in the movie, so what was left for Hedy was only a role of Karen,  though does not  have as much screen-time as those three, Karen sure is an interesting character. 
 

Two oil-driller partners, John McMaster and John Sand one day discover an oil well and became rich. McMaster goes to celebrate the success while Sand takes his girlfriend whom he plans to marry home. Later McMaster happens to meet Betsy Bartlett and the two fall in love at the very first sight. They marry the same night. McMaster does not know that Betsy is Sand's girlfriend whom he intends to marry until Betsy tells him so. Betsy says she loves Sand as a friend but certainly is not in love with him. Knowing the news of McMaster and Betsy getting married, Sand at first is angry at McMaster for stealing his girl but then forgives him and becomes his friend again for the sake of Betsy. What breaks their friendship is what happens one year after the wedding when McMaster goes to town to have a good time with some girl in a saloon. Betsy is hurt and Sand is furious. He wants to stop working with McMaster, so they flip a coin to decide who would own the property. And Sand wins.
 
The McMaster is now poor but happy. Soon Betsy has their first kid and difficulty seems to make them closer to each other. Then, in a short time, McMaster prospers again. He builds his oil career with various branches around the country and puts the headquarters in New York City where he meets Karen Vanmeer, a beautiful girl with a past, who later becomes his partner and lover as well.
 
Sand comes to New York, and is offered a job to work at McMaster's. At first he is still angry with McMaster and refuses the job, then warms up and accepts it. Only when learning about Betsy's unhappiness because of McMaster's affair with Karen, Sand decides to ruin McMaster fiancially but only Sand becomes worse. Later when McMaster is faced with the government, his company is broke. Karen realizes he still loves Betsy and steps out of his life, leaving McMaster, Sand and Betsy become reconciled again and seek for themselves other wild adventures. 

 

• MGM production.
• Rita Hayworth also wanted to play the part of Karen Vanmeer and did a screen-test for the role.
• Hedy loved working with Gable and Colbert.
• She did not like working with Spencer Tracy.
• The movie became one of MGM's biggest box office successes of the 40s
  
• Nominated for 2 oscars, best cinematography and best effect
  
• There is an alternative version of the movie, which is colorized.
• Available in separate DVD and in the Clark Gable signature box.
• Filming took place in California, USA.
• Famous taglines: Gable and Tracy...buddies in battles! Colbert and Lamarr...rivals in love!
• Mentioned in The Films of Spencer Tracy and The Films of Hedy Lamarr
  

• Imdb
• Wikipedia      
• TCM (trailer available)
• Hollywood Pictures
• zelluloid.de

Coming soon!