The Girl of the Golden West (1938 film)

The Girl of the Golden West
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	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's, Inc.
Release date	March 18, 1938 (1938-03-18)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,680,000
Box office	$1,597,000 (Domestic earnings) $1,285,000 (Foreign earnings)

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.

Plot

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 Mary, who is known as the "Girl of the Golden West." Mary is beloved by the miners.

Mary's life takes a turn when a notorious bandit and outlaw named Dick Johnson arrives in town under the alias "Ramirez." He is on the run from the law, and when he takes refuge in Mary's saloon, he and Mary quickly fall in love. Mary, unaware of his true identity, shelters and protects him.

Sheriff Jack Rance, who is infatuated with Mary, becomes suspicious of the newcomer and starts investigating Ramirez's background. Rance discovers Ramirez's true identity and plans to capture him. Mary is torn between her love for Ramirez and her loyalty to the miners and her sense of justice. Mary must make a difficult choice that will determine the fate of the man she loves. When Jack shoots him, Mary hides him in the loft of her cabin. Blood dripping through the ceiling alerts Jack to Dick's presence. While Dick lies unconscious on the floor. Mary and Jack play cards for Dick's life against her staying with Jack. She wins by cheating, but Jack discovers it. He lets Dick go and embraces a weeping Mary.

The boys throw a farewell party for Mary and Jack, who leave for Monterey to be married there by the padre. Planning to start a new life, Dick visits the padre. Mary and Jack arrive to be married. She hears Dick humming and tells him to flee. Jack overhears her confession of love and goes back to Cloudy. Dissolve to Dick and Mary in a covered wagon, singing “Señorita” and ending with a kiss.

Cast

• Jeanette MacDonald as Mary Robbins
• Nelson Eddy as Ramirez
• Walter Pidgeon as Sheriff Jack Rance
• Leo Carrillo as Mosquito
• Buddy Ebsen as Alabama
• Leonard Penn as Pedro
• Priscilla Lawson as Nina Martinez
• Bob Murphy as Sonora Slim
• Olin Howland as Trinidad Joe
• Cliff Edwards as Minstrel Joe
• Billy Bevan as Nick
• Brandon Tynan as The Professor
• H.B. Warner as Father Sienna
• Monty Woolley as The Governor
• Charley Grapewin as Uncle Davy (in prologue)
• Noah Beery Sr. as The General – in prologue (as Noah Beery Sr.)
• Bill Cody Jr. as Gringo (young Ramirez; in prologue)
• Jeanne Ellis as Young Mary Robbins (in prologue)
• Ynez Seabury as Wowkle

Soundtrack

• Sun-Up to Sun Down; Played during the opening credits
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Jeanne Ellis and the pioneers in the prologue
• Shadows On The Moon
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Jeanne Ellis at a campfire in the prologue
  • Reprised by Jeanette MacDonald
  • Whistled and hummed by Nelson Eddy
• Soldiers Of Fortune
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Noah Beery and his men in the prologue, Bill Cody Jr. (dubbed by Raymond Chace) in the prologue
  • Reprised by Nelson Eddy and his men
• The Wind In The Trees
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
  • Played on a fife by Buddy Ebsen
• Gwine to Rune All Night (1850); (De Camptown Races)
  • Written by Stephen Foster
  • Played as background music in the saloon
• Polly Wolly Doodle
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Played on piano by Brandon Tynan
  • Sung by Jeanette MacDonald
• Ave Maria
  • Music by Charles Gounod
  • Adopted from the First Prelude in The Well-Termpered Clavier
  • By Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Played on an organ by H.B. Warner
  • Sung by Jeanette MacDonald and chorus
• Señorita
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Nelson Eddy and party guests
  • Reprised by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
• Mariache
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Additional lyrics by Carlos Ruffino
  • Translation for Spanish lyrics by Zacharias Yaconelli (uncredited)
  • Sung by Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy and chorus
  • Danced to by the party guests
• The West Ain't Wild Anymore
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Buddy Ebsen
• Who Are We To Say
  • Music by Sigmund Romberg
  • Lyrics by Gus Kahn
  • Sung by Nelson Eddy
  • Hummed by Jeanette MacDonald
  • Reprised on piano by Brandon Tynan and sung by Jeanette MacDonald
• The Wedding March
  • from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61
  • Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
  • Played on a banjo and hummed by Cliff Edwards
• Señorita
  • Reprise by Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $2,882,000 resulting in a profit of $243,000.

External links

• The Girl of the Golden West at IMDb 
• The Girl of the Golden West at AllMovie
• The Girl of the Golden West at the TCM Movie Database
• The Girl of the Golden West at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films