The Girl of the Golden West (1938 film)

121 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$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]

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 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.

Cast

• Jeanette MacDonald as Mary Robbins
• Nelson Eddy as Ramerez
• 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

Box office

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

References

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