Boom Town

When Big John is indicted under the Sherman Anti-Trust Law, it’s Square John’s testimony that frees him.“Is it getting out of line for a man to make a million dollars with this brains and with his hands? Because if it is, we better rewrite this, Land of Opportunity stuff”.Not satisfied with the quality of the streaming version I purchased the June 20, 2006 DVD. It has flawless picture and sound.Boom Town is a well written MGM production from 1940. It was the biggest box office hit of that year with a great cast. It begins in Texas in 1918 during the oil boom. Gable and Tracy are both “Wildcatters” searching for that big strike. They meet, and form a partnership. Boom Town is a tale of wildcat oil drilling, with fortunes won and lost just as quickly as a roller coaster dips and rises. It centers around the partnership of Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, a couple of tough, fighting, two-fisted oil drillers who know all the angles. Hedy Lamarr (she’s 110° in the shade) shows up later. She plays (what else?) an exotic femme fatale. Boom Town was a personal favorite of Gables. He particularly wanted to make this movie as he had worked on an oil rig with his widowed father before trying his hand at acting.As someone that worked in the oil services industry for a time I was most impressed with the scenes showing an oil well fire. The fire scenes looked better than the special effects of the day to me, I almost wonder if they set a rig on fire for filming purposes. (Oil well fires are very difficult to put out. The movie starring John Wayne, “Hellfighters” based loosely on the life of Red Adair shows this quite well.) Claudette Colbert is the sincere and loving wife who shares Gable’s fortunes. Hedy Lamarr is for looking at.The DVD was pressed, not burned. A pressed disc is always best. (They are bright silver on the back.) If a studio feels they MUST burn a disc, M-Disc should be utilized for long life. I purchased the June 20, 2006 DVD. There are cheaper releases out there, but I suspect they are burn discs, (DVD-R).If this review was helpful, please click on the link below.

Great movie from 1940. Although there is quite a lot of spectacular action (the fire scene is good even by today’s standards, it is the script and relationships between the characters that stand out. Clark Gable is the charismatic star and holds his own against the impressive acting skills of his co-star, Spencer Tracy, who usually makes everyone else seem overacting. These two play sometime friends, sometime rivals in the wildcat oil business. Between them are two women, played by Claudette Colbert and Heddy Lamar. The latter has the more interesting character. There are also good supporting character actors like Chill Wills and Frank Morgan.The film deals with how families suffer when professional ambition and materialism are over emphasized. Gable’s family is happiest when they have a simple modest life. “ Happiness comes from the struggle,” says his wife to Tracy. The changing dynamics between the four characters is very interesting, but does not slow the fast pace of the film, due to the excellent direction and snappy dialogue. The film even dares to briefly tackle conservation. Wow. And this was 1940!I watched this film and watched it again the next night. I never do that. Enjoyed it even more second time round. A lot of attention to detail. Very satisfying all round and glad to have it in my collection. The sound and picture quality is excellent. Recommended!

"BOOM TOWN",,,One of the first and most untamed adventure-romance movies of 1940's Hollywood. It taps into an exciting chapter of American history,,, the booming OIL industry of the early 20th century. The story follows the adventures of two wildcatters in their manic quest to strike it rich in the virgin oil fields of 1920's Texas.This award-winning, fast-fisted epic has legendary giants Clark Gable & Spencer Tracy,,, and of course their ladies Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr. To this day, few people yet know that the gorgeous and gifted actress was also a brilliant scientific engineer. YES,,, Hedy Lamarr is the inventor of Spread Spectrum Technology,,, commonly known today as WI-FI.(If this review was helpful in any way, please click on the "Helpful" key below, or write a comment. Thanks).

I have only known Clark Gable from GONE WITH THE WIND. He is marvelous here, along with great performance chemistry with Spencer Tracy. Not to forget, also with the lovely Claudette Colbert and the incredibly beautiful Hedy Lamarr. I am glad to have purchased this great B&W classic, as it completely held my attention with all four outstanding stars (and others, too, e.g. Frank Morgan)! I know I will enjoy the whole movie again and again whenever I'm in the mood to watch these mighty fine excellent actors of yesteryear! What a grand treat! The film quality was excellent!

TWIST & TURNS IN STORYLINE. GOOD CASTING & ACTING. ENTERTAINING.

I bought this movie thinking it might provide some insight into the 1918 oil boom in the Wichita Falls /BurkBurnett area of north Texas. While visiting family there in January, we spent time at several local museums that raised many questions of earlier days in this area. Boom Town was an enjoyable adventure of romance and the struggles that two couples endured in their quest for wealth and love. From the historical side, it portrayed the hard life of early oil workers very well, but was not meant to be specific to the area where our family resides, even tho some scenes where filmed there, with the rest being filmed in Bakersfield, CA. I sent the DVD to my family and they enjoyed it as well.

I had never seen this movie before, but during the pandemic, I have purchased a lot of vintage Hollywood on DVD, this being one of them. I really enjoyed this movie from start to finish.

A fun filled adventure with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy as oil well entrepeneurs.

One of the earliest movies made in Hollywood using some impressive state of the art special effects. I think it's a great movie, especially if you love any Tracy/Gable movies.

Excellent

EXCELANT