Boom Town (1940)

My Review

Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy play two Texas wildcat oilmen through the ups and downs of the oil business, and in their personal lives as well, in “Boom Town.” Director Jack Conway (“Lady of the Tropics” 1939) does an outstanding job of putting together an epic motion picture on a large budget with excellent production values, good writing, and top-rate performances by big name stars. John Lee Mahin wrote the screenplay.

The cast includes Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, Chill Wills, Marian Martin, Minna Gombell, Joe Yule, Horace Murphy, and Richard Lane as the Assistant District Attorney. The very watchable and extremely entertaining classic movie “Boom Town” was the highest grossing film of 1940 for producer Sam Zimbalist and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It received two Oscar nods for Best Cinematography/Black-and-White (Harold Rosson) and Best Special Effects. It was filmed in Bakersfield and Taft and at the MGM Studios in Culver City, California.