Golden Earth California
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Golden Earth California |
| Original title | Gold Is Where You Find It |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1938 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Michael Curtiz |
| script |
Warren Duff Robert Buckner |
| production |
Hal B. Wallis Jack L. Warner |
| music | Max Steiner |
| camera | Sol Polito |
| cut | Clarence Kolster |
| occupation | |
| |
Golden Earth California is a 1938 American film directed by Michael Curtiz . George Brent , Olivia de Havilland and Claude Rains star in this western set in California at the time of the gold rush. The different points of view of the local farmers and the new mine workers are shown.
action
The film is set in Northern California in the 1870s. Colonel Christopher Ferris is a wealthy farmer who sees gold mining threatened his prosperity. Hydraulic mining is destroying fertile farmland. The mining engineer Jared Whitney is his opponent. He defends the new methods. Jared Whitney, of all people, befriends Ferris' son Lance and then falls in love with his daughter Serena. The family threatens to break up when Ferris' brother Ralph abandons his farmland and joins his father-in-law Harrison McCooey's mining company in San Francisco . Lance follows his uncle into town and escapes the hard work in the country. Colonel Ferris feels left alone by his family and doesn't want to lose his daughter Serena as well. He forbids her to see Jared Whitney, who is supposed to build a dam for the mining company. Jared recognizes the accuracy of the farmers' arguments against the dam, but complies with his employer. When Serena learns that her father has confiscated Jared's letters, she too goes to San Francisco. There she meets Jared again. Rosanna throws a party in San Francisco to announce that the farmers are going to court against the mining company. It is clear to Serena that she is on the side of the farmers. But Jared as an employee of McCooey has to take the position of his employer. The farmers eventually win in court. McCooey doesn't give up and keeps things going with the help of Slag Minton. The farmers still want to stop the industry. Lance Ferris is killed while trying to turn off the water pumps. The dispute between farmers and industrialists escalates into war. Colonel Ferris gathers the farmers around him and leads them into battle. Jared Whitney finally resolves the conflict by blowing up the dam. With this act he can ultimately convince Colonel Ferris and receives Serena's hand.
background
The film was based on a novel by Clement Ripley , which was published in 1936 as a serial in the International Cosmopolitan. Howard Hawks should initially take over the direction .
The German TV version was shown in black and white.
Reviews
"Outdated westerns in the design and implementation that do not fully bring out the drama of the events."
"Curtiz, Steiner and Polito - the shining triumvirate of Warner Bros. - shot this beautiful farmer western mainly as an exercise for" The Adventures of Robin Hood "and the new Technicolor process."
Web links
- Golden earth California in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Golden Earth California. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .