Boom Town

US (1940): Romance/Drama/Comedy

"Big John" McMasters (Clark Gable) and his pal, "Square John" Sand (Spencer Tracy), are two down-on-their-luck oil wildcatters who get lucky and strike a gusher, making them both rich. However, wealth and power bring their own problems to these two men whose friendship is constantly tested over the next several years through their marital and business relationships.

Boom Town recreates in the purest sense an early twentieth century vision of the American Dream. The idea that two rough and tumble Texas men can recycle poverty and wealth again and again reinforced the prevailing spirit of that dream; one of the film's promotional tag lines was "Men born of the lasting miracle that is America." Whether true or not, the concept that anyone with enough gumption, desire and hard work could break through any form of class structure and eventually reach the top of society, had a strong appeal for a public that was just starting to come out of the Great Depression. When you add the additional subplot of Spencer Tracy's unrequited love for Claudette Colbert who's stolen away by Gable, you have the formula for a giant, box office smash. Thrown into the mix is the alluring Hedy Lamarr as a potential threat to Gable's marriage and an excellent supporting cast including Frank Morgan, Chill Wills and Lionel Atwill. All this, combined with fast paced action sequences, crisp dialogue and the unadulterated themes of life long friendships and lasting romantic love, make Boom Town an enormously entertaining example of MGM's prestige productions of the forties. (Joseph D'Onofrio, TCM.com)

 Use this link to view the theatrical re-issue trailer for Boom Town on TCM.com.

2 nominations