The Painted Desert

Best friends and prospectors Cash Holbrook (William Farnum) and Jeff Cameron (J. Farrell MacDonald) are seeking an oasis to call home in the "Painted Desert." They come upon a baby whom they adopt, but squabbling over fathering the boy leads to a seemingly unmendable riff. The arguing continues as the foundling, Bill, grows into a man under the tutelage of Cash. Seeing that the two men will eventually destroy themselves with their hatred, Bill proposes an armistice which results in him being disowned by his father. Befriending his Father's enemy, and falling for Jeff's sultry, gun-toting daughter Mary Ellen (Helen Twelvetrees), Bill schemes to end the blood-feud and romance his new love. Featuring Clark Gable in a substantial supporting role, The Painted Desert is an early sound cowboy epic rich in scope with spectacular visual vistas.

Two neighboring prospectors find an abandoned baby in a deserted camp. Jeff Cameron (J. Farrel MacDonald) and Cash Holbrook (William Farnum) each want the baby for his own. In a move that ignites a longtime feud, Cash takes the baby, adopts him, and names him Bill. Years later, after Bill (William Boyd) has grown into a man, the cowboys' argument rages on in the form of a disagreement over property water rights. Bill is forced to choose between Cash and Jeff. To further complicate matters, Bill is in love with Jeff's daughter. Clark Gable makes an appearance as a bad guy in his first "talkie" movie.