Boom Town
1940 · Movie · NR · 119 min · ★ 6.9 · 71% critics
Two ambitious oil prospectors build a fortune from rough boomtown beginnings, but success keeps testing their friendship. As romance, rivalry, and repeated setbacks reshape their lives over many years, they learn that wealth matters less than loyalty and personal ties.
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Details
- Years
- 1940
- Release date
- 1940-08-30
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Critic score
- 71/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.9/10 (62 votes)
About
You may like this if you enjoy old Hollywood stories that mix male friendship, romance, and rise-and-fall ambition; Not for you if you dislike dated melodrama, stretched plotting, or love triangles.
Pros: charismatic leads; lively buddy dynamic; exciting oil-fire sequence | Cons: uneven second half; melodramatic romance; overlong at times
Themes
- partnership
- oil
- oil tycoon
- wildcatter
- oil field
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography, Black-and-White · 1941 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Special Effects · 1941 · nominated
Cast & crew
Clark Gable
as Big John McMasters
Spencer Tracy
as Square John Sand
Claudette Colbert
as Betsy Bartlett
Hedy Lamarr
as Karen Vanmeer
Frank Morgan
as Luther Aldrich
Lionel Atwill
as Harry Compton
Chill Wills
as Harmony Jones
Marion Martin
as Whitey
Minna Gombell
as Spanish Eva
Joe Yule
as Ed Murphy
Directed by Jack Conway