| The Girl of the Golden West | |
| Director: | Robert Z. Leonard |
| Producer: | Robert Z. Leonard William Anthony McGuire |
| Starring: | Jeanette MacDonald Nelson Eddy Walter Pidgeon |
| Music: | Herbert Stothart |
| Cinematography: | Oliver T. Marsh |
| Editing: | W. Donn Hayes |
| Studio: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Distributor: | Loew's, Inc. |
| Runtime: | 121 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $1,680,000[1] [2] |
| Gross: | $1,597,000 (Domestic earnings) $1,285,000 (Foreign earnings) |
The Girl of the Golden West is a 1938 American musical Western film adapted from the 1905 play of the same name by David Belasco, better known for providing the plot of the opera La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. A frontier woman falls in love with an outlaw.[3]
In a remote mining camp in California, a group of miners seeks their fortune during the Gold Rush. The miners frequent a saloon run by Mary, who is known as the "Girl of the Golden West." Mary is beloved by the miners.
Mary's life takes a turn when a notorious bandit and outlaw named Dick Johnson arrives in town under the alias "Ramirez." He is on the run from the law, and when he takes refuge in Mary's saloon, he and Mary quickly fall in love. Mary, unaware of his true identity, shelters and protects him.
Sheriff Jack Rance, who is infatuated with Mary, becomes suspicious of the newcomer and starts investigating Ramirez's background. Rance discovers Ramirez's true identity and plans to capture him. Mary is torn between her love for Ramirez and her loyalty to the miners and her sense of justice. Mary must make a difficult choice that will determine the fate of the man she loves. When Jack shoots him, Mary hides him in the loft of her cabin. Blood dripping through the ceiling alerts Jack to Dick's presence. While Dick lies unconscious on the floor. Mary and Jack play cards for Dick's life against her staying with Jack. She wins by cheating, but Jack discovers it. He lets Dick go and embraces a weeping Mary.
The boys throw a farewell party for Mary and Jack, who leave for Monterey to be married there by the padre. Planning to start a new life, Dick visits the padre. Mary and Jack arrive to be married. She hears Dick humming and tells him to flee. Jack overhears her confession of love and goes back to Cloudy. Dissolve to Dick and Mary in a covered wagon, singing “Señorita” and ending with a kiss.
According to MGM records the film earned $2,882,000 resulting in a profit of $243,000.[2]