PAINTED DESERT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23688, 21 December 1938, Page 9

PAINTED DESERT

ATTRACTION FOR GRAND George O’Brien’s new starring vehicle, “Painted Desert,” which will be commenced at the Grand Theatre to-day, brings to the screen a gripping story of romance and treachery revolving around an immensely valuable tungsten mine. The mine is discovered on range property owned by a well-to-do cattleman, but its discoverer, an c' prospector, is being grubstaked by a shady promoter whose only motive is to harass the cattleman and force him to give ub part of his holdings. As a consequence, the promoter is not interested in the mine itself, and tricks the prospector out of it in order to further his plot to harass the cattleman. The prospector’s pretty granddaughter knows nothing of all this, and when her grandfather is killed in a saloon brawl she believes she is the rightful owner of the mine. The discovery that the property holds a vein of unbelievably rich tungsten ore leads both the girl and the cattleman to try to develop it, and they form a working partnership, borrowing enough money to put up a mill. The promoter, however, tries to get the mine back, and this leads up to the thrilling crisis of the story. Although there have been many pictures made concerning Hollywood and filmmaking “Fugitives for a Night,” the second film, is the first production immortalising the lowly Hollywood studio “stooge.” Featuring Frank Albertson and Eleanor Lynn this RKO Radio offering dramatically chronicles the hectic experiences in the life of a movie star’s “ stooge,” an unsung hero who is a vital necessity in that city of makebelieve. The picture is in the nature of a revelation of hitherto undisclosed practices in the film capital.