The Girl of the Golden West

The Girl of the Golden West is a 1930 American Pre-Code Western film produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., directed by John Francis Dillon and starring actress Ann Harding and James Rennie. Harding's then-husband, Harry Bannister, plays the villain Jack Rance. David Belasco wrote, directed, and produced the original play in 1905 which starred Blanche Bates. Two previous silent film versions of the play were made, one by Cecil B. DeMille in 1915 and another starring Sylvia Breamer in 1923. More famously, Belasco's play was filmed yet again in 1938 as a musical with operetta duo Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Cinematographer Sol Polito also worked on the 1923 silent version. Plot Minnie (Harding) runs the Polka saloon during the days of the California Gold Rush in California, and lives on the money brought in by the drinking and gambling at her establishment. She is highly respected by the miners who live in the area and they protect her and see to it that no harm comes her way. Minnie falls in love with Dick Johnson (Rennie), who mysteriously rides into town one day. Minnie does not know that he is a notorious road agent who is being sought after by the agents of the Wells Fargo express. Instead, Minnie believes that Johnson is a miner.