mark.waltz Review of Flaming Gold

Flaming Gold (1932)

All that glitters is not gold, although this has nearly all the right ingredients.

[4/10 · 15 March 2018]

When a big city girl's reputation comes between two old friends involved in the oil business, it is certain that there will be drama, and not just on the drilling fields. These two characters (William Boyd and Pat O'Brien) could be the archetypes for "Dallas's" Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes, but Mae Clarke's New Yorker is no Miss Ellie. She's hiding a past which O'Brien finds out about, and when she marries Boyd, friction arises between the two old friends. It isn't romantic rivalry, but the desperation of O'Brien to protect his pal and ensure that their goals in making sure that their promising oil business improves. There is so much potential in this low budget action/romance film, and there's a fun performance by Helen Ware as a feisty madam, blowsy in her appearance, but filled with regrets. This goes into detail as to the risks involved in running an oil field, showing how oil fires start and other dangers as well. I watched this as part of a double bill with the 1932 William Boyd RKO action/romance drama "Carnival Boat", and had hoped that this would show pretty much the same sort of drama developing within the oil business as "Carnival Boat" had done with the logging industry. There's so much here to give thumbs up to, but after the big dramatic confrontation, it sort of lumbers towards its end and left me feeling that I'd missed out on something.