By Violet LeVoit
Gold Rush Maisie
Brief Synopsis
A Brooklyn showgirl helps a poor family strike it rich.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edwin L. Marin
Director
Ann Sothern
Maisie Ravier
Lee Bowman
Bill Anders
Slim Summerville
Fred Gubbins
Virginia Weidler
Jubie Davis
Mary Nash
Sarah Davis
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Jul
26,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
Maisie Ravier is en route to a singing job at the Hula Parlor Cafe when her car breaks down near an Arizona ghost town at the edge of Bill Anders' ranch. She seeks refuge at the ranch, and there she meets the misanthropic Bill, who makes a pass at her. After locking Bill out of her room, Maisie indignantly leaves the ranch the next morning and hitchhikes into town. Arriving to find that her job has already been filled, Maisie visits a local diner, where she hears of a gold rush at the ghost town and meets little Jubie Davis. After finishing her dinner, Maisie starts her long trek to Phoenix, and is offered a ride by the Davis family, a pitiful bunch of dispossessed dustbowl farmers who have been lured to Arizona by the promise of gold. Touched by their plight, Maisie spends her last dollar on groceries to feed the hungry children. When the Davis car rolls into town, they find the previously abandoned town filled with poverty-stricken farmers who are being exploited by profit seekers, prompting Maisie to insist that they drive on to Bill's ranch where they can find free water. After bullying Bill into letting the family pitch their tent on his land, Maisie agrees to go into partnership with family head Bert Davis. After days of digging, the partners uncover a promising vein of gold, but must await the assayer's report to ascertain the value of their claim. That night, a violent storm destroys the Davis' tent, and Maisie leads them to shelter inside Bill's house. As the family sleeps, Maisie convinces Bill to abandon his misanthropic ways and begin to trust people. The next morning, the farmers' hopes are crushed when the assayer pronounces that the ore is not worth the cost of mining. As the farmers prepare to return to the road as migrant workers, Maisie explains to Bill that they had turned to prospecting in desperation, as a way to feed their families rather than find their fortunes. Taking Maisie's words to heart, Bill offers his water to irrigate the valley, and as the farmers begin life anew as homesteaders, Maisie strikes out on her own.
Director
Edwin L. Marin
Director
Cast
Ann Sothern
Maisie Ravier
Lee Bowman
Bill Anders
Slim Summerville
Fred Gubbins
Virginia Weidler
Jubie Davis
Mary Nash
Sarah Davis
John F. Hamilton
Bert Davis
Scotty Beckett
Harold Davis
Irving Bacon
Harry Gilpin
Louis Mason
Elmo Beecher
Victor Kilian Jr.
Ned Sullivan
Wallace Reid Jr.
Matt Sullivan
Virginia Sale
Mrs. Gilpin
Frank Orth
Harris
Kathryn Sheldon
Mrs. Sullivan
Eddy Waller
Ben Hartley
Charles Judels
Cafe owner
Clem Bevans
Graybeard
John Sheehan
Drunk
Ivan "dusty" Miller
Spencer
Dorothy Appleby
Hat check girl
Eddie Gribbon
Gus
Henry Sylvester
Prospector
Albert Russell
Prospector
Ed O'neill
Prospector
Ray Teal
Prospector
Anna Chandler
Mrs. Beecher
Margaret Bert
Mrs. Carter
Wesley Giraud
Albert Tyler
Cy Kendall
Assayer
James Mack
Frank Tyler
Naomi Childers
Mrs. Tyler
Barbara Bedford
Mrs. Hartley
Martin Faust
Mr. Carter
Lee Phelps
Man in store
Mitchell Lewis
Miggs
Henry Roquemore
Customer
Lew Harvey
Bill Jackie
Jessie Arnold
Robert Middlemass
Eddy Chandler
Charles Middleton
Crew
Wilson Collison
Original Story
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Robert Golden
Assistant Director
William Kaplan
Assistant to prod
Charles Lawton
Director of Photography
Mary C. Mccall Jr.
Screenwriter
Tex Parker
Square dance calls and group dance instructor
Betty Reinhardt
Screenwriter
J. Walter Ruben
Producer
J. Walter Ruben
Fill-In Director
Gabriel Scognamillo
Art Director Associate
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Frederick Y. Smith
Film Editor
David Snell
Music Score
Norman Taurog
Fill-In Director
Dolly Tree
Wardrobe
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
Jul
26,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
Gold Rush Maisie
Maisie movies never disappointed audiences, partly because of how the title role suited the sexy, funny Ann Sothern, but partly because of their satisfying formula: Maisie, the tough cookie showgirl with a knack for misadventure, gets stranded in an unfamiliar locale where she finds a new job, a new problem, and a new tall-and-handsome to get her bothered. This time the new spot's an abandoned mining camp in Arizona that Maisie can't wait to leave. But when she's moved by the plight of a stranded Dust Bowl family that includes a little girl (Virginia Weidler), she decides to stick around and help - even if that means the unwanted attention of rancher Bill Anders (Lee Bowman). Sothern was still riding high on Maisie love in 1940, a phenomenon that would eventually take her to performing the character on radio. She would eventually tire of the role, but here she still revels in playing a character full of more moxie, mobility, glamour and sheer liberation than many other women's roles in film.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Gold Rush Maisie
Maisie movies never disappointed audiences, partly because of how the title role suited the sexy, funny Ann Sothern, but partly because of their satisfying formula: Maisie, the tough cookie showgirl with a knack for misadventure, gets stranded in an unfamiliar locale where she finds a new job, a new problem, and a new tall-and-handsome to get her bothered. This time the new spot's an abandoned mining camp in Arizona that Maisie can't wait to leave. But when she's moved by the plight of a stranded Dust Bowl family that includes a little girl (Virginia Weidler), she decides to stick around and help - even if that means the unwanted attention of rancher Bill Anders (Lee Bowman). Sothern was still riding high on Maisie love in 1940, a phenomenon that would eventually take her to performing the character on radio. She would eventually tire of the role, but here she still revels in playing a character full of more moxie, mobility, glamour and sheer liberation than many other women's roles in film.
By Violet LeVoit
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.
Quotes
Trivia
Norman Taurog and J. Walter Ruben took over directorial duties during 'L, Edwin' . Marin's illness.
Notes
According to news items in Hollywood Reporter, producer J. Walter Ruben and director Norman Taurog filled in for Edwin L. Marin when he became ill. This picture was the third in the Maisie series. For additional information about the series, consult the Series Index and for Maisie.
