DKosty123 This is a case of a film with an amazing cast being done well as a period piece but which is an aging piece of film. The version I watched seemed choppy in sequences, including the first encounter between Gable & Tracy where the first time Gable calls him Shorty was missing. As I kept viewing this copy, it appeared the sequences were choppy & I can't believe when this film was first released it was that choppy. The question is can it be restored or is there a better copy than the one I saw.This cast of 4 heavy hitters with Tracy, Gable, Hedy Lamaar & Claudet Colbert is almost bigger than the screen. Add in Frank Morgan & Chill Wills and you have to wonder why all these folks were available for the same film. While this is a good film, it could have been a little better.It is interesting seeing & hearing Spencer Tracy make a closing speech in court where he mentions conservation of oil years before the industry even had any programs about this. Especially being before World War 2 as because of Hitler, environmentalism was scrapped for the war effort in some ways. The war did produce some of the earliest recycling programs in the US.This movie is about Wild Catting for oil and how it really was back in the early days. This is the kind of world which no longer exists. In this era, nobody was too big to fail.

sunznc Even all the great stars of yesterday including Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy can't raise this picture above average and that's exactly what it is-average.I guess the dialogue is good. The story isn't bad but the woman who loves her man even though he isn't faithful or present all the time story seems very stale and tired here. Claudette can't keep her character from becoming tiring with her smooth delivery and even keeled moods.The film is quite dated in other ways. The fight scenes between Gable and Tracy seem poorly choreographed especially by today's standards. It's muck. Average muck. I guess it's okay to watch to see how films of that era were shot but there are others from the same year that are much better. I'd skip it.

nnnn45089191 "Boom Town" is a very entertaining soap-opera which solely depends on the charm of it's two stars.I'm happy to say that both Gable and Tracy are great in this movie.The action sequences are amazingly done considering the vintage of this movie. Gable has some socko female performers to woe in Colbert and Lamarr. The storyline plays like a cross between a buddy-movie and soap-opera,most likely to appeal to both men and women. The business practices depicted in the movie surely favors aggressive capitalism as the American way. But if you can swallow some of those scenes the movie is very entertaining. Lending able comic support are two scene-stealers from many a film: Frank Morgan and Chill Wills. "Boom Town " is definitely worth a look.

weezeralfalfa Along with "Call of the Wild", this is my favorite Gable film(including "Gone with the Wind, made the year before). They have the similarity that we are in a wildcatting situation, looking for some treasure: gold in one case, oil in another. There is an air of tremendous excitement and optimism, which Gable epitomizes. In the one case, Gable has wisecracking Jack Oakie and later gorgeous Loretta Young as companions in the search for gold in the Yukon wilderness. In the present case, Gable teams up with an enthusiastic Spencer Tracy, and later with gorgeous Claudette Corbert. This is also one of the last films Gable made before the tragic death of his wife Carol Lombard and his entry in to WWII service. After that, Gable seemed a changed man on screen. It is also the most autobiographical film Gable did, as before his film career, he joined his father as an oil man. This film, as an epic about wildcatting in the early oil industry, invariably invites comparison with the later film "Tulsa", with the same theme. Native Oklahoman Chill Wills is the only actor I am aware of that was in both films. In both cases, the excitement begins with a gusher. Later, there is a spectacular oil field fire that threatens to wipe out fortunes. But "Tulsa" lacks anyone with the sizzling chemistry between Gable and Tracy, and also lacks the befuddled humor of Frank Morgan. Don't get me wrong. If you enjoyed "Boomtown", you should definitely check out "Tulsa". Susan Hayward is the tough-as-nails wildcat in that story, with Chill Wills as the occasional narrator. But, it tends to drag in places.The initial meeting between Gable and Tracy, going opposite ways on a one way plank that serves as a bridge across a muddy water-soaked road in a wildcat town, reminds us of the initial meeting of Robin Hood(Errol Flynn) and Little John(Alan Hale) in "The Adventures of Robin hood", in which they try to knock each other off a log crossing a stream so that they may complete their crossing. In the present case, this incident results in a draw, as both dive into the mud when bullets start flying around them. Tracy's initial offense at being called "Shorty" by Gable is soon grudgingly accepted when they share a room for the night. But woe be to anyone who parrots Gable in calling him Shorty!Comparison with yet another Gable film, "Wife versus Secretary", is also in order. In both films, Gable acquires a knockout single woman, who nearly costs him his marriage, as an indispensable assistant in his business. The difference is in the personalities of the women. Harlow's character respects his marriage enough not to encourage an affair, though appearances sometimes fuel rumors. Heddy Lamarr's character is a snake who admits to Tracy that she is determined to seduce and marry Gable's character. Happily, Gable eventually dismisses Lamarr and wife Colbert forgives him. The ups and downs of Gable's and Tracy's oil businesses, together or separate, and their relationship, constitutes much of the substance of the film. Tracy makes a memorable epic speech at Gable's anti-trust trial, which serves as the basis of a reconciliation and a hopeful finale. This speech should have been quoted in T.J. DiLorenzo's book "How Capitalism Saved America", in which he argues that anti-trust legislation has done much more harm than good.I wonder why the color poster for the main feature on my DVD shows Gable smooching Lamarr rather than Colbert? and why the color poster for the special features shows Lamarr and Tracy together(which occurred for only a few minutes in the film)? Is Lamarr considered such a superior beauty that she totally outranks Colbert? Not to my mind.