Such a frustrating disappointment

Good concept, poorly executed.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This was the third and last teaming of Clark Gable and Spenser Tracy after San Francisco and Test Pilot and whilst it's easy to dismiss the first entry both in terms of plot and leading lady the second and third are too close to call. Whereas Jeannette MacDonald was an insipid joke both Myrna Loy (Test Pilot) and Claudette Colbert here were both feisty ladies more than capable of holding their own against macho males and both had a knack of seeming perfectly cast opposite Tracy and Gable. As if that weren't enough we also have Frank Morgan and Chill Wills weighing in with the lighter stuff and Hedy Lamarr fleshing out the second hour as the obligatory femme fatale. Holds up well.

In an oil-rich 1918 Texas town, manly wildcatter Clark Gable (as "Big John" McMasters) meets fellow prospector Spencer Tracy (as Jonathan "Shorty" Sand). "Don't call me Shorty," advises Mr. Tracy. "Why not, Shorty?" asks Mr. Gable. Although they smack each other around, Gable is allowed. The guys bond while washing up in their long underwear and decide to become partners. Gable and Tracy steal some oil equipment and strike it rich. Tracy's well-dressed girlfriend Claudette Colbert (as Elizabeth "Betsy" Bartlett), who sells ladies' underwear, arrives and goes to bed with Gable. They also make it legal. Very predictably, this starts a long rivalry...Gable and Tracy win some, and they lose some..."Boom Town" starts out exciting and turns into a one-note soap opera that doesn't impress. Mainly, this is due to a boring love story between the three stars. Rather late in the story, beautiful Karen Vanmeer (as Hedy Lamarr) enters as a second love interest for Gable. This makes two for Gable and zero for Tracy. Maybe it's because he's short. It might have been better to show Tracy becoming involved with either of the women, or even another woman. The parts about the oil industry are nicely produced, but proceed with sketchy logic and intrigue. Despite being hollow, "Boom Town" is a classy and engaging production from a studio with the staff to make it happen.***** Boom Town (8/30/40) Jack Conway ~ Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr

Boom Town is a Love story, a Drama, a Western, and an Adventure all put into one movie. The film is about 2 guys who love the same girl and love Black Gold. The movie stars Spencer Tracy as Square John Sand, Clark Gable as Big John McMasters, and Claudette Colbert as (Elizabeth) Betsy Bartlett. The movie is a 1940's Classic, and I think it was almost as good as Gone With the Wind. This is the last of three films that Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable starred in together which included San Francisco, Test Pilot, and Boom Town. The Film was star packed. I instantly knew who the actors were once I heard their voices. I especially liked how it was set in a western style and a modern style (for that time anyway) I thought it was going to be like every other western film that I've seen in black and white but it wasn't it was more adventurous and interesting. I especially enjoyed the scenes that showed Big John and Square John fist fighting. I later researched that Spencer Tracy's stunt double actually hit Clark Gable during a scene, because Clark Gable decided that he wanted to do his own stunts.

This was the biggest film of the year for MGM in 1940. They used four of their biggest stars, any one of whom could have starred in their own films.Clark Gable already had an Oscar for It Happened One Night, another nomination for Mutiny on the Bounty, and was nominated in the 1940 Academy Awards for Gone with the Wind.Spencer Tracy, a nine-time Oscar nominee, already had a nomination for San Francisco, a win for Captains Courageous, and a win the previous year for Boy's Town.Three-time Oscar nominee Claudette Colbert already had a win for It happened One Night, which she did with Gable, and a nomination for Private Worlds.Frank Morgan had gotten one of his two nominations for The Affairs of Cellini.And, our Star of the Month, Hedy Lamarr, was just beginning her career.This was a raucous film with all the excitement that you would expect in one about wildcatters in the oil business and featured barroom fights, streets of mud, and stories ripped from the headlines. It was an amazing love story about two men in love with the same woman. It was pure entertainment.