''20 Mule Team'' (also known as ''Twenty Mule Team'') is a 1940 American

western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His obituary called him "a capable and versatile director willing to take on any ass ...

and starring Marjorie Rambeau,

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway theatre, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe, and t ...

and

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...

, who appears with his nephew Noah Beery Jr. The film was originally released in sepia-tone, a brown-and-white process used by the studio the previous year for the Kansas scenes in '' The Wizard of Oz.''

Plot

In 1892

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley's Badwat ...

, California, dwindling borax deposits have the Desert Borax Company at the brink of bankruptcy. The company is unable to pay its transport drivers, the 20 mule teams that haul the borax across the desert. Skinner Bill, a mule-team driver, is unable to pay his rent and is evicted by Josie Johnson, owner of the Furnace Flat saloon. Stag Roper arrives in town and persuades the bank to extend the borax company's credit, hoping to discover more borax. Stag learns that Bill has found borax crystals from Chuckwalla, who died in the desert. Stag knows that Bill is wanted for murder and blackmails him to help wrest Chuckwalla's claim. Bill agrees, and the next day he joins Pete in an effort to locate the claim. Chuckwalla's former partner Mitch engages them in a shootout as he tries to protect his claim. Josie's daughter Jean plans to elope with Stag, but Josie locks her in her room and confronts Stag. He shoots Josie and joins his partner Salters to steal Mitch's claim. Bill and Pete pursue Stag and find Mitch unconscious in the desert. Following a shootout with Stag, Bill places Mitch on his mule and sends him back to town. Mitch marries Josie, and they move to Los Angeles.

Cast

as Skinner Bill * Leo Carrillo as Piute Pete * Marjorie Rambeau as Josie Johnson *

as Joan Johnson *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs. He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

as Stag Roper * Noah Beery Jr. as Mitch * Arthur Hohl as Salters * Clem Bevans as Chuckawalla * Charles Halton as Henry Adams *

Minor Watson Minor Watson (December 22, 1889 – July 28, 1965) was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included '' Boys Town'' (1938), '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''Kings Row'' (1942), '' Guad ...

as Marshal

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic Theodore Strauss wrote that the film "moves little faster than its plodding mules" and assessed the cast performances: "As the whip-slinging skinner Mr. Beery is as hard-headed, muddled and garrulous as of yore; Marjorie Rambeau, as the mother, is obviously full of woe, and Anne Baxter is an attractive little desert flower. Leo Carrillo, that perennial Indian, is practically left to shift for himself so far as the script is concerned. The remaining cast is adequate, including the mules, who are very docile. But they're awfully slow."

References

External links

*
Fandango entry
{{Richard Thorpe 1940 films 1940 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films set in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American Western (genre) films Films set in Inyo County, California Films with screenplays by Richard Maibaum Films about mining 1940s American films Death Valley in fiction English-language Western (genre) films Films scored by David L. Snell