Walsh's only Western between The Big Trail (1930) and Dark Command (1940) is an affectionate parody of the silent westerns Walsh himself made as a young director at Mutual that evolves into a lyrical romance filmed with tenderness and sincerity. Joan Bennett is "the eponymous irrepressible tomboy, who bewitches card sharps and escaped murderers in equal measure in the Redwood forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains".[5]
Cast
During the opening credits all the main characters are presented in a few sentences by the actors that portray them.
Pre-production began in July, 1932, with members of the Fox company visiting locations in Sequoia National Park.[6] Most of the cast was announced by early August.[7] Shooting began in Sequoia on August 7,[8] and lasted two weeks that same month.[9] The primary farm set, built at picnic ground, became a brief tourist attraction while it stood.[10] Upon the crew's return to Los Angeles on August 31, director Raoul Walsh told the press that he was very excited about Joan Bennett's performance: "Joan Bennett's came alive in this film... And I think I am a lucky guy to have directed her in it."[11] An additional Western set was built at the Fox Studios.[12]
Reception
"Beautifully photographed and robustly directed adventure set in the West, centering around a backwoods girl, delightfully played by Joan Bennett, and her dealings with several men: a good-hearted gambler, a hypocritical, lecherous politician, a two-faced rancher, and a young stranger..." — Peter Bogdanovich[13]
