Montana Moon | 1930 | Western, Musical comedy

Title: Montana Moon | 1930 | Western, Musical comedy Director: Malcolm St. Clair Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Starring: Joan Crawford, John Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, Ricardo Cortez Release Date: March 20, 1930 Runtime: 91 minutes Format: Black-and-white; Movietone sound Country: United States Language: English Genres: Western, Musical comedy --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Heiress heads West 00:18:00 Whistle-stop meeting 00:35:00 Wedding at the ranch 00:56:00 Jealousy at the dance 01:15:00 Train holdup and reunion --- Summary: A spirited New York socialite travels to her family’s Montana ranch and impulsively marries a straight‑shooting cowboy she meets at a whistle stop. Their whirlwind romance soon runs into trouble as differences in background and expectations surface, exacerbated by the attentions of a polished former beau. After a rift, the couple’s future hangs in the balance until a dramatic train hold‑up—staged by masked riders with a personal motive—forces a reckoning. The film blends Western settings, musical interludes, and pre‑Code romance to explore class contrast and reconciliation. --- Background: Produced and released by Metro‑Goldwyn‑Mayer during the early sound era, Montana Moon was shot partly on location in Montana and photographed by William H. Daniels. The film features songs by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown and was exhibited with Movietone optical sound. Contemporary accounts and later scholarship note production‑code pressures that resulted in cuts to scenes depicting alcohol during Prohibition. --- Trivia: Often cited as an early screen example of the “singing cowboy,” the film integrates Western imagery with multiple song performances. Song highlights include The Moon Is Low, Happy Cowboy, and Let Me Give You Love, composed by Nacio Herb Brown with lyrics by Arthur Freed. Cliff Edwards appears in the supporting cast; he later became widely known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in a 1940 Disney feature. Contemporary sources list the principal location work in Montana rather than the more common Western stand‑ins in California. Budget and earnings reported by studio ledgers place the production at roughly $277,000 with worldwide grosses approaching $960,000. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: March 20, 1930 Original Studio / Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. Copyright Status: Public Domain --- Hashtags: MontanaMoon JoanCrawford Western Musical PreCode ClassicFilm MGM OldHollywood PublicDomain Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montana_Moon_(1930).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Montana_Moon_%281930%29.webm