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20 Mule Team

  • 19401940
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
260
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Wallace Beery in 20 Mule Team (1940)
  • Western
In California's Death Valley, in 1892, Borax ore miners scratch a hard living until a map pinpointing the location of high-grade Borax ore surfaces, sending prospectors and crooks alike into... Read allIn California's Death Valley, in 1892, Borax ore miners scratch a hard living until a map pinpointing the location of high-grade Borax ore surfaces, sending prospectors and crooks alike into a gold-rush-like frenzy.In California's Death Valley, in 1892, Borax ore miners scratch a hard living until a map pinpointing the location of high-grade Borax ore surfaces, sending prospectors and crooks alike into a gold-rush-like frenzy.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
260
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Richard Thorpe
  • Writers
    • Owen Atkinson(story)
    • Robert C. DuSoe(story)
    • Cyril Hume
  • Stars
    • Wallace Beery
    • Leo Carrillo
    • Marjorie Rambeau
Top credits
  • Director
    • Richard Thorpe
  • Writers
    • Owen Atkinson(story)
    • Robert C. DuSoe(story)
    • Cyril Hume
  • Stars
    • Wallace Beery
    • Leo Carrillo
    • Marjorie Rambeau
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 6User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos16

    Anne Baxter and Noah Beery Jr. in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Douglas Fowley in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Anne Baxter and Noah Beery Jr. in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Marjorie Rambeau in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Marjorie Rambeau in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Leo Carrillo in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Leo Carrillo in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Anne Baxter and Noah Beery Jr. in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery, Clem Bevans, and Leo Carrillo in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Anne Baxter, Noah Beery Jr., and Marjorie Rambeau in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Marjorie Rambeau in 20 Mule Team (1940)
    Wallace Beery and Leo Carrillo in 20 Mule Team (1940)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Wallace Beery
    Wallace Beery
    • Skinner Bill Braggas Skinner Bill Bragg
    Leo Carrillo
    Leo Carrillo
    • Piute Peteas Piute Pete
    Marjorie Rambeau
    Marjorie Rambeau
    • Josie Johnsonas Josie Johnson
    Anne Baxter
    Anne Baxter
    • Jean Johnsonas Jean Johnson
    Douglas Fowley
    Douglas Fowley
    • Stag Roperas Stag Roper
    Noah Beery Jr.
    Noah Beery Jr.
    • Mitchas Mitch
    Berton Churchill
    Berton Churchill
    • 'Jackass' Brownas 'Jackass' Brown
    Arthur Hohl
    Arthur Hohl
    • Saltersas Salters
    Clem Bevans
    Clem Bevans
    • Chuckawallaas Chuckawalla
    Charles Halton
    Charles Halton
    • Henry Adamsas Henry Adams
    Minor Watson
    Minor Watson
    • Marshalas Marshal
    Oscar O'Shea
    Oscar O'Shea
    • Conductoras Conductor
    Lloyd Ingraham
    Lloyd Ingraham
    • Stockholderas Stockholder
    Sam Appel
    Sam Appel
    • Proprietoras Proprietor
    • (uncredited)
    John Beck
    • Jeff, Worker Asking for Payas Jeff, Worker Asking for Pay
    • (uncredited)
    Hank Bell
    Hank Bell
    • First Barfly Counting Bill's Moneyas First Barfly Counting Bill's Money
    • (uncredited)
    Joseph E. Bernard
    Joseph E. Bernard
    • Second Barfly Counting Bill's Moneyas Second Barfly Counting Bill's Money
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Borden
    Eddie Borden
    • Fifth Barfly Counting Bill's Moneyas Fifth Barfly Counting Bill's Money
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Richard Thorpe
    • Writers
      • Owen Atkinson(story)
      • Robert C. DuSoe(story)
      • Cyril Hume
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    It is 1892 in Death Valley and the yields from the Borax ore are getting so small that refining it is a losing proposition. The only thing that will save the company is a new deposit of high grade Borax, and Bill has a pouch of it that he got from a dead prospector that he buried on the road. Roper knows the value of the strike could be worth millions, but he needs Bill to find the prospectors' claim so they can record it and become rich partners. While Roper has no intention of cutting Bill in on the millions, he also has his eye on young Jean. Josie sees Roper for the scalawag that his is and it means trouble in Furnace Flat. —Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
    • borax mining
    • mule skinner
    • year 1892
    • deception
    • double cross
    • 34 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Beery . . . a whip-totin' . . . gun-blazin' son of a coyote . . . from the orneriest end of the desert!
    • Genre
      • Western
    • Certificate
      • Passed
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Anne Baxter's first movie.
    • Goofs
      Early in the movie when Bill goes into the Saloon and orders a beer its three-quarters full when he starts to drink, but, Josie grabs it and in the next shot of the three of them and the bartender the glass is three-quarters empty.
    • Quotes

      Skinner Bill Bragg: Let's scratch some sand over him and keep the buzzards from picking him to pieces.

      Piute Pete: Pretty soon wind comes some more, blow sand off and coyotes dig him up just the same.

      Skinner Bill Bragg: Ain't you got no respect? It's the idea of the thing. Now get to scratching.

    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940)

    User reviews6

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Cornering the Borax Market
    20 Mule Team is one of the few westerns to deal with the mining of alkali salt in the place which is best known for it continental USA, Death Valley, California. It's the lowest point on the North American continent with heat the equivalent of what our troops are dealing with now in the Middle East.

    Wallace Beery plays a former outlaw who has been living in the area around Death Valley and eking out a living as a miner of this salt with sidekick Leo Carrillo. But one day along comes Douglas Fowley who's an outlaw from the old days now with a confidence scheme in mind to corner the market in Death Valley and he wants Beery in on it lest he rat him out to the law because Beery has a price on his head.

    Bilking the suckers isn't all Fowley has in mind. He's also on the make for Anne Baxter who is the daughter of saloon owner Marjorie Rambeau who Beery has an on again off again thing going. Kind of like his relationships with Marie Dressler and Marjorie Main in other films.

    The location shooting in Death Valley is the best thing the film has going for it, especially the climatic shootout with Beery and Fowley.

    What truly spoils 20 Mule Team is an obviously tacked on ending which made it a happy one. I can't say more, but if you watch 20 Mule Team I'm sure you'll agree.
    helpful•0
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Jan 5, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 3, 1940 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Twenty Mule Team
    • Filming locations
      • Death Valley National Park, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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