"The White Desert"

Released May 4, 1925 by
Metro-Goldwyn-[Mayer] Pictures Corp.

"The White Desert" is an extant film.
A 35 mm copy of this film is preserved at the George Eastman House (Rochester) [Usr]. This film was shown on February 23, 1978 at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Moffat Tunnel. The film is of historical significance because it was filmed on location at Rollins Pass and the continental divide at Corona. "The White Desert" was a propaganda film to win public support for the building of the Moffat tunnel which would eliminate the treacherous and unreliable rail service over Rollins Pass. Claire Windsor was crowned "Queen of the Denver Auto Show" at the opening of the Moffat Tunnel on Feb. 26th, 1928. Newsreel footage of the opening ceremonies, parade and auto show were reported to have been shown for weeks in the Denver Theaters. At present, it is not known if any of the newsreel footage exists.

Dates Issued
1925
22/07/1925 [June, not July?]
Physical Description
7 reels; 6,464 ft.
Notes
Director: Reginald Barker
Story by Courtney Riley Cooper.
Scenario: L. G. Rigby.
Star: Claire Windsor (Robinette)
Archive: George Eastman House (Rochester) [Usr]
Copyright claimant: Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corp.
Registration number: Lp21668, R108453 March 9. 1953.
Source: MGM donor
Gauge: 35mm domestic release version
Holdings: U.S. Archive
Completeness: complete
Studio holding: G
Format: Format Unspecified: Usr
Record No.: 42636

In a February 2, 1932 Milwaukee Journal interview, Claire recounts the following story about the filming of "The White Desert":

"...I remember a tragic, yet somewhat humorous accident that happened when we made 'The White Desert.' We were supposed to be in the mountains. White corn flakes for snow were to avalanche over us and the airplane propellers were whipping up wind in good form. Then a lamp fell, struck an extra player and took the end of his nose right off. Everyone around there had the idea that if we found the nose we could put it on again and we spent at least half an hour hunting in the cornflakes. The studio paid for a skin graft in the end."

A Public showing of "The White Desert" was given in Denver on May 12th, 2018 in connection with the launch of a photo book about Rollins Pass.

https://www.facebook.com/rollinspass/videos/967546213415117/

"Rollins Pass" in the Images of America series, by B. Travis and Kate Wright. Available in bookstores May 12, 2018.

To read "The White Desert" by Cooper, download the public domain book at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20155/20155-h/20155-h.htm

Here's a new wrinkle! When Pat O'Malley found that certain scenes of "The White Desert" required that he wear a beard and others that he appear smooth-shaven, he kept one side of his face shaved smooth and allowed a beard to grow upon the other. Then, in scenes requiring the beard, he presented the bearded side of his face to the camera, and vice versa.

Above: Reginald Barker and his "White Desert" company overcame difficulties which at first seemed insurmountable in the filming of the early sequences high up in the Continental Divide. The story is from the pen of Courtney Ryley Cooper. In our picture taken with the giant locomotive as a background are Claire Windsor, Pat O'Malley, Robert Frazer and Director Reginald Barker, among others.