Luck of Roaring Camp (1937)

Roaring Camp is a ghost town inhabited by a handful of die-hard prospectors who refuse to leave. In staggers an unidentified woman who gives birth in the saloon and then dies. The shocked miners decide to protect the baby, who they believe will bring them luck, and assign young Davy Woodson to care for the newborn. The child, whom they christen "Thomas Luck," is well-named when gold is discovered and Roaring Camp swells with newcomers. Although they gain fortunes, young Thomas' godfathers squander their gold on gambling and women and forget their pledge to support him. Young Davy launches a desperate plan to secure the child's future, and get him as far away from the depravity of Roaring Camp as possible.

Based on a Bret Harte story, The Luck Of Roaring Camp would be the final effort of director Irvin Willat. Married to beautiful actress Billie Dove, Willat is best known for The Grim Game (1919), False Faces (1919) and Down Home (1920). Actress Joan Woodbury, who gained fame with her sexy dance in 1937's Charlie Chan on Broadway, is best remembered for her roles in King Of The Zombies (1941), Charlie Chan And The Chinese Cat (1944) and The Ten Commandments (1956)