Flowing Gold 1940

Oilfield worker John Alexander is on the run from a murder charge. He talks ‘Hap’ O’Connor into hiring Johnny Blake on a trial basis, even though Pat O’Brien has been contacted by the police and given a wanted poster with a photograph of the fugitive. Hap is rewarded when Johnny Blake saves him from an attack by a man Hap fires for being drunk on the job. However, when the police show up again, Johnny Blake has to flee.

Hap and his crew head to a new oil field to dig a well for old friend Ellery Q. “Wildcat” Chalmers ([Raymond Walburn]). Hap is pleasantly surprised to discover Linda Chalmers, who has grown into a striking woman. But Hammond, Wildcat’s longtime bitter enemy, sees to it that his loan request is rejected by the bank. With money running dry, Wildcat’s fortunes look bleak until Hap offers his life savings and is made a partner, a gesture that binds the two men closer together.

When they haul their equipment to the site Wildcat has leased, a fence set up by Hammond’s men blocks the way. They tear through the barrier, and a chaotic brawl erupts. In the heat of the fight, Hap and Johnny find themselves at odds, but Johnny quickly switches sides and Hammond’s men are routed.

Johnny then works for Hap, though his arrogant attitude irks Linda. She also grimaces at his nickname for her, “freckle nose,” and the two are drawn to each other despite Hap’s initial obliviousness to their romance.

Johnny is arrested for a routine brawl and briefly detained, but he is released. Yet the moment he leaves, Hap is injured in an accident, forcing Johnny to reconsider his options. Linda convinces him to stay and help, and the pair finally acknowledges their love. Johnny confesses that he killed a man in self-defense, and they hatch plans to move to the Venezuela oil fields, hoping for a fresh start.

Hap, recovering enough to return, learns of the couple’s plans and hesitates, trying to dissuade them. Meanwhile, the well begins to show promise when it hits water, echoing a nearby successful strike. Hap urges them to press on, and their persistence pays off with a real oil find.

As the operation nears a critical moment, Johnny departs just as lawmen close in on him, having matched his fingerprints. A dramatic lightning strike sets the oil well ablaze, and a crane is needed to fight the fire. The dangerous, rain-soaked road tests the driver’s nerve, but Johnny takes the wheel in a courageous move to save the operation. The fire is finally controlled, and he is taken into custody soon after, with Linda choosing to accompany him to face the charges rather than abandon him. The couple’s resolve and the perils of the oilfield fuse into a conclusion that underscores loyalty, love, and the gamble of a hard life in the sunlit, volatile world of oil.”