The Painted Desert man career. However, he would carry on as a character actor until his death in 1953. The film would be remade by RKO in 1938 as "Painted Desert", directed by David Howard, and starring George O'Brien, Laraine Johnson, and Ray Whitley. The film is notable for the superior cinematography of the Arizona desert by Edward Snyder. The Painted Desert The Painted Desert is a 1931 American pre-Code film released by Pathé Exchange. Produced by E. B. Derr, it was directed by Howard Higgin, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Tom Buckingham. It starred low-budget Western stars William Boyd (in his
Painted Desert (Arizona) he located some 40 miles east of Petrified Forest National Park. Finding the cities were not made of gold, Coronado sent an expedition to find the Colorado River to resupply him. Passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area "El Desierto Pintado" ("The Painted Desert"). Much of the Painted Desert within Petrified Forest National Park is protected as Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area, where motorized travel is limited. Nonetheless, the park offers both easy and longer hikes into the colored hills. The Painted Desert continues north into the Navajo Nation, where off-road travel is allowed by permit. The