The Painted Desert selected Higgin to direct the film, as well as naming the stars of the film, William Boyd and Dorothy Burgess. Later in the month it was reported that Higgin would head to Arizona to begin location scouting for the film, accompanied by fellow director, Tay Garnett, however in August Higgin began scouting in the Arizona desert with the screenwriter, Tom Buckingham. It was announced that the film would employ over 300 extras. Higgin was familiar with the area, having working in and around Flagstaff, Arizona as a lumberjack prior to his entering the film industry. Towards the end of August
The Desert Sun The Desert Sun The Desert Sun is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. It is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio "Daily News" in 1990 to become the sole local newspaper. First issued on August 5, 1927, as a weekly six-page newspaper, "The Desert Sun" grew with the desert communities. It covers local, state, national and world news, and has developed a variety of sections over time. The newspaper began to publish six days a week in 1948 and had their first Sunday edition on September 8,