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
Ordos Desert it was inhabited by wild two-humped Bactrian camels, snow leopards, Przewalski's gazelles, and Przewalski's horses. The alkaline soil allows for some nomadic Mongol herders to raise sheep and goats. Heavy grazing by goats has done damage to the grasslands in the region and led to desertification. The oasis in the region support small scale farming. The area contains large soda deposits which are heavily mined. Ordos Desert The Ordos Desert, also known as the Muu-us or Bad Water Desert, () is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of