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
Monastery of Christ in the Desert facilities. Christ in the Desert has three dependent monasteries. Two are in Mexico (Nuestra Senora de la Soledad and Monasterio Benedictino De Santa María y Todos Los Santos) and the other is in Kerens, Texas (Benedictine Monastery of Thien Tam). These monasteries also observe the Benedictine life with no apostolate other than a guesthouse. The monastery maintains one of the largest private solar power systems in the US, which provides its only source of electricity. The monastery comprises men from many nations. English is the common language of the house. In 2006 the monastery was the setting for a TLC