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
Rangipo Desert factors lowering the temperature below zero for days on end. Much of the desert lies at an altitude of over , and a considerable proportion of it is over above sea level. Due to the unproductive nature of the land and the extreme winter climate, the region is largely uninhabited. The town of Waiouru, with its army camp, lies to the south and much of the southern part of the desert is used for training purposes. To the north of the desert lies the Rangipo prison farm. Many of the North Island's largest rivers have their headwaters in the area,