The Painted Desert is a 1931 American pre-Code Western 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. The picture stars low-budget Western stars William Boyd (in his pre-Hopalong Cassidy era) and Helen Twelvetrees, and most notably features an unshaven young Clark Gable in his talking film debut. The film was shot mostly on location in Arizona.