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poster of Heritage of the Desert
Rating: 5.8/10 by 4 users

Heritage of the Desert (1939)

John Abbott returns to the desert land he owns, and after being wounded by hired gunman Chick Chance, he is befriended by rancher Andrew Naab and his son, Marvin. Naab's daughter, Marian, falls in love with John but is about to marry Snap Thornton to keep a promise made by her father. She runs away on her wedding day but is captured and held hostage by outlaw Henry Holderness. John, the Naabs and fellow ranchers rush to her rescue.

Directing:
  • Lesley Selander
  • Derwin Abrahams
  • Theodore Joos
Writing:
  • Zane Grey
  • Norman Houston
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Jun 23, 1939

Rating: 5.8/10 by 4 users

Alternative Title:

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 13 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: nevada, b western
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Donald Woods
John Abbott
Robert Barrat
Andrew Naab
C. Henry Gordon
Henry Holderness
Willard Robertson
Henchman Nebraska
Paul Guilfoyle
Snap Thornton
Paul Fix
Henchman Chick Chance
John "Skins" Miller
Postmaster John Twerk
Reginald Barlow
Judge Stevens
Hank Bell
Wedding Guest
Charles Brinley
Wedding Guest
Frank Ellis
Wedding Guest
Charles Murphy
Wedding Guest
Tex Phelps
Wedding Guest

CinemaSerf

Though he had a tendency to verbosity, Zane Grey wrote some good Western adventure stories, and this one is quite decent too. Donald Woods is "Abbott" the last of a once wealthy family who is told by his lawyer that all that is left is some inhospitable land in the desert. When he goes off to investigate, he is shot - lands in some quicksand, and is lucky to be rescued by the "Naab" family. A bit of a love triangle ensues, as our determined young man decides to reclaim his property from those scheming to take it (and it's wealth). This is a much better than average effort. The screen adaptation from Norman Houston keeps the dialogue focussed and there are a couple of stronger performances from the star; C. Henry Gordon (the unscrupulous "Holderness") and Evelyn Venable (the feisty "Miriam"). The photography is also quite lively, too - allowing the story more fluidity than many films I've seen. The romance does stifle it for me, though - takes just a little too much of this 75 minutes and detracts from the more interesting action elements of the crooked land grabbing. Features Sidney Toler, too - albeit infrequently - and that rather shows up his really limited skills as an actor, and the editing isn't the best. Enjoyable, though, with a few extra twists to keep it interesting.


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