Western

Heritage of the Desert

- Zane Grey's pen... again sends a devil-may-care youth... on an exciting trail of adventure and romance.

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.

Release Date : 1939-06-23

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Paramount Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : John Abbott

Original Name : Donald Woods

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miriam Naab

Original Name : Evelyn Venable

Gender : Female

Character Name : David Naab

Original Name : Russell Hayden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Andrew Naab

Original Name : Robert Barrat

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nosey

Original Name : Sidney Toler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henry Holderness

Original Name : C. Henry Gordon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henchman Nebraska

Original Name : Willard Robertson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Snap Thornton

Original Name : Paul Guilfoyle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henchman Chick Chance

Original Name : Paul Fix

Gender : Male

Character Name : Postmaster John Twerk

Original Name : John "Skins" Miller

Gender : Male

Character Name : Judge Stevens

Original Name : Reginald Barlow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wedding Guest

Original Name : Hank Bell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wedding Guest

Original Name : Charles Brinley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cowhand

Original Name : Rod Cameron

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wedding Guest

Original Name : Frank Ellis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Musician

Original Name : Frankie Marvin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wedding Guest

Original Name : Charles Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wedding Guest

Original Name : Tex Phelps

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-06-22

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.