''The Heritage of the Desert'' is a 1924 American silent

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

Irvin Willat Irvin V. Willat (November 18, 1890 – April 17, 1976) was an American film director of the silent film era. A short biography reprinted from ''Blue Book of the Screen'' (1923). He directed 39 films between 1917 and 1937. Early in his career ...

and based on the novel of the same name by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

. It stars

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

Ernest Torrence Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...

, and

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Heritage of the Desert''
at silentera.com The film was released by Paramount Pictures with sequences filmed in an early

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

process.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Jack Hare, an Eastern lad, reaches an outlaw settlement in the far West, and is cast out into the desert by Holderness. Jack is rescued by settler August Naab, against whom Holderness holds a grudge. Jack and Mescal, a ward of August, fall in love, although she is engaged to marry August's youngest son. The latter is killed by Holderness, who kidnaps Mescal. August and his Indian allies raid the outlaw settlement and destroy it. Holderness tries to escape on horseback with Mescal, but Jack pursues and collides with him while on the edge of a precipice, and Holderness plunges to his death. Jack and Mescal are reunited.

Cast

Preservation

A complete print of ''The Heritage of the Desert'' is maintained in the

Gosfilmofond Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and oth ...

archive in Moscow.Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Heritage of the Desert''
/ref>

References

External links

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Australian daybill long poster

Accessible version of long poster
1924 films 1924 Western (genre) films 1920s color films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Zane Grey Films directed by Irvin Willat Paramount Pictures films Silent films in color Silent American Western (genre) films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films {{silent-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links