Desert Greed

Watched "Desert Greed" (1926) with Yakima Canutt, Rose Blossom (no, really!), Henry Hebert, Lucille Young, Frank Ellis, Dick La Reno, Tom London, Cliff Lyons, Boy the horse, and others. Truly a remarkably good "B" Western! Much better than many of the talkies made later in the 30's, though made with a small budget. This was also a Yakima Canutt Production which may account for the fact of its quality. Too bad there wasn't a continuity person, as one of the final edit cut-to's is bad near the beginning. It duplicates itself after the action had already been done once. All that aside, this one about Yak helping a girl in desperate need is very well done. Rose Blossom isn't necessarily an exciting find for viewers, but Yak's leisurely personality and his horse Boy's additional fun antics make this one genuinely pleasurable to watch. This is a Grapevine release and is in super condition. There are a couple of toned sections, too, that remind us that not everything was released totally in B & W. By the way, the film makes it clear early on that this takes place next to the Rio Grande in Texas. The title has nothing - nothing at all - to do with anything in the film! The finale has Yak do a stunt in an automobile that has to be seen to be believed! You've seen cowboys take a person from a bolting horse and save them by holding them or putting them behind them on his or her horse, but have you ever seen a hero drive a car up to another fleeing car with a baddie driving and take a captured person from the seat of the other car and put him/her in his/her car and save him/her from imminent danger/death? As I said, needs to be seen to be believed! Yak was THE stuntman's stuntman.

Desert Greed (1926)

** (out of 4)

Decent silent Western has Yak Carroll (Yakima Canutt) coming to the rescue of Mary (Rose Blossom) after her boss fires her and refuses to pay the cash he owes. Soon Yak takes Mary back to her hometown where her evil stepfather tries to force her into marrying a hustler (Henry Hebert) so once again Yak has to come to the rescue. DESERT GREED certainly isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but I think silent Western buffs will find it somewhat entertaining if not really all that satisfying. The film clocks in under a hour, which is certainly a good thing as there's no question that there's not enough plot here for anything longer. I'd argue that there's really not enough plot here for a two-reeler but I must admit that I found the Mary character to be quite charming thanks in large part to Blossom. I believe this was the first time I had ever seen the actress and while she's certainly no Garbo, she at least managed to have a sweet nature about her that came off the screen. Canutt certainly isn't William S. Hart or Tom Mix but he too isn't all that bad here. The comedy relief by the dimwitted Sheriff certainly doesn't help the film and neither does some pacing issues. With that said, the film features some pretty good shoot outs and the ending is actually well done and features a great car stunt. DESERT GREED isn't great but it's a decent entertainment if you've got a hour to kill.