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.
** (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.