Best movies like Heritage of the Desert
Zane Grey's pen... again sends a devil-may-care youth... on an exciting trail of adventure and romance.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Heritage of the Desert Starring Donald Woods, Evelyn Venable, Russell Hayden, Robert Barrat, and more. If you liked Heritage of the Desert then you may also like: Nan of Music Mountain, The Nevadan, Notorious But Nice, The Outcast, Raton Pass and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
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.
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The Nevadan
A mysterious stranger crosses paths with an outlaw bank robber and a greedy rancher.
Notorious But Nice
A lover selflessly steps aside to let her guy go so he can hook up with a rich dame. Sadly, the goodie good girl ends up marrying some scum bag gambler. When the scum bag is shot and killed, the little goodie good is the prime suspect. Can her old beau come to the rescue and save her from the death penalty? Hell, its the least he can do, or is he a scum bag too!
The Outcast
Thanks to the chicanery of his crooked uncle Major Cosgrave, Jet has been cheated out of his father's property and branded a pariah. He spends the rest of the film trying to regain his birthright and clear his name. The two women in Jet's life are Judy Polsen, who chases him for so long that he finally catches her, and Alice Austin, Major Cosgrave's fianee.
Raton Pass
Raton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal portray a recently married husband and wife, each of whom owns half of a huge cattle ranch. Neal is a tad more ambitious than her husband, and with the help of a little legal chicanery she tries to obtain Morgan's half of the spread. He balks, so she hires a few gunslingers to press the issue. In a 1951 western, the greedy party usually came to a sorry end; Raton Pass adheres strictly to tradition.
Red Sundown
When his life is saved in a shootout by a fellow gunman whose life he in turn had saved, Alex Longmire promises to give up his way of life. Riding into town he finds the only job available is deputy to sheriff Jade Murphy, an honest man caught between small farmers and a local cattle baron. And he has a pretty daughter. So Longmire decides to stay and see if he can use his expertise with firearms for good.
The Luck of the Irish
William Grogan, lives in New York City and meets the outside world only through the little basement window of his plumbing shop. One day he sees and falls in love with a pretty pair of feet, belonging to Ruth Warren, a schoolteacher who is lusted after by Norton Colburton, a dissolute playboy. Ruth is about to marry Colburton, but at the last minute runs away and decides to take a Cook's tour. On the boat, she meets Grogan, who has inherited a fortune, and recognizing the feet, he falls in love with their owner.
Thunder Mountain
Marvin Hayden returns to find his ranch is about to be sold at auction and the Hayden Jorth feud still going strong. Carson wants the Hayden ranch and tries to kill Hayden. When he fails he kills Chick Jorth with a rock. As Hayden does not carry a gun and the two had argued earlier, Hayden is arrested for the murder. With Hayden in jail, his friends Chito, Ginger, and his Lawyer Gardner now go to work to find the murderer.
Seven Guns to Mesa
A band of outlaws, led by "Papa" Clellan, hold up in a ghost town as they plan an attack on a wagon train loaded with gold. The unexpected arrival of a stagecoach forces the gang to hold the passengers and driver as hostages. The later arrival of a wanderer, John Trey, sets in motion events not in "Papa" Clellan's original plan.
Saddles and Sagebrush
Krag Sabine has aroused the wrath of all the ranchers by stealing their land with the aid of his henchmen, led by Ace Barco; when Lafe Martin objects, the outlaws shoot him down. Lucky Randall promises Ann Martin he will avenge her wounded father. He sets up headquarters on the Martin ranch and sends for Bob Merritt and his men, the Texas Playboys (Jesse Ashlock, Leon McAuliffe, Cotton Thompson, Junior Barnard and Luke Wills). Krag organizes his remaining men for an attack on the ranch. Lucky's men get the upper hand but Krag escapes with Ann as his hostage.
Forlorn River
A wanted-fugitive, called "Nevada," is wounded by a pursuing posse of lawmen, and is left to die on the desert by his companion, Bill Hall. He is rescued by a young rancher, Ben Ide, who is in love with Ina Blaine, daughter of a neighboring rancher. While "Nevada" is recovering, he and Ina fall in love but, through his loyalty to Ben, he sends her away. Going home, Ina falls into the clutches of Bill Hall, now heading a gang of rustlers, but the real leader is Les Setter who is posing as an honest rancher, and he has designs on Ina himself.
The Man Who Played Square
Rancher Matt Black is willed half of a Nevada gold mine. Arriving there, he learns that the heir of the other half is a young girl named "Bertie." Realizing that there may be some dirty work and theft going on at the mine, he conceals his identity and gets a job as a miner.
The Branded Sombrero
A cowboy promises his dying foster-father, "Honest" John Maggert, that he will return the cattle that Maggert rustled from the local ranchers.
Montana Territory
John Malvin , prospecting the Montana territory during the gold rush, sees bandits kill a miner and his son. He eludes the outlaws by hiding near a stagecoach relay station run by "Possum" Enoch and his daughter Clair, with whom John Falls in love with. Sheriff Henry Plummer, secret head of the outlaws, learns John witnessed the killings and sends him as his deputy on a dangerous mission with a planned ambush.
Captain Thunder
A notorious Mexican bandit goes all soft and mushy when he falls for a beautiful senorita. Warner Bros.' Captain Thunder contains some of the darndest Mexican accents you've ever heard in your life. The star is Hungarian-born Victor Varconi, portraying a legendary south of the border outlaw who tries to force Canadian senorita Fay Wray to marry a rival rustler whom she despises. She pleads with the bandito so pathetically that he is moved to grant her a single wish. Without hesitation she chooses her poor but true love. The bandit king, being a somewhat honorable fellow grants the wish and without a twitch, guns down the wicked cattle thief. Fortunately the film was played for comedy, a wise decision since it probably would have garnered laughs as a straight drama anyway.
The Great Dan Patch
David Palmer, a young chemist, returns to his father's Indiana farm, to marry a local school teacher, Ruth Treadwell. David meets again his father's horse-trainer, Ben Lathrop, whose daughter, Cissy, has left high school to help her father. Palmer marries and becomes wealthy through an invention, and is able to indulge his socially-ambitious wife. His father dies and Palmer returns to Indiana, where his interest in harness-racing is rekindled, as is his interest in Cissy Lathrop.
Hands Across the Border
Cattle rancher John Drake sends his son, Ted, to the Mexican border to stop the smuggling that is using Drake's land as the crossing point. Ted meets Ysabel Castro, the daughter of the rancher just across the border-river, when he saves her from a mad-bull.
Lucky Larrigan
Craig Larrigan's father and his partner own a large cattle ranch that is losing stock to rustlers. Craig, an easterner, heads west but in the disguise of a Mexican bandit. He is eventually thrown in jail with his identity still unknown. His cellmate is one of the rustlers and when they break out, the rustler takes him to the gang and Craig now has a chance to capture them all.
Gun Gospel
From Death Valley in the Mojave Desert to Mount Whittier, the outlaw gangs are wreaking havoc on the gold and money shipments from the mines and ranches. Wells Fargo organizes an express service that will insure the shipments and ensure a guaranteed delivery. Granger Hume is hired to help Wells-Fargo deliver on their promise.
The Red Blood of Courage
A man posing as Mark Henry is after Henry's oil land but Henry's niece is part owner and he needs to marry her off to his henchman Slager. Mountie Jim Sullivan arives posing as a wanted man and is soon caught up in the plot when Slager, wanting everything for himself, kills his boss and makes Jim a prisoner.
One Man Law
Streetor is pulling off a land swindle and wants Thompson on his side. He does him a favor and then makes him Sheriff. But as Streetor evicts the ranchers, Thompson and Judge Cooper look for a legal device to stop him.
From Hell to Texas
The naive cowboy Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of the powerful land baron Hunter Boyd. Tod runs for his life, pursued by the dead man's vengeful brothers. Tod shelters on the ranch of Amos Bradley and he falls in love with his daughter Juanita. However, Tod is concerned that he'll eventually have to leave when his pursuers catch up with him.
The Gay Cavalier
The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) sets out on a double mission of rescuing a girl from forsaking her true love by marrying a supposedly wealthy suitor to save the old family hacienda, and he is also after the outlaws that robbed a stage carrying gold for the Mission. His task is made easier once he learns that the "wealthy" suitor (Tristram Coffin) is also the man behind the gold robbers.
Promise the Moon
Ranch hand Roy Leckner tries to fulfill his employer’s dying wish to find his long lost son, bring him home and groom him to run the family’s failing cattle ranch.
Song of Nevada
When John Barrabbee's plane makes an emergency landing, he wanders off and joins Roy's cattle drive. Later he learns he was killed when his plane resumed its flight and crashed. He also learns his daughter is going to sell his ranch and marry a man he dislikes. So he gives Roy a job on the ranch and sends him off to see if he can prevent both of these events while he remains in hiding. Written by Maurice VanAuken Western girl moves east and influenced badly by her snobby fiance. She returns to sell her deceased father's ranch. The father isn't really dead, though; he's hoping that his friend Roy can restore the girl's western values. Songs include "New Moon Over Nevada," "A Cowboy has to Yodel in the Morning," and "The Harum Scarum Baron of the Harmonium." Written by Ed Stephan
Colorado Trail
In this western a traveling gun ends up in a small town and rescues an important rancher. Out of gratitude the rancher hires him to protect his land and cattle from his violent rival. It is revealed that the gunman is the son of the ruthless rival; he therefore, loses his job and finds himself entangled in the midst of a range war. He must eventually face his father when the bad guy takes over the only trail to the market.
The Last Outlaw
After serving 25 years in prison for robbery, Dean Payton returns to his home town to see his daughter, Sally, who is unaware he is her father. He befriends Cal Yates, the now semi-retired assistant sheriff who originally caught him, and Chuck Wilson, a young rancher who has eyes for Sally. Wanted criminal Al Goss holds up the local bank and makes his getaway, taking Sally hostage. Showing he still has what it takes, Payton, along with Yates and Wilson, take off into the hills on horseback to try to track Goss down. - Written by Doug Sederberg
The Return of Wild Bill
When Matt Kilgore and his men frame and then hang an innocent man, Lige Saunders sends for his son Wild Bill Saunders who arrives to find his father shot by Matt's brother. When the brother is killed in his fight with Bill, Matt sends two fake Deputies to arrest Bill whom he then plans to hang. But Matt's sister, attracted to Bill, overhears the plan and rides for help.
Let 'er Buck
A young cowboy falls in love with the daughter of a rich rancher, and they plan to marry. However, the cowboy winds up getting in a fight with the girl's cousin and is forced to shoot him. Believing that he has killed the man and will be prosecuted for murder, the cowboy flees and ends up working on a ranch in Oregon, where his cowboy skills impress the owner to the extent that he is picked as the ranch's entrant in the World Rodeo Championships held in nearby Pendleton--a competition in which his fiancé's ranch is also entered.
The Phantom Plainsmen
In 1937 the life in out West has not changed much. The boys are working at the Wyoming ranch of Captain Marvin herding horses which he sells to Kurt Redman. Marvin will not sell any horses to any army, but the boys find out that Redman is a German agent shipping the horses directly to the Third Reich. When Marvin tries to stop Redman, his son Tad, who is studying medicine in Germany, is arrested and held hostage. Marvin must fire the boys as the sneaky German agents take over the ranch, but the boys will not give up their attempt to stop them.
Challenge of the Range
Charles Starrett once more dons the mask of mysterious do-gooder "The Durango Kid" in Columbia's Challenge of the Range. Wandering cowboy Steve Roper (Starrett) is hired by the Farmers Association to stem the activities of a group of gunmen who are driving ranchers off their land. The most likely suspect turns out to be innocent: the real culprits are within the Association itself. With the help of the chief suspect's son, Roper brings the crooks to justice.
The Lawless Eighties
After deceitful Indian agent Grat Bandas has his men shoot Brother Van, gunfighter Linc Prescott saves the peaceful circuit rider and agrees to help him put a stop to Bandas's plans to start an Indian war and grab their land for himself. Meanwhile, Prescott takes a shine to the daughter of a local rancher.
The Mexicali Kid
Looking for the killer of his brother, Jack saves the outlaw known as the Mexicali Kid who had collapsed on the desert. Jack joins up with the Kid who leads him to Gorson. Gorson is after a ranch and gets Jack to pose as the heir to the ranch. After the papers are signed he plans to have jack killed. But the Kid recognizes Gorson's henchmen as the men Jack is after and decides to help him.
Nan of Music Mountain
Henry de Spain is determined to find the man who murdered his father. He becomes sort of an outsider with Duke Morgan's gang, cattlemen, and outlaws. Nan, daughter of the head of the clan, secretly loves Henry and when he is wounded in a fight with the Morgan clan, she helps him escape. This angers her father and he declares that she shall marry her cousin. Nan dispatches a message to Henry for assistance and he brings her safely to his clan. Nan then learns that her father was the murder of Henry's father. She returns to her father to learn the truth and together they go to Henry and reveal the murder's name. After a thorough understanding and forgiving, Henry and Nan are married.