Based on a Jackson Gregory novel, Desert Valley features Buck Jones, one of the greatest "B" western movie stars with over 160 credits, is Fitzsmith, a stranger who comes across a dead cow and a barely alive calf near a water pipe. It is obvious that the cow died of thirst and that the calf will soon die, so Fitzsmithe shoots some holes in the water pipe for the calf. The dastardly Jeff Hoades (Malcolm Waite, The Gold Rush, The Whole Town's Talking, Kentucky Pride) has piped the water to try to drive ranchers out.
Fitzsmith ambles on his horse Silver (no relation to that other horse) when the smell of fresh-cooked pie wafts toward him. When there are pies cooling on the window sill, what's a poor cowpoke to do? So he swipes a pie and is hunted down for it. Fitzsmith is captured and jailed, but not for long. He tricks the Deputy (Eugene Pallette, one of my favorite character actors) and escapes.
He shelters in a shack from a dust storm and manages to save lovely Mildred Dean (Virginia Brown Faire, Broadway Billy, Trails of Danger, Breed of the West) from the clutches of Malcolm Waite. Fitzsmith then has to ride to town to save Mildred's father (Jack W. Johnson, The Virginian, Rob Roy, The Land of Promise) who is on trial on a trumped-up charge.
Chases, fights, yadda yadda...
Scott Dunlap, a prolific silent film directed who moved on to producing movies after talkies were introduced, helmed this one. It's pure entertainment with some decent production values, but the transfer suffers some decomp.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t_FPLQNQdc
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