When the Desert Was Kind (1913)
Marjorie Bowman and Harvey Ross are separated by unexplained circumstances; while he remains in their hometown, she drifts to one of the unsettled territories in the West. Marjorie is an attractive woman of strong personality and self-reliance, and very soon a very ardent wooer appears: Jim Duncan, a man of bad reputation and worse character, which he hides beneath a suave exterior whenever he meets Marjorie. The truth comes out when the sheriff receives notice that there is a reward placed upon his head. The sheriff goes in quest of him and finds him at the saloon. The sheriff covers him with his gun, but he manages by his calmness, to hold the sheriff in conversation and abeyance, then by a quick movement, takes the officer's gun and escapes. He goes to Marjorie's home and persuades her to marry him and hurries her along to the justice of the peace, who performs the ceremony. Meanwhile, the sheriff is on his track. Duncan soon returns to the saloon and entirely throws off his mask, drinking and carousing and showing his cruel disposition; when an Indian girl enters the saloon he takes liberties with her and strikes and kills her when she resists him. Her father, an old chief, enters the place in search of her; finding her dead, he swears vengeance. When Duncan leaves the saloon to return home, the Indian follows him and attacks him, but gets away before Duncan can use his pistol. The drunken man being aroused to fury, follows the Indian into the desert. The sheriff, in search of the desperado, is told by Marjorie that he is not home. The sheriff shows her the notice for the reward for his arrest, and for the first time she learns that she has married a very bad man. With his posse, the sheriff follows the fugitive into the desert. On their way they find the old Indian's dead body; further on, they come across the inanimate form of Duncan, victim of the merciless heat of the barren wasteland. While all this is happening, Harvey Ross, having made up his mind to visit Marjorie and ask her to marry him, reaches her home, only to learn that she married another. Disheartened, he turns his footsteps toward the little hamlet which constitutes the town. On the way he meets the sheriff and the posse with news of Duncan's death. He runs in haste to Marjorie and imparts what, under different circumstances, would be sad news. She receives his message with a sigh of relief, feeling that the desert has kindly corrected a dreadful mistake and made it possible for her to marry the man worthy of her.
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GenresShort
Western
IMDbPro
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Rollin S. Sturgeon | Director |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Thornby | |
| Mary Charleson | |
| Charles Bennett | |
| George Stanley |
