The Desert Breed
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''The Desert Breed'' is a 1915 American silent
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by
Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class graduate of ac ...
, written by Tom Forman, and featuring
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
and Pauline Bush. It is now considered to be a
lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...
.


Plot

Two fugitives, Fred and Jack, dash out of the tiny town of Rawhide one night with a posse in hot pursuit. At the desert's edge, they come upon the cabin of Jessie, whom the townspeople refer to as "The Girl of the Desert". Jessie refuses to open the door to the two strangers and when they break in, one of the men lights a match and sees Pauline in the shadows pointing a revolver at them. They agree to leave her alone, if she will let them camp out near the cabin for the night. The posse meanwhile has split up, and three members of the group approaches Jessie's cabin. They break in and Jessie wounds one of them, thinking they are the two outlaws returning. The posse members fire back, and Frank and Jack are awakened by the sound of gunshots. They come to the girl's defense and manage to capture and restrain the three posse members. Out of gratitude, Jessie offers to show the fugitives the trail that will bring them safely across the desert to the border. Fred was wounded back at the cabin and starts hallucinating at one point, but after many hardships, they reach the border. They are alarmed to find the waterhole they were seeking has dried up, but Jessie manages to find them another source of water. Jessie leaves them there and, waving goodbye, she returns to her cabin.


Cast

* Pauline Bush as Jessie *
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
as Fred * William C. Dowlan as Jack, Fred's partner (Note* - Some sources refer to Pauline Bush's character in this film as "Pauline".)


Reception

"This picture is full of strange charm and both acting and settings combine to produce the fascinating desert atmosphere. It is artistically handled and makes an unusual appeal to the observer. A strong offering." ---Moving Picture World "An original drama of a decidedly pleasing nature, relying more on the clearly drawn characters for interest rather than the plot which, if analyzed, would prove almost nil...Mr. Chaney gets in an excellent piece of character work in this part." ---Motion Picture News


See also

*
List of lost films For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films. Rea ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desert Breed, The 1915 films 1915 Western (genre) films 1915 lost films 1915 short films American black-and-white films American silent short films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Lost American Western (genre) films Silent American Western (genre) films Universal Pictures short films 1910s American films