~The Desert Man~
1917
~Plot Synopsis~
William S. Hart directs and stars in a film that is a typical Western of the era. While traveling across the
desert, prospector Jim Alton (William S. Hart) stumbles upon a dying woman who implores him to care
for her little boy Joey (Buster Irving). Jim takes the boy to town of Broken Hope, where he encounters
Joey's brutal father, Razor Joe (Henry Belmar), and falls in love with Jennie (Margery Wilson), a young
girl whose father (Walt Whitman) is dying. After running Joe out of town, Jim settles down to make a
home for Joey. Jim rides to the neighboring town to bring back Dr. Howard (Jake Livingston) after
Jennie's father takes a turn for the worse. Soon after, the old man dies and the doctor convinces Jennie
to return to his home and marry him. Upon discovering that the doctor already has a wife in New York,
Jennie leaves him, but, too proud to go home, accepts a position in a dance hall. Meanwhile, Razor Joe
and his gang kidnap Joey. Jim follows, confronts them with his guns drawn, and rescues the boy. All
ends well as Jim and Jennie are reunited and, together with Joey, begin life anew as a family.

Plot Synopsis is a combination of Plot Synopses from allmovie.com and afi.com
Directed by: William S. Hart

Written by:   
Martin Brown - story
Lambert Hillyer - writer
~Cast~

William S. Hart ...  Jim Alton
Margery Wilson ...  Jennie
Buster Irving ...  Joey
Henry Belmar ...  Razor Joe
Milton Ross ...  Tacoma Jake
Jack Livingston ...  Dr. Howard
Walt Whitman ...  Old Burns
Josephine Headley ...  Katy
~Remaining Credits~

Production Companies:
Kay-Bee Pictures
New York Motion Picture

Distribution Company: Triangle Distributing

Cinematography by: Joseph H. August  
Supervisor: Thomas H. Ince

Length: 5 Reels
Runtime: 50 Minutes
Released: April 22, 1917