William Desmond
Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles.
Phantom of the Opera
as Stagehand (uncredited)Following a tragic accident that leaves him disfigured, crazed composer Erique Claudin...
Movie pagePhantom Lady
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)A mystery woman is a murder suspect's only alibi for the night of his wife's death.
Movie pageThe Egg and I
as Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)World War II veteran Bob MacDonald surprises his new wife, Betty, by quitting his city job and...
Movie pageThe Mummy's Ghost
as Museum Tourist (uncredited)An Egyptian high priest travels to America to reclaim the bodies of ancient Egyptian princess...
Movie pageThank Your Lucky Stars
as Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)An Eddie Cantor look-alike organizes an all-star show to help the war effort.
Movie pageNaughty Marietta
as Gendarme Chief (uncredited)In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious French princess sheds her identity and...
Movie pageFrisco Kid
as Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him...
Movie pageThe Naughty Nineties
as Showboat Customer (uncredited)In the gay '90s, cardsharps take over a Mississippi riverboat from a kindly captain. Their first...
Movie pageDesert Command
as Capt. BoncourTom Wayne rescues Clancy, Renard and Schmidt in the Arabian desert and they join him in going...
Movie pageThe Vanishing Shadow
as MacDonaldA 12-episode serial in which a son avenges the death of his father at the hands of corrupt...
Movie pageThe Climax
as Backstage Technician (Uncredited)Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star...
Movie pageThe Boys from Syracuse
as CitizenThe action takes place in Ephesus in ancient Asia Minor, and the concerns The efforts of two...
Movie pageThe Three Musketeers
as Capt. BoncourTom Wayne rescues Clancy, Renard and Schmidt in the Arabian desert and they join him in going...
Movie pageGordon of Ghost City
as John MulfordA cowboy is hired to track down a gang of rustlers, but gets involved with a beautiful girl...
Movie pageThe Vigilantes Are Coming
as Anderson, Vigilante MemberA masked hero called "The Eagle" leads California ranchers in a struggle against Russian...
Movie pageCourage of the North
as Gene TravisA Mountie (John Preston) catches fur thieves with the help of his horse, Dynamite, and dog, Captain.
Movie pageNight Life in Hollywood
as SelfA picture depicting the engrossing adventures of a small town youth in Hollywood and showing the...
Movie pageBattling with Buffalo Bill
as John MillsA western adventure serial in 12 episodes. Buffalo Bill battles gambler Jim Rodney who is trying...
Movie pageThe Rawhide Terror
as Tom BlakeTwelve renegades dressed as Indians kill the parents of two brothers. The brothers who have...
Movie pageBorn to Battle
as John BrownellGood-natured troublemaker "Cyclone" Tom Saunders is hired by a ranchers' association manager to...
Movie pageThe Roaring West
as Jim ParkerA 15-episode serial involving the land rush, gold mines, stolen maps, etc.
Movie pageJunior G-Men
as Irish Cop (uncredited)A gang of urban street kids and a club of suburban would-be federal agents, at first rivals,...
Movie pageThe Prince and Betty
as John MaudeYoung American John Maude is forced to find a job when he falls in love with society girl Betty...
Movie pageSong of the Saddle
as TimFrank Sr. sells his supplies to Hook, but then Hook has the Bannion Boys bushwhack his wagon to...
Movie pageA Sage Brush Hamlet
as Larry LangLarry Lang is out to get desperado Claude Dutton (Ed Piel), the man who killed his father, which...
Movie pageHeroes of the West
as John BlaineEfforts to build a transcontinental railroad are resisted by crooks and Indians on the warpath....
Movie pageThe Cowboy and the Bandit
as Sheriff PeteBill travels to a new state after the outlaw Scarface saves him from a lynch mob. There he takes...
Movie pageThe Extra Girl
as HimselfSue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when...
Movie pageThe Extra Girl
as Himself - ActorSue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when...
Movie pageCyclone of the Saddle
as Wagon MasterSent by the Army, Andy Thomas poses as a renegade to find out who has been harassing the wagon...
Movie pageStrange Confession
as Peanut Vendor (uncredited)A scientist who is working on a cure for influenza is victimized by his unscrupulous boss, who...
Movie pageThe Silver Bullet
as TownsmanA cowboy heads for the town where his father was murdered to find out who was responsible.
Movie pageThe Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Captain of the 'Viking'A 12-episode serial in which scholastic sports star Frank Merriwell leaves school to search for...
Movie pageTreachery Rides the Range
as BillThe Indians need the Buffalo to survive and the Government has promised to keep the herds free...
Movie pageThunder Mountain
as Townsman (uncredited)Marvin Hayden returns to find his ranch is about to be sold at auction and the Hayden Jorth feud...
Movie pagePowdersmoke Range
as Happy - BartenderThree cowboys buy a ranch but have to fight off gunmen to keep it.
Movie pageThe Majesty of the Law
as Jackson Morgan KentThe story of a Virginia judge who sternly hands down severe sentences while in court only to...
Movie pageRidin' Pretty
as Sky ParkerA red-blooded romance of a millionaire cowboy and a city girl with stirring chase after a racing...
Movie pageOverland Mail
as Williams - BankerTwo investigators for a stagecoach company are assigned to find out why the company's stages...
Movie pageCheyenne Roundup
as PeteJohnny Mack Brown's Universal western series was drawing to a close when Cheyenne Roundup was...
Movie pageCode of the West
as Settler (uncredited)Knowing the railroad is coming, Carter is after the rancher's land. Bob and Chito return just in...
Movie pageThe Red Rider
as Sheriff Campbell"Red" Davison(Buck Jones), the sheriff of Sun Dog, sacrifices his job and his good name to save...
Movie pageThe Lightning Warrior
as Townsman (uncredited)A Rin-Tin-Tin serial presented in 12 episodes. The mysterious Wolf Man is terrorizing settlers...
Movie pageHollywood Boulevard
as Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)With a full Hollywood background and settings but more an expose of scandal-and-gossip magazines...
Movie pagePerils of Pauline
as Prof. ThompsonA famous scientist and his beautiful daughter travel to Indochina to find an ivory disc that has...
Movie pageThe Strings of Steel
as Ned BrownThe Strings of Steel is a silent Action serial. Episode titles: 1. The Voice on the Wire 2. The...
Movie pageOklahoma Jim
as LacyA gambler sets out to help a pretty young woman save her trading post.
Movie pageWhen Lightning Strikes
as Marshal Jack StevensLightning the German Shepherd dog stars in this wilderness melodrama.
Movie pageHeadin' for the Rio Grande
as Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)Western - Singing cowboy Tex Saunders (Tex Ritter) finds himself in a heap of trouble when he...
Movie pageThe Way of the West
as 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)Government agent Gordon, working undercover, is investigating a cattleman sheepman war. The...
Movie pageBarriers of the Law
as Rex BrandonWhen a woman who belongs to a bootlegging gang asks the gang for help when her father is...
Movie pageLaughing at Life
as Military Cabinet OfficerEaster, a soldier of fortune and gunrunner, leaves his family behind escaping from the...
Movie pageBorder Guns
as Dr. Jim WilsonA cowboy drifting around the border gets mixed up with Mexican revolutionary gun smuggling when...
Movie pageThe Phantom of the Air
as Thomas EdmondsAn adventure serial presented in 12 chapters. Inventor Thomas Edmunds uses a super plane, 'The...
Movie pageThe Vanishing Legion
as Milesburg SheriffA mysterious master criminal known as The Voice plots with his gang to sabotage the Milesburg...
Movie pagePeer Gynt
as The ParsonA fantasy from Ibsen's verse drama. Ne'er-do-well and braggart Peer Gynt has many adventures in...
Movie pageTim Tyler's Luck
as Dock OfficialA 12-episode serial in which Tim Tyler goes to Africa in search of his father in gorilla...
Movie pagePirate Treasure
as Capt. Jim CarsonAn accomplished aviator sets out to locate treasure hidden by one of his ancestors. He...
Movie pageCuster's Last Stand
as Wagon MasterKit Cardigan seeks the killer of his father...among other plot threads leading up to the famous...
Movie pageThe Ghost Rider
as GuardJim Bullard escapes from prison and returns to settle matters with the Rascob's that framed him....
Movie pageSong of the Gringo
as BailiffIn his film debut Ritter is sent to investigate miners being killed and their mines confiscated....
Movie pageThe Return of the Durango Kid
as Street Ambusher (uncredited)A masked outlaw steals from bank robbers to help the poor.
Movie pageWinners of the West
as Bill BrineBeyond Hell's Gate Pass is territory controlled by a man who calls himself King Carter; he uses...
Movie pageBury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
as BartenderA young mining engineer sets out to catch the killers of both his brother and a beautiful young...
Movie pageSavage Fury
as Allen (archive footage)Separately released feature version of the 1935 Serial, Call of the Savage.
Movie pagePeggy
as Rev. Donald BruceThe heroine, Peggy Cameron, is a high-society debutante with a mind of her own. After making a...
Movie pageOutwitted
as Jack BlaisdelAfter being captured by T-Man Jack Blaisdell and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor on a...
Movie pageMaster of His Home
as Carson StewartUnhappy with her daughter's choice to marry a miner instead of her choice, a man of wealth, a...
Movie pageSociety for Sale
as Honorable BillySuccessful model, Phyllis Clyne, convinces a down-and-out nobleman, Billy, to pass her off in...
Movie pageThe Vanishing Rider
as Jim Davis / The Vanishing RiderWilliam Desmond plays Jim Davis, a secret service agent by day and masked avenger by night....
Movie pageWhere Did You Get That Girl?
as TouristIn this musical comedy, a motley band of musicians have only their extreme poverty in common....
Movie pagePerils of the Yukon
as Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.A silent serial with the following chapter titles: 1. Fangs of Jealous; 2. Doomed; 3. Tricked by...
Movie pageThe Last Frontier
as General CusterA frontier newspaper editor Kirby battles outlaw Tiger Morris who is causing indian uprisings to...
Movie pageDown Rio Grande Way
as TownsmanSlightly more elaborate than most Charles Starrett westerns, Down Rio Grande Way is set in the...
Movie pageThe Call of the Savage
as AllenTwo competing teams of scientists search the African jungles for a secret formula.
Movie pageFrontier Days
as Sheriff BarnesHenry Jethrow is after the Wilson ranch. He has George Wilson unknowningly sign a note for the...
Movie pageThe Phantom of the West
as Martin BlairA young man's father is murdered and the man convicted of the crime escapes prison, leaving a...
Movie pageSocial Error
as PolicemanA wild college student gets in fights, steals cars, is caught by the police and finally expelled...
Movie pageThe Dawn Maker
as Bruce SmithsonHalf-breed Joe Elk wavers between the "civilized" nature of his white father and the passion of...
Movie pageWomen Men Love
as David HunterProsperous architect David Hunter, lives with his wife Evelyn, who loves gambling and...
Movie pageClancy of the Mounted
as Dave MoranA Canadian Mountie is assigned to bring in his brother, who was framed for the murder of a gold...
Movie pageThe Rustler's Roundup
as San Dimas Sheriff HoldenWinters is after the Brand ranch, and his man Brett who is foreman there is rustling the Brand...
Movie pageMcGuire of the Mounted
as Bob McGuireA film about a man named McGuire of the Royal Mounted Police.
Movie pageMr. Broadway
as 1st Suitor (archive footage)Ed Sullivan shows night spots all over New York in this movie, joking and listening to stories...
Movie pageThe Mystery Rider
as Winthrop Lane / The Mystery RiderSilent cowboy Western serial.
Movie pageA Scarlet Week-End
as uncreditedA woman's cheating husband is murdered at their country estate, and suspicion immediately falls...
Movie pageKilmeny
as Bob MeredithLittle Doris Calhoun, of a wealthy English family, makes a playmate of Pierre, a crippled gypsy...
Movie pageThe Child Thou Gavest Me
as Tom MarshallOn her wedding day, Norma Huntley wants to tell Edward Berkley, her husband-to-be, her secret --...
Movie pageFargo Express
as Sheriff Joe ThompsonWhen Mort loses his and Ken's money at poker, Goss gets him to rob the stage. He is captured,...
Movie pageThe Sunset Trail
as Happy HoboOn a passenger train passing through the desert, Louise offers to pay the fares of Happy Hobo...
Movie pageRustlers of Red Dog
as Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]A movie serial in 12 chapters: After gold is discovered in the town of Nugget, the titular band...
Movie pageThe Meddler
as Richard GilmoreRichard Gilmore, a staid Wall Street broker, is jilted by Dot Parkhurst when he fails to provide...
Movie pageNo Defense
as John HarperNo Defense is a 1929 romantic drama directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Monte Blue. It was a...
Movie pageThe Iced Bullet
as The Author / Horace LeeA "scientific detective" story about the attempted murder of a wealthy New Yorker in his...
Movie pageFightin' Mad
as Bud McGrawReturning to his father's cattle ranch after the excitement of serving in combat overseas, Bud...
Movie pageTailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
as Foreman BurkeA 12-episode serial in which Tailspin Tommy evades volcanoes, anti-aircraft shells, and time...
Movie pageStrawberry Roan
as Colonel BrownleeKen Maynard stars as a roving cowboy who tells the tale of taming the stallion that inspired the...
Movie pageThe Burning Trail
as Smiling Bill FlanniganA professional boxer known as "Smiling Bill Flannigan" accidentally kills an opponent in the...
Movie pageI Can't Escape
as Parole Officer DonovanAn ex-convict, unable to get a good job because of his prison record, gets mixed up in a phony...
Movie pageThe Lone Star Trail
as Bartender MikeRancher Blaze Barker returns to Dead Falls after being framed by land-grabbers and spending two...
Movie pageShadows of the North
as Ben 'Wolf' DarbyBen Darby and Pancake, his father, are owners of a mining claim in Northwest Canada. Ben goes to...
Movie pageThe Policeman and the Baby
as The PolicemanA crook returns home to find his mother dead and about to be buried in Potters Field. This...
Movie pageNo Children
as SelfParents pretend they are in show business and their kids are ventriloquist dummies.
Movie pageStraight Through
as Good Deed O'DayO'Day, the terror of Red Gulch, wins the entire stake of a gambler named Granger in a poker game...
Movie pageFlying Colors
as Brent BrewsterBrent Brewster, formerly a Yale athlete known for his pole vaulting prowess, is unsuccessful in...
Movie pageThe Breathless Moment
as Billy CarsonUnwilling to arrest Billy Carson, a crook who once befriended him, Officer Quinn forces him and...
Movie page