Ralph Yearsley

An Appalachian youth on the verge of manhood finds the opportunity to prove himself when his quiet town is invaded by a small group of mountain men.

Only the final reel (11 minutes) of this John Ford (as "Jack Ford") directed melodrama survives, presently, but it's a good one. We see the storyline's climax, and an epilogue tying up loose ends. (imdb)

Based on a story by Zane Grey, Desert Gold is a remake of the 1919 film of the same name. Neil Hamilton stars as George Thorne, a U.S. cavalry lieutenant in love with fair senorita Mercedes Castaneda (Shirley Mason). When Mercedes is kidnapped by scurrilous outlaw Snake Landree (William Powell in his swarthy-villain period), Lt. Thorne and his Eastern-dude pal Dick Gale (Robert Frazer) gallop to her rescue.

A wealthy young man in South Carolina inherits property in a valley he has never seen. He goes there to inspect his new holdings and is mistaken for a revenue officer by the native population, which supports itself by circumventing the Volstead Act. The young man falls in love with the ward of one of the moonshiners, and he eventually must fight another man to win her hand in marriage.