Love in the Desert (1929) review: Olive Borden is the only reason to watch

Is Love in the Desert worth watching today? Only if you have a real soft spot for 1920s melodrama or you’ve run out of literally everything else on your watchlist.

It is definitely for the crowd that enjoys seeing how old Hollywood used to imagine the 'Middle East' back when everything was shot in a California sand dune. 🌵

If you hate slow, silent-style acting where people stare at each other for ten seconds before doing anything, stay far away.

Olive Borden plays Zarah, and honestly, she’s the only reason to even keep your eyes open. She has these incredible eyes that just *pierce* through the grainy film stock.

Then there is Bob Winslow, played by Hugh Trevor. He is an irrigation engineer.

Yes, you heard that right. The romantic lead is a guy who is obsessed with pipes and water pressure.

He gets himself kidnapped by a bandit leader named Abdullah. Abdullah is played by Noah Beery, who is basically a professional scenery-chewer.

Beery looks like he’s having the time of his life being a 'bad guy.' He does this weird thing with his eyebrows that’s more entertaining than the actual plot.

There’s a moment early on where Bob is looking at some blueprints and he looks more in love with the paper than anything else. It’s kind of hilarious.

The movie gets a bit better once Zarah shows up to rescue him. It’s actually cool to see the woman doing the saving in a movie from 1929.

She rides a horse better than most of the guys in this flick. You can tell it’s really her doing some of those stunts too.

I couldn’t help but think of The Road to Ruin while watching this, mostly because they both feel like relics of a very specific time. This one is way less scandalous, though.

Some of the desert shots are actually quite pretty. The way the light hits the sand makes it look like a painting.

But then you see a guy in the background who looks like he’s just waiting for his lunch break. It ruins the 'exotic' vibe immediately.

The plot about irrigation is just... so dry. Pun intended, I guess.

They spend **alot** of time talking about how the water will change everything. I just wanted to see more bandit raids.

The raids are okay, I guess. Lots of smoke and people falling off horses.

It’s way more energetic than The Laugh on Dad, which was a total slog to get through.

There is a guy named Hilliard Karr who is supposed to be the funny sidekick. He is not funny.

He has this one reaction shot that lasts way too long. It stops being funny and just becomes awkward.

The lighting in the night scenes is weirdly bright. You can tell they just put a blue filter over it or something.

It’s not as polished as Alias Jimmy Valentine, which came out around the same time.

That movie felt like it knew what it was doing. *Love in the Desert* feels like it’s making it up as it goes along.

Still, Olive Borden is just so good. Every time she’s off screen, I found myself checking my watch.

She has this scene where she has to trick the bandits and her expressions are just *perfect*. It’s a shame she didn't get more roles like this.

Hugh Trevor, on the other hand, is about as exciting as a wet paper bag. I don't know why Zarah would risk her life for this guy.

Maybe she just really likes irrigation? Who knows.

The way he wears his hat makes him look like he’s lost on the way to a golf course. It’s very distracting.

The bandits have these very obviously fake beards. One of them looks like it’s about to peel off during a fight scene.

I also noticed the horses look way more tired than the actors. Poor things probably hated the sand as much as I did.

The ending happens so fast you might miss it if you blink. It’s like the director just yelled 'wrap it up!' and everyone went home.

It’s a weird little movie. Not great, but not the worst thing ever made.

If you like camels and heavy eyeliner, give it a go. Otherwise, you