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.

Filmography

• 2015Magnetic — Thanks
• 1956Savage Fury — Allen
• 1947Code of the West — Settler (uncredited)
• 1947The Egg and I — Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
• 1947Thunder Mountain — Townsman (uncredited)
• 1947Trail Street — Townsman (uncredited)
• 1946Desert Command — Capt. Boncour
• 1945Strange Confession — Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
• 1945The Naughty Nineties — Showboat Customer (uncredited)
• 1945The Return of the Durango Kid — Street Ambusher (uncredited)
• 1944Hi, Beautiful — Passenger (uncredited)
• 1944Phantom Lady — Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
• 1944Tall in the Saddle — Townsman (uncredited)
• 1944The Climax — Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
• 1944The Mummy's Ghost — Museum Tourist (uncredited)
• 1943Cheyenne Roundup — Pete
• 1943Phantom of the Opera — Stagehand (uncredited)
• 1943Thank Your Lucky Stars — Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)
• 1943The Lone Star Trail — Bartender Mike
• 1942Down Rio Grande Way — Townsman
• 1942Overland Mail — Williams - Banker
• 1942The Silver Bullet — Townsman
• 1941Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie — Bartender
• 1941Where Did You Get That Girl? — Tourist
• 1940Junior G-Men — Irish Cop (uncredited)
• 1940The Boys from Syracuse — Citizen
• 1940Winners of the West — Bill Brine
• 1937Tim Tyler's Luck — Dock Official
• 1936Custer's Last Stand — Wagon Master
• 1936Flash Gordon — Hawkman Lookout Captain
• 1936Headin' for the Rio Grande — Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
• 1936Hollywood Boulevard — Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
• 1936Song of the Gringo — Bailiff
• 1936Song of the Saddle — Tim
• 1936The Adventures of Frank Merriwell — Captain of the 'Viking'
• 1936The Broken Coin
• 1936The Vigilantes Are Coming — Anderson, Vigilante Member
• 1936Treachery Rides the Range — Bill
• 1935Born to Battle — John Brownell
• 1935Courage of the North — Gene Travis
• 1935Cyclone of the Saddle — Wagon Master
• 1935Frisco Kid — Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)
• 1935Naughty Marietta — Gendarme Chief (uncredited)
• 1935Powdersmoke Range — Happy - Bartender
• 1935Rustlers of Red Dog — Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
• 1935Social Error — Policeman
• 1935Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery — Foreman Burke
• 1935The Call of the Savage — Allen
• 1935The Cowboy and the Bandit — Sheriff Pete
• 1935The Ghost Rider — Guard
• 1935The Roaring West — Jim Parker
• 1935Timber Terrors — Royce Horter
• 1935Wild Waters — Sheriff Manning
• 1934Border Guns — Dr. Jim Wilson
• 1934Crack-Up — Police Chief
• 1934Frontier Days — Sheriff Barnes
• 1934I Can't Escape — Parole Officer Donovan
• 1934Pirate Treasure — Capt. Jim Carson
• 1934The Rawhide Terror — Tom Blake
• 1934The Red Rider — Sheriff Campbell
• 1934The Vanishing Shadow — MacDonald
• 1934The Way of the West — 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
• 1934When Lightning Strikes — Marshal Jack Stevens
• 1933Clancy of the Mounted — Dave Moran
• 1933Fargo Express — Sheriff Joe Thompson
• 1933Gordon of Ghost City — John Mulford
• 1933Laughing at Life — Military Cabinet Officer
• 1933Mr. Broadway — 1st Suitor (archive footage)
• 1933Perils of Pauline — Prof. Thompson
• 1933Strawberry Roan — Colonel Brownlee
• 1933The Phantom of the Air — Thomas Edmonds
• 1933The Rustler's Roundup — San Dimas Sheriff Holden
• 1933The Three Musketeers — Capt. Boncour
• 1932A Scarlet Week-End
• 1932Heroes of the West — John Blaine
• 1932Jungle Mystery — John Morgan
• 1932The Last Frontier — General Custer
• 1931Battling with Buffalo Bill — John Mills
• 1931First Aid — Chief of Police
• 1931Hell-Bent for Frisco — The Editor
• 1931Oklahoma Jim — Lacy
• 1931The Lightning Warrior — Townsman (uncredited)
• 1931The Vanishing Legion — Milesburg Sheriff
• 1930The Phantom of the West — Martin Blair
• 1929No Defense — John Harper
• 1928The Devil's Trademark — Morgan Gray
• 1928The Mystery Rider — Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
• 1928The Vanishing Rider — Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
• 1927The Return of the Riddle Rider — Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
• 1926The Strings of Steel — Ned Brown
• 1925Barriers of the Law — Rex Brandon
• 1925Duped — John Morgan
• 1925Outwitted — Jack Blaisdel
• 1925Red Clay — Chief John Nisheto
• 1925Ridin' Pretty — Sky Parker
• 1925Straight Through — Good Deed O'Day
• 1925The Ace of Spades — Dan Harvey
• 1925The Burning Trail — Smiling Bill Flannigan
• 1925The Meddler — Richard Gilmore
• 1924Big Timber — Walter Sandry
• 1924Hello, 'Frisco — William Desmond
• 1924The Breathless Moment — Billy Carson
• 1924The Measure of a Man — John Fairmeadow
• 1924The Riddle Rider — Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
• 1924The Sunset Trail — Happy Hobo
• 1923Around the World in 18 Days — Phineas Fogg III
• 1923Beasts of Paradise — Phil Grant
• 1923McGuire of the Mounted — Bob McGuire
• 1923Shadows of the North — Ben 'Wolf' Darby
• 1923The Phantom Fortune — Larry Barclay
• 1922Perils of the Yukon — Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
• 1921Fightin' Mad — Bud McGraw
• 1921The Child Thou Gavest Me — Tom Marshall
• 1921The Parish Priest — Reverend John Whalen
• 1921The Policeman and the Baby — The Policeman
• 1921Women Men Love — David Hunter
• 1920Twin Beds — Harry Hawkins
• 1919A Sage Brush Hamlet — Larry Lang
• 1919Bare-Fisted Gallagher — 'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
• 1919Her Code of Honor — Eugene La Salle
• 1919Life's a Funny Proposition — Jimmie Pendleton
• 1919The Blue Bandanna — Jerry Jerome
• 1919The Mints of Hell — Dan Burke
• 1919The Prince and Betty — John Maude
• 1919Whitewashed Walls — Larry Donovan
• 1918An Honest Man — Benny Boggs
• 1918Captain of His Soul — Horace
• 1918Society for Sale — Honorable Billy
• 1918The Marriage Bubble — The Actor
• 1918The Pretender — Bob Baldwin
• 1917Flying Colors — Brent Brewster
• 1917Married in Name Only
• 1917Master of His Home — Carson Stewart
• 1917Paddy O'Hara — Paddy O'Hara
• 1917Paws of the Bear — Ray Bourke
• 1917The Iced Bullet — The Author / Horace Lee
• 1917The Last of the Ingrams — Jules Ingram
• 1917The Sudden Gentleman — Garry Garrity
• 1917Time Locks and Diamonds — Silver Jim Farrel
• 1916A Gamble in Souls
• 1916Bullets and Brown Eyes — Prince Carl
• 1916Peggy — Rev. Donald Bruce
• 1916The Criminal — Donald White
• 1916The Dawn Maker — Bruce Smithson
• 1915Kilmeny — Bob Meredith
• 1915Peer Gynt — The Parson
• 1915The Majesty of the Law — Jackson Morgan Kent
• 1904The Sign of the Cross

Appearances as themselves (3)

• 1929No Children — Self
• 1923The Extra Girl — Himself, Himself - Actor
• 1922Night Life in Hollywood — Self