“Wild Horse Mesa is about the most faithful of all Zane Grey adaptations, and contains most of his feelings about the West as well as some of his racial and moral quirks. He was on location with the film for much of its shooting in Arizona, and presumably must have been well pleased by it. Although leisurely in its pacing, it makes up for it with a good solid story and action sequences that are well done. Virtually all exteriors, the film is also beautifully photographed by Bert Glennon, later a John Ford regular, with Stagecoach among his credits. Jack Holt is such a manly and virile hero that there's no need to underline his heroics.... And Noah Beery as always is a marvelous villain, obviously having the time of his life hatching schemes that are usually as lecherous as they are illegal. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., in his third film, has seldom looked so young and boyish, and it's always a pleasure to see Billie Dove, albeit with the somewhat unbecoming hair-style she sports here.” William K. Everson