Thanks to the films of director John Ford, the rugged beauty of the american southwest have become as iconic a fixture to western films as, say John Wayne himself. No western seems complete without the familiar backdrop of buttes, spires and mesas that are found especially in Utah's Monument Valley. Ford began filming
on location there during the production of his 1939 film, STAGECOACH...but it was director George B. Seitz who 14 years earlier took full advantage of this spectacular backdrop for his 1925 silent western, THE VANISHING AMERICAN. Some of the scenery in THE VANISHING AMERICAN are as spectacular as to be found in any of Ford's classics.
THE VANISHING AMERICAN, based on a Zane Grey novel, recounts the history of the Monument Valley area on a grand scale. The extended prologue (30 minutes) tells of the different peoples and tribes that have inhabited the area since prehistoric times. A superior race overcoming an inferior race is a theme that will play out numerous times over the course of history. We are told how the area was first inhabited by the "Basket-Makers"...then the "Slab-House" people...followed by the "Cliff-Dwellers". I never knew that the mysterious Anasazi (or Cliff-Dwellers) were ever depicted in a Hollywood film - but here it is - and the cliff dwelling set in this is amazing. When an invading race from the north attacks the home of the cliff-dwellers - it's got to be one of the grander battle scenes you'll see from a silent (think Battle of Helms Deep from THE TWO TOWERS - sans CGI, of course). It's spectacularly done for a silent film!
The main theme is continued when the Spanish explorers arrive - introducing Christianity to the native culture. Soon...the arrival of scout Kit Carson (Guy Oliver) along with the first settlers from the East will mark another sea change in the lives of the native people - as the expanding American government will soon come to subjugate and relegate them into reservations.
For it's time, I think the film is unique in that it tries to tell the story from a native american perspective. The natives here are not the stereotypical fierce savages as depicted in many escapist westerns...but are shown as ordinary people just trying to eke out a living on their homeland. As the main drama unfolds, it's the "whites" that are shown to be the bad guys in this - exploiting the natives for personal gains.
Although the main character is portrayed by a caucasian actor (Richard Dix), many of the secondary characters seem to be portrayed by native actors which lends an air of authenticity to the production. Visually, I think this is one of the finer looking films from the silent era.
Nophaie (Richard Dix) is the leader of the native clan living around the small town of Mesa, regional headquarters for the government's Indian Agency run by the bureaucratic Amos Halliday (Charles Crockett). Halliday treats the natives with respect and in turn is respected by the natives...but the "real" head of affairs for the reservation is Halliday's assistant - the scheming Henry Booker (Noah Beery). Although Booker behaves gentlemanly in the presence of his boss - the natives know better to keep themselves out of his way. Booker would not hesitate to kick any native caught impeding his path. The main conflict of the film occurs when Nophaie learns that Booker has been confiscating "sick" horses from his people. Booker would then sell the horses for a substantial profit.
Sympathetic too, to the cause of Nophaie's people is the white teacher at the Indian School - Marian Warner (Lois Wilson). Miss Warner has gained the confidence of the native people and is a good friend to Nophaie. Booker has his own amorous sights on the pretty schoolteacher and is jealous of the friendship between Nophaie and the pretty schoolteacher. Interesting too is the relationship between Nophaie and Miss Warner, especially during a time when miscegenation was frowned upon by some - and which certainly becomes a plot point later in the film.
As mentioned before, I think the scope of this film is epic...THE VANISHING AMERICAN includes scenes from pre-history up to and including the european battlefields of the first World War (how many westerns have that?) as Nophaie and several male members of the tribe join the US ARMY and fight for the allies. When Nophaie and his fellow soldiers finally return home after the war, they realize that Booker and his cronies have taken advantage of their absence...
9
May 22, 2010
