Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Richard Chatten The star of this film, Richard Dix, doesn't actually appear until half an hour in, the first quarter of this film version of Zane Grey's book comprising a superbly photographed prologue set in Monument Valley introducing us to various settlers over the centuries, starting with a couple of VERY early humans resembling those at the start of '2001', later followed by cave-dwellers spectacularly laid siege to by Indians in the film's most visually impressive sequence (the first of several staged with great use of mass formations by serial king George B. Seitz). The Indians in their turn come to grief at the hands of the conquistadores in 1540 and three hundred years later, Kit Carson. All this happens in the first half hour!!The films then unfortunately slows down considerably, as Dix and various others have their eye caught by comely schoolteacher Lois Wilson, of whom dastardly Noah Beery serves to personalise - and thus deflect responsibility from - white America's subjugation of the indians, including seizing their land while they were away serving Uncle Sam on the Somme. Actually, as Britain's example shows, veterans of The Great War from whatever background were prettily shabbily treated once their usefulness was at an end.

trujillotribe Although the acting is good and the landscape beautiful, the film does not portray history correctly or respectfully. I would not share this with students, unless it was to show how negative stereotypes are propelled forward with portrayals such st this.The cliff dwellers were indeed not conquered. The depictions of lazy and slow minded people bordered on insulting. I realize that this was made during a time when dominant belief prevailed, but it does not make the film right or worthy of the high reviews it has received.On a more positive note, the film with hilarious in its inaccuracy and intent, which I believe was beyond understanding at the time.

kidboots Director George B. Seitz was known more for the Pearl White serial "Plunder" until "The Vanishing American". Instead of portraying him as the usual plundering savage, the screenplay by Ethel Doherty (from a Zane Grey novel) tried to correct a lot of the myths about the Indian's warrior standing. Typical of the silent epic (in general) it had a mighty sense of history as the story was played out across a vast panorama beautifully photographed by C. Edgar Schoenbaum and Harry Perry. Titles refer to "the mighty stage" and the movie looked at life in grand terms but also with humanity. "The Vanishing American" was also the last Western feature for almost 2 decades to take a sympathetic look into Native American culture.After a very interesting prologue showing how the different peaceful cultures (ie Cliff Dwellers) were gradually overcome by the Indian fighters and warriors. They thought if they could only capture a White God (horse) they would be supreme kings, they had never seen a horse until the arrival of the white man. When the Spaniards used their guns, the Indians felt they (the Spaniards) were in league with the Gods and were eventually conquered and forced to live on reservations."The Vanishing American" defied stereotype, questioned tradition and was ahead of it's time. Hooper, the Indian Agent of Mesa is too caught up with bureaucracy and paper work to effectively help the Indians so it is left to his assistant Booker, and as played by Noah Beery, he is a villain of the first order. Blatantly lying about wanting to be the Indian's friend, he only wants to get in pretty teacher Marian Warner's (Lois Wilson) good books. Apart from old timer Bart Wilson, she is the only person who wants to understand the Indians and has even bothered to learn their language. There is also an "understanding" between her and Nophaie (Richard Dix), the leader of the tribe. Richard Dix plays Nophaie with dignity and believability, even when the story becomes a bit bogged down with biblical piety (he starts to question his native God as "foolish" putting his trust in the New Testament given him by Marian).The film shows the Indian as being truly mistreated, right through the ages, although as the story progresses it becomes trite as it shows the Native American at his noblest when he is trying to mimic the white man - joining the U.S. Army to help fight the War or becoming emotional when Marian told him he should be proud to be an American. When they return to the reservation after the War, things have changed for the worst, Booker is in charge and he and his henchmen have pilloried the land - and to make matters worse, Booker tells Nophaie that Marian has married recruitment officer Earl Ramsdale (Malcolm MacGregor)!!! That's not true and in a surprising twist, that would have been shocking for it's day, Marian comes back to the reservation to pledge her love to Nophaie.Shannon Day, a Cecil B. DeMille protégé, whose career did not survive the coming of sound played the tragic Indian maid. I am also sure that Richard Dix became involved in the Native American cause after his performances in this movie, "Redskin" and "Cimmaron" made him more aware.

audiemurph What a great surprise this movie is. This silent is a sleeper, a classic, wonderful film that does all the great things a soundless movie is capable of doing. Most importantly, this may be one of the most genuinely sympathetic movies ever about American Indians, because it does so without preaching, without portraying them as these mystical, magical humans, that, because they do things like use every piece of the buffalo they kill, are somehow better than all of us. You know the stereotype. It seems like Hollywood has never found a smart middle ground when it comes to portraying Indians: they are either savages or god-like innocents, but never normal. In The Vanishing American, the Indians are just regular people, largely pushed and pulled by fate and the inexorable spreading of the white way of life.Here, we see the hurt inflicted on Indians in small ways, like a farm being taken by the Indian Agent from one man while he is away at war, or a tribe member taken to be a servant of the Agent, and dying in his service, and the pain this causes his survivors; we feel the sadness of the characters without being forced through a lecture.At the same time, the movie is epic in nature, taking us through several millennia of time, and staging those massive battle scenes containing hundreds of extras that the silents, to me, do more effectively than the talkies ever could (perhaps it is the inherently haunting nature of all silent film that makes it seem so).Richard Dix is acceptable as an Indian leader, but Noah Beery steals the show, playing one of the slimiest and sleaziest villains ever; he even kicks an Indian sitting at his office's doorstop, and not once, but twice, to get him out of the way!This movie also takes patriotism very seriously; tears come to the school teacher's eyes when her class of young Indians says the Pledge of Allegiance. Religion, too, is treated with seriousness, as modern Hollywood never does; Christianity and the New Testament are held with reverence, but again, not too preachy.I highly recommend this film to all silent film affectionados, as well as those interested to see a unique and oddly progressive film about Native Americans that was made in the 1920's.Some small thoughts: (1) Early in the film, some Indians meet up with Spanish Conquistadors. The Indians are much more naked than we normally see them; No clothing at all up their hips: a little unnerving! (2) During an early battle scene, an invading tribe is attacking the cliff dwellers; the invaders climb tall ladders to reach the upper ledges. At one point, several ladders full of climbing invaders are seen; one of the ladders is pushed back, and a ladder full of invaders falls backwards, the men on it doomed to fall to their presumed deaths; if you look closely, though, the men on that ladder are clearly dummies.(3) When Kit Carson's soldiers first hurry off to battle, the first carriage we see pulled by horses and supporting a cannon clearly loses a wheel as it flies down a hill. (4) Racial incongruity #1: The white Richard Dix, with make-up on to darken his features to make him look like an Indian, wearing a soldier's World War I uniform and fighting in the trenches. Racial incongruity #2: an Indian Chief introduced in a title, played by…Bernard Siegle! (5) When the Indian children in the school recite the Pledge of the Allegiance, they have their arms extended out in a manner that to modern eyes may seem like a fascist salute; is this how they used to do it? (6) At one point, Richard Dix is standing on one of the great stone arches of the American West, tossing feathers from his staff into the wind; the first feather he tosses is blown by the wind back to him, and sticks to his arm! He quickly swipes it away, though, and continues his scene.