''An Indian Love Story'' is a one-reel silent

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

about personal relationships in a Native American community. The film is about two married couples, each of the partners of which are involved with the spouse of the other couple, a former lover. It is a western drama released in 1911 and directed by

Fred J. Balshofer Fred J. Balshofer (November 2, 1877 – June 21, 1969) was a pioneering silent film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer in the United States. Biography Balshofer was born in New York City and became interested in the photogr ...

and was produced by Bison (a brand name under the

New York Motion Picture Company The New York Motion Picture Company was a film production and distribution company from 1909 until 1914. It changed names to New York Picture Corporation in 1912. It released films through several different brand names, including 101 Bison, Kay- ...

). It was also titled ''An Indian Love Affair''. This film is one of the many films that claims to have utilized Native American actors, although

Mona Darkfeather Josephine M. Workman better known by her stage name, Princess Mona Darkfeather (January 13, 1882 – September 3, 1977) was an American actress who starred in Native American and Western dramas. During the silent era of motion pictures, from 1 ...

's heritage is not entirely clear. The description of the story in ''Moving Picture World'' said that no white people appeared as characters in the story's contest and didn't clarify whether the cast included only Native Americans. Previously,

Lillian St. Cyr Red Wing (born Lilian Margaret St. Cyr; February 13, 1873 or 1884March 13, 1974) was an American actress of the silent film, silent era. She and her husband James Young Deer have been dubbed by some as one of the first Native Americans in the ...

, a Winnebago Indian, had appeared in Kalem's ''The White Squaw'' and Lubin's ''The Falling Arrow''.

Plot

''An Indian Love Story'' surrounds two couples who are in unhappy relationships. Two main characters, ''Deerheart'' and ''Mona'' (played by

), are partners. Another character, ''Dove Eye'', is in love with ''Deerheart,'' even though ''Eagle Wing'' is hopelessly in love with her. A quadrangle is formed among the characters that are unhappy and dissatisfied with their relationships. The men fight for the women they desire through a series of events. ''Deerheart'' almost gets executed at the stake due to a misunderstanding by ''Dove Eye'''s father. ''Dove Eye'' decides that because of the encounter with her father, she was never fit for ''Deerheart'''s love. She then turns to ''Eagle Wing''. ''Deerheart'' is released and is returned to ''Mona''.

Cast

as Mona * Dove Eye as Dove Eye, Mona's Rival * Chief Eagle Wing as Eagle Wing, Dove Eye's Admirer (as Eagle Wing)

Production

''An Indian Love Story'' was requested to be released early by the educational films corporation. The film is a western drama produced by Bison and released on August 18, 1911. The film is an integration of story, scenery, and Native American characters. A suggestion was made that the Native Americans were of

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

Indian descent and resided on their

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

reservation. But in 1911, Bison was in southern California and filmed this story in or near Los Angeles and used local actors from their own stock company. The film producers requested that the actors be as realistic as possible and be aware of Native American customs. It is unclear whether the cast consisted of only Indian actors. The film is one of the many early films about two Native American couples swapping partners.

Casting

Even before ''An Indian Love Story'', both Indian and white actors were cast to represent Native Americans in films. But Indians did not believe that the white actors reproduced the Indian lifestyle accurately and accused films of false portrayal of Indians. Native Americans protested and claimed that only Indians should play the roles of Indians. Bison's Indian films occasionally consisted of Indian actors and their stories showed the "noble savage and condemned the hostile warrior", although they were not the only studio to do so.

References

Sources

* Aleiss, Angela. Making the white man's Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood movies. Westport: An imprint of greenwood, 2005. * Chalmers. Moving picture world. New York: New York: Chalmers, 1911. * Cinematograph. Moving Picture News. Cinematograph Publishing Company, 1911. * York, New. Motion Picture News. New York: New York: Motion Picture News, 1919. {{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Love Story 1911 films 1911 Western (genre) films 1911 short films 1910s romance films American black-and-white films American romance films American silent short films Films about Native Americans Silent American Western (genre) films Films directed by Fred J. Balshofer 1910s American films 1910s English-language films