''Lost in the Arctic'' is a

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

1911 American silent drama film that portrayed the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

or "

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...

" culture in the northern coastal area of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

.Harper, Kenn (2014)
"Nancy Columbia: Inuit star of stage, screen and camera"
''Above & Beyond'' (''A&B''), posted online July 3, 2014. Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada; a publication of

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region o ...

, a wholly Inuit-owned airline company headquartered in

Kanata, Ontario Kanata (, ) is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about west of the city's downtown core. As of 2021, Kanata had an urban population of 137,118. Before it was amalgamated into Ottawa in 2001, it was one of the fastest-growing ...

. Retrieved May 20, 2020. Directed by

William V. Mong William V. Mong (June 25, 1875 – December 10, 1940) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1910 and 1939. His directing (1911–1918) and screenwriting (1911–1922) were mostly for ...

and produced by the

Selig Polyscope Company The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company that was founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom ...

, the "

one-reeler 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 ...

" costarred Columbia Eneutseak, J. C. Smith, and also Mong. The film was not, as advertised by Selig and in

trade publications A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for thi ...

in 1911, shot in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

or even farther south in Labrador. It and another Selig release, ''

The Way of the Eskimo ''The Way of the Eskimo'' is a lost 1911 American silent drama film that portrayed the Inuit or "Eskimo" culture of northeastern Canada along the coast of Labrador. Directed by William V. Mong and produced by Selig Polyscope Company, this "phot ...

'', were produced at the same time in the same location in the United States, in

Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

. Both "Arctic" stories were filmed there in less than two weeks during the early winter months of 1911, staged along the frozen shoreline of

Little Bay de Noc Little Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay. The bay, consisting of approximately 30,000 acres (120 km²), is enclosed by Delta County. The cities of Escana ...

that connects to

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. Released in September 1911, this 820-foot film was distributed on a "split-reel", attached on the same 1000-foot reel to an unrelated 180-foot "topical"

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

titled ''Noted Men''. That accompanying film, which had a running time less than three minutes, offered "intimate views" of the

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

at that time as well as four other prominent national politicians.

Plot

This film is described in 1911 trade publications and in Selig promotional material as a story of adventure in the Eskimos' "land of eternal ice". The motion picture, according to reviews and plot descriptions in those publications, opened with snow-covered scenes of a group of Eskimos on a seasonal tribal hunt for

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

. Soon they discover a teenage orphan girl (Columbia Eneutseak) living alone in a hut. Very sick and without food, she has little chance of survival, so the tribal members refuse to adopt her into their community. They instead invoke the Eskimos' "unwritten law" that imposes a death sentence on anyone who is judged to be "too ill or too aged to participate in the annual hunt".Image of Selig promotional flyer for ''Lost in the Arctic'', image "File:Release flier for LOST IN THE ARCTIC, 1911.jpg", Wikipedia Commons. Retrieved May 29, 2020. In accordance with that law, the orphan is allowed to choose one of two means of death: she may either wander into the surrounding wilderness and be devoured by wolves and bears, or she may be set adrift in an

umiak The umiak, umialak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac, oomiak, ongiuk, or anyak is a type of open skin boat, used by both Yupik and Inuit, and was originally found in all coastal areas from Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲir� ...

or open canoe without any supplies. She chooses the latter. After conducting a solemn "'Ceremony of the Walrus Skull'", calling upon the spirits to guide the teenager on her "journey into darkness", tribal members place her into the canoe and launch her into open water bordered by immense fields of solid ice."'Lost in the Arctic' (Selig)"
''The Moving Picture World'' (New York, N.Y.), September 16, 1911, p. 822. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 27, 2020. Elsewhere, at the same time, a white explorer named Davis (William Monk) is desperate for food and is trying to spear seals though holes in the ice. He is the lone survivor of a "lost polar expedition", and as he continues his hunt, he suddenly realizes that the large section of ice on which he is standing has broken off from the ice field and is drifting out to sea. Seemingly doomed, Davis is later elated to sight the orphan's canoe, which has miraculously drifted toward his

ice floe An ice floe () is a large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may caus ...

. Davis manages to join the girl, whose weak condition has only worsened. Captain John Smith (J. C. Smith), another Arctic explorer, is out searching for the lost expedition across the ice-strewn sea. Overcoming his own "trials and suffering" in the search, Smith finally locates his colleague and saves him as well as his sick Eskimo companion.

Cast

Promotion for Selig films released in September 1911

* William V. Mong as Davis, Arctic explorer * Columbia Eneutseak mithas "The Eskimo Orphan" * J. C. Smith as Captain John Smith, Arctic explorer * Zacharias Zad as "The Bear Hunter" * Chief Opetek as chief of the tribe * stherEneutseak mith the chief's wife * Pearytok as Inuit tribe member * Lolituk as Inuit tribe member * Autosig as Inuit tribe member * Beasotuk as Inuit tribe member * Magook as Inuit tribe member * Tava as Inuit tribe member

Production

In addition to directing and acting in this film, William Mong wrote its screenplay or "

scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pi ...

". The production at the time was one of several that Selig Polygraph planned with an Arctic theme. The trade journal ''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'' reported in July 1911 that the film was among a "series of pictures made by Selig in the far north last winter"."American-Born Eskimo Girl Plays Leading Part in Selig Film"
''

'' (New York, N.Y.), August 5, 1911, p. 291. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 21, 2020. That publication and Selig itself continued to promote ''Lost in the Arctic'' as an adventure that was actually filmed there or at least along the northern coast of Labrador. It was instead one of two films shot on location at the same time in the United States, in

, located approximately 300 miles north of Chicago. Situated next to the

linked to

, Escanaba offered a winter environment that on screen proved to be a convincing alternative to Canada's northern frontier. Today, nearly a dozen photographs documenting the filming of ''Lost in the Arctic'' and ''The Way of the Eskimo'' are preserved in Escanaba by the Delta County Historical Society. With the exceptions of Mong and J. C. Smith nearly the entire cast of this film consisted of Inuit performers, most of whom had been born in either Labrador or

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. The actress portraying the wife of the chief was Columbia Eneutseak's biological mother, Esther Eneutseak Smith. To enhance the "Arctic" realism of filming in Michigan, Monk staged and filmed a hunting expedition and the killing of a nonindigenous

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

in Escabana, an event documented among the photographs held by the noted historical society. Selig in 1911 maintained a growing

menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern Zoo, zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, in reference to ...

of wild and domesticated animals for use in its productions, including three live bears and "10 eskimo dogs".Dengler, Eugene (1911)
"Wonders of the 'Diamond S' Plant"
''Motography'', July 1911, p. 12. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 1, 2020. Most likely, the company shipped to Escanaba one of those bears from its large studio "plant" in Chicago or possibly from the company's newer, rapidly expanding "Pacific Coast" facilities in

Edendale, Los Angeles Edendale is a historical name for a district in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, in what is known today as Echo Park, Los Angeles, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, Los Feliz and Silver Lake, Los Angeles, S ...

. A live walrus was apparently shipped as well to Escanaba for the same purposes. In its July 1911 issue, the Chicago-based trade journal ''Motography'' states, "A valuable polar bear is slain in one of these far north plays and an Eskimo is seen killing the wary walrus by his primitive methods."''Motography''
July 1911, p. 14. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 18, 2020. The telling word regarding the bear in that report is "valuable", a strong implication that the animal was from Selig's menagerie, one its more expensive purchased specimens. While it is possible that some footage of the bear roaming on the ice or its killing was also used in ''The Way of the Eskimo'', it is more likely the footage was used entirely in ''Lost in the Arctic''. Selig advertisements and trade reviews for the latter production refer specifically to the "harpooning" and "thrilling" death of the polar bear. In addition, cast member "Zachariah" (Zacharias Zad) is credited in 1911 publications as "The Bear Hunter" in this film.

Release and reception

Upon its release in September 1911, the film generally received positive reviews like ''The Way of the Eskimo'', which had been distributed by Selig two months earlier. The correspondent for the trade journal ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

'' reviewed ''Lost in the Arctic'' among a series of other recent releases and reported that he enjoyed it "immensely"."From Our Western Correspondent"
''Moving Picture News'' (New York, N.Y.), September 30, 1911, p. 26. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 25, 2020. ''The Moving Picture World'' was equally impressed with the film, predicting that it would "outrival" ''The Way of the Eskimo'', describing it as "one of the season's notable offerings". Two weeks later, ''The Moving Picture World'' continued to compliment the production and in another concise review highly recommended it to theater owners as an educational offering with solid

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...

potential:

"Lost" film status

No copy of this one-reel Selig production is preserved in

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, the

UCLA Film Archives The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, in the Department of Film at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, the

George Eastman Museum The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

, the

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

(LAC), or in other major film repositories in the United States, Canada, or Europe. The film is therefore classified or "presumed to be" a lost production.

Notes

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id= 0001746, title=Lost in the Arctic 1911 films 1911 drama films 1911 lost films Inuit films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films shot in Michigan Lost American films Lost drama films Ethnofiction films 1910s American films