''Kidnapping by Indians'' is a 1899 British silent short

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referre ...

, made by the

Mitchell and Kenyon The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial motion pictures based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England, at the start of the 20th century. They were originally best known for minor contributions to early fictional narrative ...

film company, shot in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...

, England. It is believed to be the first dramatic film in the Western genre, pre-dating Edwin S. Porter's '' The Great Train Robbery'' by four years.

Background

According to Jamie Holman, a local researcher,

James Kenyon James Kenyon may refer to: *James Kenyon (cinematographer) James Kenyon (26 May 1850 – 6 February 1925) was a businessman and pioneer of cinematography in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The son of Thomas and Margaret Kenyon, little is k ...

of Mitchell & Kenyon met some Americans in Blackburn when he was a boy. This sparked his interest in the "

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

" and ultimately led to the production of this film. The

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI) questions the ethnicity of the costumes used but Holman has maintained that they are authentic as

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

s, head-dress and other Western stereotypes are in evidence. Holman says many cotton workers from Blackburn went to America after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

and brought back stories of the wild frontier which whetted local interest. He says: "Mitchell and Kenyon would have been aware of the appetite for the Wild West at the time". The film was shot in the countryside near Blackburn and used local actors. It is noted for its innovative use of techniques such as composite editing and frequent camera movement. According to Bryony Dixon, a curator at the BFI, ''Kidnapping By Indians'' is a significant film in the Western genre. The storyline of a white girl being kidnapped by Indians is in ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfind ...

'' and many Wild West productions such as '' The Searchers''. Ms Dixon admits the film lacks some of the usual Western elements but, as she says, so does ''The Great Train Robbery''.

Plot

The plot concerns an attack by Native Americans on a camp where white people are staying. The attackers set fire to the camp and kidnap a young girl. Some cowboys arrive and a gunfight begins. The captured girl is rescued by the cowboys. The BFI suggests the film may be a scene from a larger stage production.

References

External links

* * {{YouTube, IvPjZ8JPRQU, ''Kidnapping by Indians'' 1899 films 1899 short films 1890s British films 1899 Western (genre) films British silent short films British black-and-white films Films shot in Lancashire Films directed by Mitchell & Kenyon Silent British Western (genre) films Films about Native Americans Films about kidnapping in the United States

Background

Plot

See also

References

External links