This is an early film included on the TREASURES FROM American FILM ARCHIVES DVD set. It's a film about a family made up of a Native American, a pioneer and their son. Despite having some interesting elements (the unusual story and some Indians that really look like Indians), the film itself is extremely melodramatic and old-fashioned--definitely a product of the times in which it was made.
The film begins with the man getting a letter saying that some long-lost relative in England died and left him a fortune. He tells his wife, who refuses to go to England with him. In fact, out of the blue, she pulls out a knife and stabs herself in a most unconvincing fashion (it looked really fake and over-done). Their child comes along and assumes Dad killed her, so she tells the Indian tribe nearby and they spend much of the film trying to kill him! But, just as they are about to force the kid to cut the robe and thereby dropping a big rock on Dad that surely would have hurt him a little, Mom reappears! She looks just fine--not even wounded!! And, apparently, everyone lives happily ever after--except the audience who is REALLY confused that Mom is back and none the worse for wear!! Oh, and the Indian chief orders Dad to leave and never return--even though he did absolutely NOTHING wrong!! The film just doesn't make any sense and is rather sloppy. However, given when it was made, I'll cut it some slack. Plus, seeing what looked like real Indians was a nice touch. The film is pretty skip-able, but for film historians it's worth a look.
The film begins with the man getting a letter saying that some long-lost relative in England died and left him a fortune. He tells his wife, who refuses to go to England with him. In fact, out of the blue, she pulls out a knife and stabs herself in a most unconvincing fashion (it looked really fake and over-done). Their child comes along and assumes Dad killed her, so she tells the Indian tribe nearby and they spend much of the film trying to kill him! But, just as they are about to force the kid to cut the robe and thereby dropping a big rock on Dad that surely would have hurt him a little, Mom reappears! She looks just fine--not even wounded!! And, apparently, everyone lives happily ever after--except the audience who is REALLY confused that Mom is back and none the worse for wear!! Oh, and the Indian chief orders Dad to leave and never return--even though he did absolutely NOTHING wrong!! The film just doesn't make any sense and is rather sloppy. However, given when it was made, I'll cut it some slack. Plus, seeing what looked like real Indians was a nice touch. The film is pretty skip-able, but for film historians it's worth a look.