By the look of this film, this seems to have been a big budget western of the time, & fairly long for the period. The plot that there is involves a Post Telegrapher played by Francis Ford, who also directed, who receives a message about the Sioux Indians looking like they are going on the warpath, & is sent with a unit to try to put them down. The Indians in the meanwhile massacre settlers, though never seen killing the women & children. One of the Children seems to have been Mildred Harris, who a few years later would become Charlie Chaplins wife. The unit gets massacred, but fort is warned by the injured Ford, & an army patrol is sent out with his beloved, Ann Little, the Colonel's daughter tagging on.
The plot is a basic one featuring Cavalryman & Indians fighting each other, with no real reason for the violence, as they happily slaughter each other. That said the set pieces are well done & direction is good, with a cinematic feel. The acting is average for this time, though secondary to the action so nothing really lost. I would add that Ann Little might have not been a great actress, but she certainly knew how to ride & handle herself, & was actually the real thing as a action girl from the west, playing many such roles & also Indian maidens. She was also it seems very interested in the Indian culture & was supportive of them, as they were of her.
The version I watched was from Eye Films, & unfortunately there were no English sub titles. In fairness there is good outline of plot from this website & it is not hard grasping what is happening. Overall a good exciting film for the time, & just showed how westerns were advancing as a staple diet of American films.
The plot is a basic one featuring Cavalryman & Indians fighting each other, with no real reason for the violence, as they happily slaughter each other. That said the set pieces are well done & direction is good, with a cinematic feel. The acting is average for this time, though secondary to the action so nothing really lost. I would add that Ann Little might have not been a great actress, but she certainly knew how to ride & handle herself, & was actually the real thing as a action girl from the west, playing many such roles & also Indian maidens. She was also it seems very interested in the Indian culture & was supportive of them, as they were of her.
The version I watched was from Eye Films, & unfortunately there were no English sub titles. In fairness there is good outline of plot from this website & it is not hard grasping what is happening. Overall a good exciting film for the time, & just showed how westerns were advancing as a staple diet of American films.
