THE DAUGHTER OF DAWN (1920)

This western, filmed in Oklahoma, is the only known silent movie made with an all Native American cast, featuring members of the Comanche and Kiowa tribes. It centers on a traditional love triangle (actually involving four people) The title character is the daughter of the Kiowa chief. It's time for her to marry, and Black Wolf, a bit of a shady character but considered a good catch as he has many horses, asks the chief for her hand. But the chief wants to allow her to pick her own husband and she is in love with White Eagle, less well off but more wholesome. The fourth figure is Red Wing who has a thing for Black Wolf, even though he ignores her. White Eagle clearly has the inside track, as we see when he and Daughter of Dawn take a romantic moonlight canoe ride, watched jealously by both Black Wolf and Red Wing. The chief soon sets up a courage test: to win Daughter of Dawn, the two men must jump from the top of a hill with the survivor winning. White Eagle leaps and is injured but survives; Black Wolf chickens out of the jump and is expelled from the tribe. Meanwhile, a group of Comanches is plotting to steal Kiowa horses and to eventually raid the Kiowa village. Guess who betrays his people by helping in the raid? Direction by Norbert A. Myles (who later settled into a career as a Hollywood make-up artist) is serviceable, as is the acting, with White Parker the standout as White Eagle. What was interesting to me was how much the actors used their fingers and hands in addition to speech in communicating with each other, which I assume was a hallmark of the way the tribes actually communicated. The actors provided their own costumes and settings. I don’t know how realistic the storyline was, but the ending is nicely melodramatic in a traditional Hollywood fashion. At 80 minutes, the pace drags occasionally but this is worth a viewing. Pictured are White Parker (White Eagle) and Esther LeBarre (Daughter of Dawn). [Criterion Channel]